Geneva (UN Human Rights Council) 18 June 2026 (SPS) — Mr. Mahfud Bechri, member of the working group on Human Rights in Occupied Western Sahara and Western Sahara representative for NOVACT, denounced the Moroccan information blockade, illegal land grabs for green energy, and deadly drone strikes targeting Sahrawi civilians in the occupied territory.
The Sahrawi activist was speaking Today during a side event, convened on the sidelines of the ongoing 62nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council, to present the findings of the newly released report, "Western Sahara: A Year in Review, 2025 Annual Human Rights Report", elaborated by the working group in collaboration with international organisations, ACAPS and NOVACT.
Mahfud exposed how Morocco utilizes economic exploitation and advanced military technology to entrench its illegal presence under a climate of total impunity.
He highlighted a systematic campaign by Moroccan authorities designed to shield their human rights violations from international scrutiny by creating an environment of fear that severely restricts civic space.
Since 2014, Morocco has expelled at least 329 international observers, with recent targets including a delegation of Basque parliamentarians, a mission of Members of the European Parliament, and Spanish journalists, Mahfud said.
The NOVACT representative directly criticized European powers for their role in the conflict, pointing to the silence and complicity of states such as France and Spain.
He further accused the European Commission of violating international law and European Court of Justice rulings by signing illegal commercial deals with Morocco that include the occupied territory, asking where the Europe of values, human rights, and the rule of law has gone.
Turning to the military conflict, Mahfud Bechri drew attention to the lethal impact of Moroccan drone technology in the liberated territories east of the military wall. Citing data from the Sahrawi Mine Action Coordination Office, he revealed that 310 civilians were killed by drone strikes from 2020 to 2025.
A central focus of Mahfud’s statement was the accelerating exploitation of Sahrawi natural resources under the guise of green development, international investment, and global tourism.
He recalled how Morocco’s green hydrogen strategy, backed by planned United States investments, is facilitating the allocation of Sahrawi land to foreign multinational companies without the consent of the Sahrawi people.
This lack of consent directly violates the explicit requirements reaffirmed in the European Court of Justice ruling of October 2024. Mahfud named corporate giants Acciona, ACWA Power, TotalEnergies, and the French company Engie as participants in these green hydrogen schemes.
He also raised alarms over a recent agreement between Morocco and the United States concerning the exploitation of seabed minerals off the coast of Western Sahara, calling it a direct threat to the permanent sovereignty of the Sahrawi people over their natural resources.
Furthermore, the activist warned that the international promotion of the occupied city of Dakhla as a tourism and investment hub is not an isolated development. Instead, it is part of a broader strategy aimed at normalizing and economically entrenching the occupation through culture, sports, and artistic initiatives that obscure the reality of an active military occupation.
Concluding his address to the panel, Mahfud called on the UN Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to break the persistent absence of effective accountability mechanisms.
He urged the international community to guarantee independent access to the territory for journalists and observers, and to protect Sahrawi natural resources from ongoing systematic exploitation by Morocco and multinational companies.
Finally, he demanded that the international response place the protection of the human rights of the Sahrawi people, including their inalienable right to self-determination, at the absolute center of all discussions concerning the future of the territory. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)
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