Bogotá (Colombia), 25 December 2025 (SPS) – The International Federation for Human Rights, during its 42nd World Congress held in the Colombian capital, Bogotá, called on the European Union to respect the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination, in light of the recent agreement with Morocco that includes the occupied Western Sahara.
In a recommendation adopted during the congress, the Federation highlighted the serious and systematic human rights violations committed against the Sahrawi people in the occupied territories, as documented by international human rights organizations and UN reports, including those issued by the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara, which revealed practices of repression, arbitrary arrest, torture, and restrictions on human rights defenders.
It further affirmed that the European Union’s agreements with Morocco “violate the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and contradict the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which recognized the separate legal status of Western Sahara and the need to obtain the consent of its legitimate representatives.”
On this occasion, it called on the European Union and its member states to “respect international law, implement European court decisions, and put an end to support for Moroccan policies based on settlement and the plundering of natural resources.”
It also called on the Moroccan government to “respect human rights, end repression against Sahrawi civilians and human rights defenders, immediately release all Sahrawi political prisoners, and immediately end settlement policy,” as well as to “allow the entry of independent organizations to monitor human rights in the occupied territories.”
The Federation further urged its member organizations to “play an active role in exerting pressure, advocacy, and strengthening awareness-raising efforts with their governments and national parliaments in defense of the rights of the Sahrawi people and to ensure respect for their right to self-determination.”
It concluded by reaffirming its continued support for the sovereignty and right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination.
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