Occupied El Aaiun, July 25, 2025 (SPS) – The Sahrawi Observatory for Children and Women in Occupied El Aaiun has strongly condemned the Moroccan occupation's attempts to erase the national and cultural identity of Sahrawi children in the occupied parts of Western Sahara, in an effort to normalize the reality of occupation and force acceptance of its manifestations.
In a statement, the Sahrawi Observatory denounced the treatment of Sahrawi children participating in "summer camps" in the occupied territories, "where these spaces have been turned into tools for reproducing exclusion and erasing Sahrawi cultural identity."
These practices—the statement adds—"are part of a broader pattern of violations against Sahrawi children, in blatant violation of relevant international conventions, foremost among them the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights." The statement emphasized that "the experience of these Sahrawi children in these camps has turned into a painful ordeal filled with exclusion, neglect, and mistreatment."
While strongly condemning these violations, which constitute "a clear breach of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties guaranteeing children's right to protection and care without discrimination, the Observatory noted that "these practices go beyond the educational framework, reaching dangerous levels of political indoctrination. This includes the imposition of "ideological content" and the dissemination of targeted messages aimed at erasing the national and cultural identity of Sahrawi children, in an attempt to normalize the situation of occupation.
According to consistent testimonies documented by the Observatory, the children were subjected to degrading treatment, including "deliberate exclusion, physical and psychological neglect, complete disregard for their needs, as well as clear racist behavior in their treatment and communication—reflecting a deeply rooted colonial mentality in dealing with the Sahrawi people."
The Observatory reaffirmed its full commitment to continue monitoring and documenting all forms of violations against Sahrawi children and women, and to exposing them before international human rights bodies and mechanisms. It stressed that respecting the dignity of Sahrawi children is a true test of the international community's willingness to uphold justice.
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