New York (United Nations), 11 June 2025 (SPS) – Sahrawi human rights defenders delivered compelling testimonies before the UN Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24), documenting the "serious abuses" committed by Moroccan occupation forces against Sahrawi activists and civilians in the occupied part of Western Sahara, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In his address, human rights activist and First Vice-President of the Sahrawi Collective of Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA), Mr. Hibatou Taleb Omar, provided a detailed account of the reality of Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara and the "systematic" abuses against Sahrawi civilians, in the absence of a UN mechanism to protect them and amid ongoing obstruction of the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.
The speaker highlighted the systemic repression, harassment, marginalization, and defamation faced by CODESA members due to their work documenting and exposing the grave abuses committed in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
He stated that "this dire situation has recently been condemned by several UN human rights mechanisms, as well as international organizations such as Amnesty International, the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and Front Line Defenders."
The Sahrawi human rights defender also emphasized that the Moroccan occupier has been demolishing homes and agricultural properties belonging to Sahrawi civilians, particularly in rural areas and along the coast, using excessive force and violence. These lands are then handed over to foreign companies for illegal economic projects, part of a strategy to "legitimize" the occupation and impose a colonial fait accompli.
Furthermore, he deplored the continued imprisonment of several Sahrawi political detainees in Moroccan jails for over 15 years, including the Gdeim Izik group, students (some sentenced to life imprisonment), and human rights defenders—despite repeated calls for their release by UN mechanisms and international human rights organizations.
The speaker urgently called for:
The enforcement of international humanitarian law,
The acceleration of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission in Western Sahara,
The establishment of a UN international monitoring and protection mechanism for human rights in Western Sahara,
Guarantees for the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination.
For her part, Sahrawi activist Elfayda Khaya, from the occupied city of Boujdour, recounted in her testimony the severe human rights violations in Africa’s last colony, stressing that the Sahrawi people have endured suffering for over 52 years under Moroccan occupation.
In an emotional testimony, the Sahrawi activist described the repression faced by her family in occupied Boujdour since November 19, 2020, particularly her aunt, activist Sultana Khaya, who has endured the worst forms of abuse.
The human rights activist concluded her testimony by urging the international community to "act immediately to end these violations and enable the Sahrawi people to exercise their legitimate rights, first and foremost their right to self-determination."
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