The Makhzen Regime Faces A UNSG’s Black Report

The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, expressed his “deep concern” about the “deteriorating” developments in Western Sahara, which have become “entrenched,” calling for the need to urgently correct the situation to avoid any further escalation in the region.

Guterres indicated, in his annual report, which he presented Monday before members of the UN Security Council, that this “difficult situation” makes negotiating a political solution to the Western Sahara issue “more urgent” than ever before, after nearly five decades of conflict, expressing In the context of his belief “in the possibility of reaching a just and lasting political solution acceptable to both parties (Morocco and the Polisario Front), which guarantees the people of Western Sahara self-determination following the relevant Security Council resolutions.”

“The situation in Western Sahara continued to be characterized by tensions and low-intensity hostilities between Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y Rio de Oro (Frente POLISARIO). The prevailing situation has led to significant challenges for the operations of MINURSO, particularly its logistics”, the UN Secretary-General said.

In his annual report, the UN Secretary-General also expressed his “concern” about the continued inability of the MINURSO to access the territory of Western Sahara, calling once again for the respect, protection and promotion of the human rights of the Sahrawi people in the occupied territories, “particularly by addressing the outstanding human rights issues, enhancing cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations human rights mechanisms, and facilitating its monitoring missions.”

“Most firing incidents across the berm reported to MINURSO by the parties continued to be concentrated in the north of the Territory, near Mahbas. MINURSO was often not able to independently confirm the number and location of the reported firing incidents and their impact remained the subject of divergent claims by the parties”, the UNSG explained.

The UN official cited reports of the MINURSO, which was unable to conduct any visits to Western Sahara for the eighth year in a row, despite multiple requests from the Security Council, which in its resolution 2654 (2022) strongly encouraged strengthening cooperation, pointing out that “the inability to access to direct information and the absence of independent, impartial, comprehensive and sustained monitoring of the human rights situation has hampered a comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation in the region.”

Guterres added in his report that the MINURSO also addressed “the obstruction of the work of Sahrawi activists, human rights defenders and student movements who were intimidated and had restrictions imposed on them,” as the reports revealed that organizations defending the right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people continued to “face obstacles in “holding meetings, and I was subjected to intimidation and surveillance.”

The reports also indicated that the Moroccan occupation authorities continued to “prevent and suppress gatherings in support of the right to self-determination and the celebration of Sahrawi commemorative events, as the MINURSO received six cases in which international observers, researchers and lawyers engaged in advocacy work regarding Western Sahara were prevented from entering Western Sahara or were expelled from it.”

It was also stated in Guterres’ report that families of human rights activists and Sahrawi prisoners “faced reprisals, intimidation or discrimination, based on their political opinions and defence of their relatives, and cases of discrimination were reported about access to work, education, social protection and other services.”

Moreover, Guterres’ report spoke about the situation of Sahrawi prisoners held in Moroccan occupation detention centres, the MINURSO stated that it had received information indicating that Sahrawi prisoners, including the Gdeim Izik group, are still being held outside Western Sahara in harsh detention conditions, including isolation; “They are subject to restrictions regarding contact with their families and lawyers,” which prompted imprisoned Sahrawi students to go on a hunger strike to protest detention conditions and to ask for being transferred to a prison close to their families.

Guterres stressed the need to monitor the human rights situation in an “independent, impartial, comprehensive and ongoing” manner to ensure the protection of the Sahrawi people in the occupied territories, he recommended in his report that the Security Council extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission to Organize the Self-determination Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for another year until October 31, 2024.