Sahrawi Youth and the Occupation of Western Sahara

THE MIRAGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS: Sahrawi Youth and the Occupation of Western Sahara Funded by: THE MIRAGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS: SAHRAWI YOUTH AND THE OCCUPATION OF WESTERN OF SAHARA OCCUPATION THE AND YOUTH SAHRAWI RIGHTS: HUMAN OF MIRAGE THE The Mirage of Human Rights: Sahrawi Youth and the Occupation of Western Sahara The Mirage of Human Rights: Sahrawi Youth and the Occupation of Western Sahara Fundación Mundubat The total or partial reproduction of this publication is authorized for educational Mundubat Fundazioa purposes, as well as for other non-commer- cial purposes, without special permission from the copyright holder, provided that Author: the source is identified. That identification Kavita Kapur should be performed in the following way: Mundubat. 2019. “The Mirage of Human Mundubat Coordination Team: Rights: Sahrawi Youth and the Occupation Fernando Lorenzo Abril, Isabel Lima of Western Sahara”. y Mónica Alonso This work is under a Creative Commons This publication is part of the project: “Strengthening the Resilience of the Sahrawi Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Youth Population in a Prolonged Refugee Sit- 4.0 International License. uation” financed by the Basque Agency for De- To see a copy of this license, visit: velopment Cooperation. creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Illustrations: Enrique Flores Design and Layout: Cabinet Comunicación June 2019. Funded by: This report would not have been possible Without the unwavering bravery of those who tell stories in the face of great risks. Without the infinite patience of those who tell stories they have told a thousand times before. Without the critical reflection and candor of those who tell stories to build trust. Without the urgency and hope of those who tell stories because they know that the world is worth fighting for. To all storytellers, of these and other stories: Thank you. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction and Intention 9 Mundubat Foundation 9 Objectives and Purposes 10 Research Methodology 11 I. Introduction to Western Sahara, Human Rights and Sahrawi Youth 17 A History of the Occupation of Western Sahara 17 The Origins of the Sahrawi People 17 The Colonization of Western Sahara by the Spanish State 19 The Process of Decolonization of Western Sahara 20 The War for Control of Western Sahara 23 The Ceasefire 28 The Moroccan Occupation 29 The Legal Framework Applicable to the Situation of Western Sahara 35 Principles Applicable to Non-Self-Governing Territories 35 International Humanitarian Law 38 International Human Rights Law 40 Monitoring the Human Rights of the Sahrawi Population 44 United Nations Mechanisms 44 African Regional Mechanisms 57 SADR Mechanism 62 Moroccan Mechanism 62 Other Foreign Governments 63 Non-governmental Organizations and International Associations 64 Sahrawi Organizations 66 II. A Divided People: The Current Generation of Sahrawi Youth 71 Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara 71 POLISARIO Front-controlled Western Sahara 73 Sahrawi Refugee Camps 75 Diaspora in the Spanish State 76 5 III. Violations and Deprivations of the Human Rights of Sahrawi Youth 81 Collective rights 81 Self-determination 81 Non-discrimination 113 Civil and Political Rights, Part 1: Life, Liberty and Personal Security 119 Right to Life 119 Right to Personal Liberty 127 Right of Persons Deprived of Liberty to Humane Treatment 135 Prohibition Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment 142 Civil and Political Rights, Part 2: Administration of Justice 153 Right to Due Process of Law 153 Right to an Effective Remedy 159 Civil and Political Rights, Part 3: Fundamental Freedoms and Participation in Public and Political Life 164 Freedom of Opinion and Expression 164 Freedom of Assembly and Association 173 Right to Participate in Public Life 183 Freedom of Movement 186 Right to Nationality 193 Civil and Political Rights, Part 4: Right to Private and Family Life 198 Right to Private and Family Life 198 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 205 Right to Education 205 Right to Work 216 Right to an Adequate Standard of Living 224 Right to Health 232 Right to Cultural Life 241 IV. Conclusions 247 Sahrawi Youth in Territory Occupied by Morocco 248 Sahrawi Youth in the Refugee Camps 250 Sahrawi Youth in the Territory of Western Sahara controlled by the POLISARIO Front 252 Sahrawi Youth in the Diaspora in the Spanish State 253 V. Responsibilities, Demands and Recommendations 255 Kingdom of Morocco 255 Responsibilities of Morocco 255 Demands for Morocco 256 Recommendations for Morocco 258 6 Spanish State 259 Responsibilities of the Spanish State 259 Demands for the Spanish State 260 Recommendations for the Spanish State 261 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and the POLISARIO Front 262 Responsibilities of the SADR and the POLISARIO Front 262 Demands for the SADR 262 Demands for the POLISARIO Front 263 Recommendations for the SADR 263 Republic of Algeria 264 Responsibilities of Algeria 264 Demands for Algeria 264 Recommendations for Algeria 265 United Nations System 265 General Assembly 265 Security Council 269 Specialized Agencies with Relevant Mandates 271 Other Entities of the United Nations 272 The African Union and its Member States 272 Other Actors of the International Community 273 States and Institutions of the European Union 273 Other Actors of the International Community 274 Life Stories Maalouma 33 Barka 42 Fatimetu 60 Ahmed 68 Jadiyetu 79 Mohamed 100 Benine 111 Nourddine 120 Salma 133 Ayoub 139 Hassanna 148 Ali 157 Nazha 171 Malada 181 Muna 196 Salec 203 Habiba 213 Khalil 222 Mariam 239 7 INTRODUCTION AND INTENTION Mundubat Foundation This report is a publication of Mundubat Foundation,1 a non-governmental orga- nization dedicated to making development cooperation and transformative education genuine tools for social change, both in the global North and in the South. Mundubat Foundation has established among its main lines of work, the defense, promotion and protection of human rights. Its actions in this field arise from a critical and emancipatory perspective, which in itself is a tool of social transformation processes. Mundubat Foundation firmly believes that the battles being fought by social movements, many of which suffer violations of their formally recognized human rights, have been and are the engine driving the expansion of spaces in which human rights can be enjoyed. Accordingly, through its line of work in human rights, Mundubat Foundation seeks to support human rights defenders, sustain their battles and, as is reflected in this report, reveal the social, cultural, political and economic conditions that prevent the effective enjoyment of human rights. Since 1996, Mundubat Foundation has developed a close relationship with the Sahrawi people through its activities in the field of humanitarian action in the Sahrawi refugee camps, and its political advocacy directed at resolving the occupation and defending and protecting human rights. Beginning in 2012, Mundubat Foundation has supported the work of human rights defenders in the territories of Western Sahara occupied by the Kingdom of Morocco. The present report is part of those efforts to accompany the Sahrawi people. 1 This report is part of the project entitled Strengthening the Resilience of the Sahrawi Youth Population in a Prolonged Refugee Situation, implemented by Mundubat Foundation and financed by the Basque Agency for Development Cooperation. 9 Objectives and Purposes Since 1975, the Sahrawi people have suffered a persistent and prolonged occupation of part of their territory, which has produced the division of the population across multiple geographic regions. Each group has suffered the consequences of the occupation in a particular way, from the residents of those territories occupied by Morocco and of those controlled by the POLISARIO Front,2 to those persons who have been displaced into camps in Tindouf, Algeria and those who have been exiled in the diaspora. But none of these groups, regardless of the location where they reside, has been able to avoid the effects of the occupation. A subcategory of the Sahrawi population, which has been geographically frag- mented for more than four decades, is the Sahrawi youth, which, for purposes of this report, includes those Sahrawis between 15 and 35 years of age. 3 With their wide range of life experiences and perspectives, this group shares the trait of hav- ing been born from the 1980s onwards, following the withdrawal of the Spanish colonial government and the subsequent invasion and occupation of the Sahrawi territory by Morocco. Given their age, many of these young men and women did not directly experience the preceding war, but they have nonetheless lived its consequences. They are sons and daughters of activists and combatants for the libera- tion of their territory, of victims of war and disappearance, of mothers and fathers displaced and rendered refugees. But the Sahrawi youth also share the responsibility to define the future of their people. Like the youth all over the world, their acts and omissions will define the conditions in which the next generations are born. In this way, the Sahrawi youth are responsible for maintaining the collective demands of their people and defining the strategies to be followed in order to achieve those demands. This report attempts to illustrate the human rights situation of the Sahrawi youth through an analysis of how they are affected by the occupation of Western Sahara, and to serve as a platform to project the voices of the youth so that their stories can be heard by those

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