A few weeks ago a group of human rights activists from the occupied territories came to visit the refugee camps for one week. When they returned to La'ayoun they were met by 1500 Moroccan civilians who beat them at the airport. This is one of many events staged by Moroccan authorities to spark conflict between Morroccan and Saharawi people.
The conflict has lasted for 35 years, and while the refugees wait in the desert, the human rights situation in the occupied territories deteriorates. It is completely incomprehensible that the UN mission MINURSO does not have a mandate to monitor and report on the human rights violations committed by Morocco. Polisario has stated that it invites the UN to monitor the human rights situation in the refugee camps. Morocco however, will not accept that MINURSO should have a human rights mandate in the occupied territories.
How is it possible for Morocco to keep the UN from monitoring the human rights situation? To achieve this, it is necessary to have powerful friends in the Security Council. With France on its side, Morocco can ensure that MINURSO does not get a human rights mandate. This is because France is a permanent member in the Security Council, and can use its veto against an enlargement of MINURSO's mandate.
That MINURSO has still not been given a human rights mandate shows not only that Morocco finds support in France, but also that the attention given to the conflict by the international community is minimal. Given the severity of the human rights violations in the occupied territories, and the difficult situation for the refugees in the camps in Algeria, it is incomprehensible that the international community seems both paralyzed and indifferent to the conflict.
What will it take to make the United Nations and the international community realize the injustice of the Moroccan occupation, and assume their responsibility to protect the human rights of all people?
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