UN Human Rights Council must take strict measures to protect Sahrawi political detainees in Moroccan occupation prisons

Geneva, October 04, 2022 (SPS) - The First Secretary of the Association for the Protection of Sahrawi Prisoners detained in Moroccan occupation prisons, Mr. Mustapha Machdoufi, called on UN Human Rights Council to urgently take the strict and necessary measures to protect the lives of Sahrawi political detainees inside the prisons of the Moroccan occupation.

Mr. Mustafa Al-Machdoufi emphasized during the sessions of the UN Human Rights Council at its fifty-first session, that paragraph 58 of the Vienna Declaration stresses the need to pay special attention to ensuring universal respect and the effective implementation of “the principles of medical ethics related to the role of health staff, especially doctors, in protecting prisoners and detainees from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”, as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

The Sahrawi human rights defender pointed out that the Moroccan occupation has never respected these directives and has not committed to applying them in favor of Sahrawi political prisoners who have been subjected to revenge, humiliation and torture in recent years, and the Moroccan occupation has not implemented the views and decisions of the UN Committee against Torture and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Consequently, those Moroccan officials who are responsible for these acts enjoy complete impunity.

He also referred to the miserable situation of the Sahrawi political detainees inside the prisons of the Moroccan occupation, led by the Gdeim Izik group, as a result of medical negligence and racial discrimination, as well as the policy of intimidation and revenge practiced against their families, furthermore the extent of harassment and illegal practices pursued by the Moroccan authorities against human rights defenders, students and journalists.

Finally, the Sahrawi human rights defender demanded the importance of establishing a mandate for the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied parts of Western Sahara, and the need for the International Human Rights Council to take the necessary measures to put pressure on the Moroccan occupation.

 SPS 110 TRA