The following letter was published on 8 December by Saharawi civil society, opposing the Moroccan bid for UN Human Rights Council presidency.

On 8 December 2023, the UN Human Rights Council announced that a vote is expected in January 2024, possibly on 10 January 2024, to elect the Council’s President for the 18th cycle in 2024 from the Africa Group. The State representatives who have put forward their candidacies are Morocco and South Africa.

The letter is open for sign-on on a rolling basis by all organizations wishing to support the Saharawi civil society campaign until the election expected to be held in January 2024 on the presidency for the Human Rights Council.

Visit the webpage of the campaign: https://scs-campaign.ws/

Contact the organizers of the campaign: info@scs-campaign.ws

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عربي español francais

"With its appalling human rights record and as a colonial occupier, Morocco Cannot Preside the UN Human Rights Council, Sahrawi Civil Society Urges

Morocco's appalling human rights record, including its colonial occupation of Western Sahara and its people, should exclude it from presiding the UN Human Rights Council, says Sahrawi civil society: "Allowing Rabat to hold the Council presidency is like putting the wolf in charge of the sheep."

As Morocco vies to hold the one-year presidency of the UN Human Rights Council, which oversees thousands of human rights complaints from all over the world, civil society from Western Sahara is urging the Council to reject Rabat's candidacy, pointing to Morocco's deteriorating human rights record, occupation and colonization of their homeland, failure to cooperate with the UN mechanisms and its targeting and harassment of human rights defenders, journalists and others for their cooperation with the UN.

Morocco fundamentally fails to meet and uphold the human rights standard required for members of the Human Rights Council (ISHR, 2022). Since becoming a member in 2022, Morocco has stepped up its harassment of journalists and critics and continues to detain and subject journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders to unfair trials. Freedom of the press is suffering a slow and deliberate death in the country, symbolized by the persecution and imprisonment of journalists and described in Human Rights Watch´s “They´ll Get You No Matter What: Morocco´s Playbook to Crush Dissent”. The Melilla disaster of June 2022 when at least 37 migrants died at the hands of Moroccan police at the border with Spain, also revealed the politization of migrant lives by the Moroccan state and according to UN experts, “the status quo of the European Union’s borders, namely racialized exclusion and deadly violence deployed to keep out people of African and Middle Eastern descent, and other non-white populations”, a concern echoed by Amnesty International.

The human rights and humanitarian crisis is even worse in the parts of Western Sahara placed under Moroccan occupation since 1975. Until this day, Morocco continues to deny the people of Western Sahara their right to self-determination; the very prerequisite and bedrock that all other human rights rest upon, openly defying UN Security Council resolutions that since the early 1990's called for a referendum for the people of Western Sahara.

Moroccan authorities continue to harass activists supporting Sahrawi self-determination, prevent gatherings and obstruct the work of local human rights nongovernmental organizations (Human Rights Watch, 2023) with the territory being a practical “news black hole” (Reporters Without Borders). For the last eight years, the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights has been prevented access, and compounded by the systematic expulsion of international observers and denial of access for international organizations, the occupation is turning into a military human rights blackhole.

On Western Sahara, UN experts continue to denounce the systematic and calculated nature of violations committed by the Moroccan State, stating that the violations comprise a concentrated effort to intimidate and to deter human rights defenders in Western Sahara from exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association, and to retaliate against human rights defenders for their peaceful and legitimate activities, including membership in human rights organizations, information sharing, as well as dialogue with the UN. Morocco is also regularly included in the report of the UN Secretary General on reprisals (A/HRC/51/47), citing frequent acts of reprisals against activists who cooperate with the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.

“A State attempting to obstruct dialogue with the UN, refusing to implement and follow recommendations from UN bodies and even publicly targeting UN experts, whilst punishing human rights defenders for their participation at the Human Rights Council, cannot be allowed to serve as its president. It will crush the very legitimacy that the Human Rights Council depends on to survive, leaving behind a people that has been placed under its occupation since 1975”, Saharawi civil society urges.

SIGNATURES (as of 4 January 2024)

1. 12october Media Center
2. A.A.P. S. Comarcal Campo De Gibraltar "Solidaridad"
3. Aarasd94
4. Acaps Anoia
5. Afapredesa
6. Afaspa
7. Agencia Valenciana De Salud
8. Al Servicio De La República
9. Algargarat Media
10. Alimentando Sonrisas
11. Amigos por un Sahara Libre
12. Antonio Gil Diaz
13. Apf (Association Pour La Promotion De La Francophonie)
14. Arab Committee For Solidarity With The Sahrawi Arab People
15. Argentine Committee Of Solidarity With The Palestinian People
16. Asaaurui/Associação De Solidariedade À Luta Péla Autodeterminação Do Povo Saraui
17. Asin (Asociación Saharaui En Navarra)
18. Asoc Amigos Y Amigas De La Rasd De Alava
19. Asociación Americana De Juristas
20. Asociación Amigos Del Pueblo Saharaui De Las Islas Baleares
21. Asociación Aulad Sahara Murcia
22. Asociación Canaria De Solidaridad Con El Pueblo Saharaui
23. Asociación Civil Las Azucenas Asociación Chilena de Amistad Con La Rasd
24. Asociación cultural de inmigrantes saharauis “Sáhara-Gasteiz “
25. Asociación De Amistad Con El Pueblo Saharaui De Sevilla
26. Asociación Ecuatoriana De Amistad Con El Pueblo Saharaui (Aeaps)
27. Asociacion Escritores Por El Sahara Bubisher
28. Asociación Internacional De Juristas Por El Sáhara Occidental (Iajuws) Capítulo Ecuador
29. Asociación Juvenil Colectivo Saharaui Lefrig
30. Asociación Sáhara Libre Argentina
31. Asociación Uruguaya De Amistad Con La República Saharaui
32. Asps Lorraine
33. Asps-Association De Solidarité Avec Le Peuple Sahraoui
34. Assocaition De Droit De L'homme Au Sahara Occidental
35. Associação De Amizade Portugal Sahara Ocidental
36. Associacio Catalana D'amics Del Poble Sahrauí De L'anoia
37. Associates International - Translators & Interpreters
38. Asociación Chilena de Amistad con la RASD
39. Association Culture Sahara
40. Asociación de Amistad Venezuela - Argelia
41. Association D’amitié Avec Le Sahara Occidental En Midi Pyrénées
42. Association De Droit De L Homme Au Sahara Occidental
43. Association De La Communauté Sahraouie De Gironde (A.C.S.G.)
44. Association De La Communauté Sahraouie En France
45. Asociación Navarra Amigos Del Sáhara (Anas)
46. Asociación Mexicana de Amistad con la República Árabe Saharaui Democrática A. C.
47. Asociación Panameña Solidaria con la Causa Saharaui, APASOCASA
48. Association Des Sahraouis De France
49. Association Des Sahraouis De La Vandée
50. Association Des Sahraouis De Périgueux
51. Association Des Sahraouis De Toulouse
52. Association For Natural Resources Monitoring And For Environment Protection In Western Sahara (Aren)
53. Association On Ne Peut Pas Applaudir D’une Seule Main
54. Association Pour La Sauvegarde De L’environnement Du Sahara Occidental (Aseso)
55. Association Sahraouie Bjaoui
56. Association Sahraouie Caraso
57. Association Sahraouie Des Victimes De Graves Violations Des Droits De L'homme Commises Par L'état Du Maroc (Asvdh)
58. Association Sahraouie Fils Des Nuages
59. Association Sahraouie La Khayma
60. Asociación Cultural De Inmigrantes Saharauis”Sáhara-Gasteiz”
61. Asociación Colectivo Saharaui En Guipúzcoa
62. Asociación Diáspora Saharaui En Bizkaia Disabi
63. Asociación Sidami Mujtar
64. Asociación Saharauis En Arratia Amal
65. Association Dar Al Atfal Sidi Bernoussi
66. Australia Western Sahara Association
67. Australian Unions For West Sahara
68. Bubisher
69. Ceas Sáhara (Coordinadora Estatal Asociaciones Solidarias)
70. Centre Thomas Sankara Pour La Libération Et L'unité Africaine
71. Centro De Documentación En Derechos Humanos "Segundo Montes Mozo Sj" (Csmm)
72. Colectivo La Mancha
73. Comisión Nacional Saharaui De Derechos Humanos . Conasadh
74. Comité Action Et Réflexion Pour L’avenir Du Sahara Occidental
75. Comité de Amistad con el Pueblo Saharaui
76. Comité De Défense Du Droit À L'autodétermination Du Peuple Du Sahara Occidental (Codapso)
77. Comité Des Mères De 15 - Sahraouis Enlevés Depuis Le 25 Decembre 2005
78. Comité Des Familles Des Portés Disparus Sahraouis (Au Territoire Occupé).
79. Comite Saharaui De Empleados Y Trabajadores Expulsadas Arbitrariamente Por El Estado Marroquí
80. Comité Sahraoui Contre La Torture À Dakhla
81. Comité Sahraoui Du Droits De L'homme Et Pour La Protection Des Ressources Naturelles À Boujdour
82. Comité Sahraouie Pour La Défense De Droit De L’homme Smara Sahara Occidental (Csddhsso)
83. Committee To Support The United Nations Settlement Plan And The Protection Of Natural Resources In Western Sahara
84. Comunidade Saharauí En Galicia
85. Comunidad Saharaui en Aragón (A.C.S.A)
86. Con El Sáhara Siempre
87. Conasadh
88. Cosara
89. Coordinator of Sahrawi women in Spain
90. Dabeekah Dance Troup Asociación Civil
91. Drib L9i3an Association
92. El Mahyub
93. En Común
94. Entre Dunas
95. Equipe Media
96. Escritores Insurgentes Y Defensores De Los Bienes Comunes Y Pueblos Originarios
97. Fafesa (Forum Pour L'avenir De La Femme Sahraouie)
98. Fandas, Federación Andaluza De Asociaciones Solidarias Con El Sahara
99. Fecap-Frente De Escritores Y Creadores Arte Y Palabra-Caracas,Venezuela
100. Federació Acaps (Associacions Catalanes Amigues Del Poble Sahrauí)
101. Federacion Saharaui De Deportes
102. Fédération Sahraouie De Sport
103. Fedesaex- Federación De Asociaciones Amigas Del Pueblo Saharaui De Extremadura
104. Fisahara
105. Francisco Muchut
106. Freedom Socialist Party - Australia And U.S.
107. Freedomsun Defenders
108. Fundación Canaria La Colectiva
109. Fundación Para La Promoción De Los Derechos Humanos Y Justicia De Paz
110. Fundal- Programa Ddhh
111. Fundación Sáhara Libre-Venezuela
112. Generación De La Amistad, Grupo De Escritores Saharaui En El Exilio, (Asoc. Tifisqui)
113. Hamadako Izarrak
114. Hijas De Saguia Y El Río De Oro
115. Hijas Del Sáhara
116. Hijos De Las Nubes
117. Iei ( Internacional De Escritores Insurgentes )
118. Imigrantes Sahrauis En Valencia
119. International Council Supporting Fair Trial & Human Rights
120. International Platform Of Jurists For East Timor
121. International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
122. Intersindical Solidària
123. Izquierda Unida
124. Jaima Sahrawi
125. Juventud Activa Saharaui
126. Komite Popular
127. L'association Sahraouie Pour La Protection Et La Diffusion De La Culture Et Le Patrimoine Sahroui
128. La Internacional De Escritores Mexico.
129. La Jaima De Tiris
130. La Ligue Des Étudiants Et Des Jeunesses Sahraouis En France
131. La Ligue Pour La Protection Des Prisonniers Sahraouis Dans Les Prisons Marocaines (Lpps)
132. La Luciernsga Comunicación
133. Lejse
134. Liga Canaria De Educación Y Solidaridad
135. Liga Canaria De La Educación Y La Interculturalidad
136. Ligua Femmes Sahraoui
137. Ligue Des Femmes Sahraouies En France
138. Ligue Des Jeunes Et Des Etudiants Sahraouis En France
139. Lpese
140. Maizirat Electronic Media Network
141. Maksra (Asociación De Amigos Del Pueblo Saharaui De Segovia)
142. Más Madrid Cercedilla
143. Maspm
144. Mesa De Cultura Poderes Creadores Del Pueblo
145. Milicia Territorial
146. Monadil
147. Movimiento De Unidad Peronista
148. Mujeres De Negro Contra La Guerra.Ishbilya
149. Mundubat Fundazioa
150. Nomadshrc
151. Nova Western Sahara
152. Novact
153. Nushatta Foundation
154. Observatoire Saharaoui Pour L'enfant Et La Femme (Osef)
155. Observatorio Mundo Árabe
156. Organisation Sahraoui Dé Bordeaux
157. Organización De Mujeres De La Confederación Intersindical
158. Partido Comunista De La Argentina
159. Periódico Virginia Bolten
160. Plataforma De Feminismo Popular De Venezuela
161. Plataforma Internacional De Mujeres Por El Sáhara Occidental
162. Podemos Argentina
163. Por La Libertad Del Pueblo Saharaui
164. Red Ecosocial Saharaui
165. Red Migrante De Tenerife
166. Representación Estudiantil Relaciones Internacionales Del Itam
167. Rete Saharawi
168. Sahara Canarias La Concordia
169. Sahara N'est À Vendre
170. Saharauische Diaspora In Deutschland
171. Saharawi Media Center
172. Saharawi Voice
173. Saharawi Youth Vs Occupation (Syvo)
174. Saharawis Today
175. Sahrawi Committee For The Defense Of Human Rights In Western Sahara
176. Saidi Abdol
177. Sandblast
178. Shifa
179. Solidaridad Con Los Pueblos En Lucha
180. Solidarityrising
181. Stanley Group Home Inc. Llc
182. Stec-Ic
183. Stichting Zelfbeschikking West-Sahara
184. The All African People’s Revolutionary Party
185. The Collective Of Human Rights Defenders In Western Sahara (Codesa)
186. The Committee Of Families Of The Gdeim Izik Prisoners
187. The Norwegian Support Committee For Western Sahara
188. The Swedish Western Sahara Committee
189. Uesrio, Students
190. Ugtsario, Trade Union
191. Ujsario
192. Um Draiga
193. Unaccc (Unidad De Naciones En Acción Del Consejo De Cambio Climático)
194. Unms, Women
195. Upes, Journalists And Writers
196. We International Inc
197. Western Sahara Campaign Uk
198. Youth Union Of Sakia El Hamra And Wadi El Dahab Students