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Truth, Justice and Reparation in the Western Sahara

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Truth, Justice and Reparation in the Western Sahara Truth, justice and reparation This summary was written with the difficult goal of condensing the in the Western Sahara report titled “The oasis of memory”, the complete version of which contains over 1000 pages in two volumes. The report includes an analysis of human rights violations in the Western Sahara since 1975 based on interviews and testimonies gathered from 261 victims. It The Oasis of Memory also analyzes the impact on individual people, families and women, the forms of resistance of the victims, and, finally, the demands for Carlos Martín Beristain truth, justice and reparation for victims as well as the responses from the state of Morocco. Eloísa González Hidalgo As Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel points out, “In the research work that summarizes the ‘The oasis of memory’ report, Dr. Carlos M. Beristain tries to recover both the Historical Memory and the human rights situation in the Western Sahara, developing an approach that follows the methodology of the Truth Commissions in which he has participated, and combining the psychosocial approach that he contributed to the REMHI Commission in Guatemala, with the importance of gathering direct information and experiences from victims”. The value of memory is in the transformation of life. This report is dedicated to Sahrawi victims and survivors who have made it possible with their courage and generosity. The Oasis of Memory Carlos Martín Beristain MD, is a physician and Doctor of Social Psychology. He has worked for 24 years in Latin America and in the Basque Country with human rights organizations and victims of violence. He was the coordinator of the Guatemala: Nunca Más report, and has worked as a consultant in Truth Commissions in Peru, Paraguay and Ecuador. He has conducted several surveys for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and has been a consultant for the International Criminal Court in several African countries. Eloisa Gonzalez Hidalgo has a PhD degree in International Law from the Carlos III University in Madrid. She has conducted research in the University of Essex (United Kingdom), the University of Ottawa Sahara Western in the justice and reparation Truth, (Canada) and in the University of Deusto (Basque Country). She has worked with various NGOs on human rights-related issues in Algeria, Colombia and Mexico. Truth, justice and reparation in the Western Sahara The Oasis of Memory Carlos Martín Beristain Eloísa González Hidalgo Project funded by: Aieteko Jauregia -Aiete Pasealekua, 65-2 20009 Donostia -San Sebastián www.euskalfondoa.org This publication is an outcome of the colaboration agreement: “Coordination of the Basque Local, Provintial and Autonomy level Cooperation with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, signed between the Basque Fund and the Basque Agency for Development Cooperation. Published by: www.hegoa.ehu.es UPV/EHU Edificio Zubiria Etxea Avenida Lehendakari Agirre, 81 • 48015 Bilbao Tel.: 94 601 70 91 • Fax: 94 601 70 40 [email protected] UPV/EHU Edificio Carlos Santamaría Plaza Elhuyar, 2 • 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián Tel.: 943 01 74 64 • Fax: 94 601 70 40 [email protected] UPV/EHU Biblioteca del Campus, Apartado 138 Nieves Cano, 33 • 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel.: 945 01 42 87 • Fax: 945 01 42 87 [email protected] Authors: Carlos Martín Beristain, Eloísa González Hidalgo. Testimonial drawing. Federico Guzmán Translation into English: Anders Krakenberger, Virginia Ghent, Beth Gelb Printing Press: Lankopi, Inc. Layout and design: Marra, SL Legal Deposit: BI-677-2016 ISBN: 978-84-16257-15-7 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License (Spain) This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License (Spain). Under this license, you are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work under the following conditions: You must attribute the work to its authors, you may not use this work for commercial purposes and you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. To see a copy of this license, visit The demands for truth, justice and reparation in the case of the Western Sahara The demands for truth, justice and reparation in the case of the Western Sahara Needs and demands for reparation 5 The right to reparation and relevant international standards 8 Irreparability and the context of truth, justice and reparation measures 11 Comprehensiveness in terms of reparation 13 Consistency and hierarchy of reparation measures 15 Moroccan state responses to human rights violations in the Western Sahara: the denial of truth 17 Difficulties in researching on the Western Sahara 19 Arbitration Committee and Sahrawi demands 21 The setting up of the IER 25 Exclusion of the Western Sahara in public hearings and collective reparations 28 Lack of guarantees for victims and persecution during the IER’s work 31 The struggle for truth 33 The IER report and the list posted on the Internet 39 An example of an inconsistent response to victims’ rights 50 Exhumations and the right to grieve 53 Recognition of injury: responsibility and respect for dignity 58 The need for justice 60 Genocide case and universal jurisdiction 67 Disqualification of individuals responsible for human rights violations 68 A system of justice that deals with the problems of the present 70 Restitution of loss 71 Restitution of territory and right of return 72 Economic reparation and compensation 74 Relationship between truth and economic compensation 83 Health care: rehabilitation programs 84 State and international responsibility to build trust 88 Holding a referendum as reparation 89 Protection of Sahrawi civilians 92 3 Truth, justice and reparation in the Western Sahara. The Oasis of Memory The need to break with the past 95 Collective memory as a preventive tool 97 Memory in archives Human rights and a transformation agenda in the Sahara conflict 100 Appendix. Meheris. A possibility of hope 109 Presentation 111 Relatives’ demands and exhumation 112 Forced disappearances in the Western Sahara 113 The MINURSO mandate 113 Recommendations of the UN Working Group on Forced Disappearances 114 International standards on exhumations and on the identification of remains 114 Case Summary 116 Lack of information and research, and responses that do not correspond to the truth 117 The discovery of the mass graves 118 Description of the work carried out in the mass graves 119 Research Findings: collective case, cause of death and identification of the disappeared 120 4 The demands for truth, justice and reparation in the case of the Western Sahara As long as there is no real justice and truth, there will also be no reconciliation. Daoud El Khadir. This chapter includes an analysis of Sahrawi victims of serious human rights violations’ demands for truth, justice and reparation under international standards and in accordance with good practices by truth commissions and reparation programs in various countries throughout the world. In the case of the Western Sahara, the demands by victims are, of course, part of their individual rights, although they also have a more collective dimen- sion as will be evident when analysing their expectations and demands. In addition, an analysis is made of international human rights law (henceforward IHRL) standards on truth, justice and reparation in the context of political change or the search for a new social consensus after armed conflicts and the relevance thereof in the case of the Western Sahara. An analysis is also made of the need for research, the need to find people who have “disappeared”, the need to recognize human rights violations and to provide guarantees of non-recurrence. The role of justice and change in the human rights situation in the Western Sahara are likewise analysed, including the situation of the refugees. This text also includes an analysis of the response by the Moroccan to such demands, especially in the case of the population living in the Western Sahara, as well as the total lack of consideration of the refugee population and of the human rights violations they have suffered are also addressed. It is necessary to take into account that, in the light of analysis and criteria of international human rights law and international human rights law, many of these violations constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially the bombing of civilians and the systematic practice of enforced disappearance and torture. At the end of this chapter, and also at the end of this report, some of the elements that emerge from this analysis are introduced so as to contribute to the agenda for rebuilding the social fabric in the Western Sahara conflict. Also included are some of the issues that should be taken into account in the conflict transformation agenda and policies seeking ways out of the conflict, taking into account the impact caused by human rights violations and by a situation of respect for human rights, which are key elements for such a transformation to take place. Needs and demands for reparation In the final part of the interviews with victims, they were asked for their opinion on which measures would be appropriate to reparation the damage caused. Even though human rights violations, torture, bombings or enforced disappearances imply irreparable realities, victims’ right to reparation is something that should be considered an obligation of the State. This is an essential element in order to be able to have victims’ perceptions, needs and participation. 5 Truth, justice and reparation in the Western Sahara. The Oasis of Memory Most human rights violation victims have little knowledge about international standards. In the case of the Western Sahara, victims who belong to associations or who made their claims before the Arbitration Committee or the IER later manage to acquire a certain knowledge of the matter and have had experiences that are also discussed in this chapter. On the other hand, victims living in the refugee camps have had much less knowledge of such actions or of the possibilities and obligations in terms of international law against the human rights violations committed there.
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