ACTION: February is all about action...

Independent human rights monitoring is a key tool in the fight against human rights abuses.

MINURSO, the UN mission in Western Sahara, is the only contemporary peacekeeping mission without a mandate to monitor human rights.

Human rights organisations, including Amnesty international and Human Rights Watch, and the POLISARIO have repeatedly called for human rights monitoring in the region. This has been blocked by the Moroccan authorities.

The renewal of MINURSO’s mandate in April provides a key opportunity to implement this.

Take Action!

1. Write to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon:

• Thanking him for his action in the case of Aminatou Haidar and welcoming his comments on the need for a settlement on the issue.

• Emphasising the human rights abuses against those who peacefully oppose the Moroccan occupation - in particular the case of the 7 prisoners of conscience currently awaiting trial, who may face the death penalty.

• Stating that MINURSO is the only contemporary peacekeeping Mission without a mandate to monitor human rights.

• Calling on him to establish an independent mechanism for human rights monitoring

• Insisting that a referendum which includes the option of independence is implemented without delay.

2. Make sure your country supports human rights monitoring.

Contact your MP, ask them to write to your Foreign Office Minister:

• Explaining the human rights abuses against those who peacefully oppose the Moroccan occupation.

• Stating that MINURSO is the only contemporary peacekeeping Mission without a mandate to monitor human rights and;

• If your country is a member of the UN Security Council: calling on your country to insist on human rights monitoring whether through the extension of MINURSO’s mandate or through another independent monitoring mechanism.

• If your country is not a member of the Security Council: asking that your country makes a public statement calling for human rights monitoring.

Finally...

If you are a UK citizen or resident please sign the Downing Street petition.

Details

The UN Security Council

Permanent members of the UN Security Council are: China, France, Russian Federation, UK and US.

Non-permanent members: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Japan, Lebanon Mexico Nigeria, Turkey and Uganda.

Address for Ban Ki Moon

The Honourable Ban Ki-Moon

Secretary General

760 United Nations Plaza

United Nations

New York, NY 10017

If possible please send any copies of letters and responses to coordinator@wsahara.org.uk

Other Actions

Amnesty International currently has 2 urgent actions on Western Sahara:

• http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/005/2010/en
• http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/004/2010/en

URGENT ACTION: Victim of torture facing trial (Amnesty International)

Amnesty International released an Urgent Action appeal on Friday, January 15th, after having learned that Mr Haddi was due to face trial in Rabat.

Haddi was "disappeared" in late October of 2009 and is believed to be a victim of torture since then. He is now facing trial for a number of offences, including treason and drug-trafficking. Haddi has not have a lawyer or any legal representation and the trial is thought to be unjust, his treatment until then brutal and inhumane. Read more about his story and the charges held against him at http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/013/2009/en and/or take action now.

"PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, French or your own language:

Expressing concern that Ahmed Mahmoud Haddi was subjected to an enforced disappearance from 28 October to 15 November, during which time he is believed to have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated, and urging the Moroccan authorities to ensure  that he is protected from further torture or other ill-treatment, is granted any medical care he may require, and has regular access to his family and legal representation;
Urging the Moroccan authorities to investigate immediately allegations that Ahmed Mahmoud Haddi was tortured or otherwise ill-treated by members of the security forces, and to bring those responsible to justice in compliance to Morocco’s obligations under international law;
Urging them to ensure he receives a fair trial and that statements made under duress are not used as a basis to convict him.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 26 FEBRUARY 2010 TO:
Minister of Justice        
His Excellency Mohamed Naciri
Ministry of Justice
Place Mamounia, Rabat, Morocco
Fax: +212 537 72 37 10
+212 537 73 07 72
+212 537 73 47 25
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Interior       
His Excellency Taib Cherkaoui
Ministry of Interior
Quartier Administratif, Rabat, Morocco
Fax: +212 537762056
Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:
President of the Advisory Board of Human Rights        
Ahmed Herzenni, Place Ach-chouhada,
B.P. 1341, 10000 Rabat, Morocco
Fax: +212 537 726856
Email: ccdh@ccdh.org.ma
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the first update of UA 314/09.

Further information: www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/013/2009."

STATEMENT: Aminatou Haidar writes to Prime Minister Brown

Statement from Aminatou Haidar to Prime Minister Gordon Brown
10th December 2009

Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to you from my bed in the terminal of Lanzarote airport on this the 25th day of my hunger strike in protest at my illegal expulsion from my home in Western Sahara on 14th November.  As I write, my spirit remains strong but I feel my physical strength is fading fast.
 
I would like to ask you and your government and the people of Great Britain for your urgent support. Support not just for me but for all the Saharawi people who, for the past 34 years have been forced to live either under an unlawful and brutal occupation in Western Sahara or in desolate refugee camps in the Algerian desert.
I call on the British government to do all in their power to bring pressure to bear on Morocco to accept a solution to this conflict that conforms with international law, namely:

• to allow the United Nations to hold a referendum on self determination for Western Sahara;
• to immediately desist from the arbitrary arrest, torture and ¨disappearing¨ of human rights defenders in occupied Western Sahara;
• to free without delay the prisoners of conscience held in Moroccan jails, particularly the seven human rights activist who were arrested in Casablanca on 7th October and are awaiting a sentence in Sale / Rabat prison which could include the death penalty;
• to allow me to travel home to my children in Laayoune, Western Sahara in accordance with Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Today, on International Human Rights Day, I hope the Britain together with the rest of the international community will not ignore our plight and will support our just struggle to bring an end to an unlawful occupation that has been allowed to continue for over three decades.

Yours,
Aminatou Haidar

URGENT ACTION: Allow human rights defender to return home (Amnesty International)

"The Moroccan authorities confiscated Sahrawi human rights defender Aminatou Haidar’s passport on 13 November and expelled her from the country the following day, leaving her stranded in Lanzarote Airport, in Spain’s Canary Islands. She has been on hunger strike since 15 November in protest.
Aminatou Haidar, who is 42 and has two children, was detained at Laayoune airport, Western Sahara on 13 November when she returned from a month-long trip, to countries including the USA, where she accepted the 2009 Civil Courage Prize, which is awarded every year "for steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk." She was questioned about why she had given her home as "Western Sahara" rather than "Moroccan Sahara" on her landing card; she was also asked about her travel, as well as her political opinions and affiliations. Her Moroccan passport and identity card were then confiscated and she was detained in the airport overnight. She said that on 14 November officials offered to release her in return for a public acknowledgement of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. She refused to do so, and a few hours later she was put on a flight to Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands.

Aminatou Haidar has been on hunger strike since 15 November in protest. According to her family, she has grown quite weak; her health is at particular risk because she suffers from anaemia and a stomach ulcer. She is refusing to take her regular ulcer medication, as part of her hunger strike. Aminatou Haidar has rejected the possibility of obtaining refugee status in Spain, insisting on her right to return to Western Sahara. Without travel documents, Aminatou Haidar is effectively confined to Lanzarote. Her situation is further complicated by the fact that neither she, nor her family, can access her bank account. A source who has asked to remain anonymous has told her family that a high-ranking security agent instructed the bank to block her account.

Amnesty International believes that Aminatou Haidar’s expulsion and confiscation of her Moroccan identification document and passport are politically motivated and that she is being punished because of her stance on Western Sahara’s self-determination.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, French, English or your own language:
Calling on the authorities to return Aminatou Haidar’s passport and identity card, and allow her to return to Western Sahara immediately and unconditionally;
Urging them to ensure that Aminatou Haidar’s access to her bank account is not blocked by the security forces.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 15 JANUARY 2010 TO:
King
Mohammed VI
Bureau de Sa Majesté le Roi
Palais Royal
Rabat, Maroc / Morocco        
Fax: +212 537 73 07 72
Salutation: Your Majesty

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Taieb El Fassi Fihri
Ministre des Affaires Etrangères et de la Coopération
Avenue Franklin Roosevelt
Rabat, Maroc / Morocco        
Fax: +212 537 76 46 79
Email: mail@maec.gov.ma
Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:
President
Ahmed Herzenni
Human Rights Advisory Board        
Place Ach-Chouhada
Boîte Postale 1341
Rabat 10000, Maroc / Morocco        
Fax: +212 537 72 68 56
Email: ccdh@ccdh.org.ma
Salutation: Dear Mr Herzenni
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Additional Information

For many years, Aminatou Haidar, President of the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (Collectif des défenseurs sahraouis des droits de l’Homme, CODESA), has played a leading role in a number of campaigns organized for the release of Sahrawi prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, and in raising local and international awareness of human rights violations in Western Sahara. On 20 October she accepted the Civil Courage Prize, which includes an award of US$50,000, from the Train Foundation in New York City. In a telephone interview with Amnesty International on 3 December, Aminatou Haidar said: "I am determined to continue my struggle to defend human rights peacefully… This generation and children [in Western Sahara] witness with their own eyes the police oppression… Just imagine, many children, instead of drawing toys, they draw a policeman with a gun and a stick beating people... I am scared that they will become violent and incite violence."

A mother of two, Aminatou Haidar was secretly detained, without charge or trial, from 1987 to 1991. In 2005, she was sentenced to seven months in prison after an unfair trial, on charges arising from her alleged involvement in protests in Western Sahara. Before her arrest, she required hospital treatment for injuries she sustained when she was apparently assaulted by the security forces while she was on her way to join a demonstration in Laayoune.

The Moroccan authorities have little toleration for people who speak out in favour of self-determination for Western Sahara, which was Spanish territory until Morocco annexed it in 1975. They appear to be adopting an increasingly repressive approach to the activities of Sahrawi human rights defenders, in breach of their obligations under international human rights treaties, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and contrary to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

Western Sahara is the subject of a territorial dispute between Morocco, which claims sovereignty, and the Polisario Front, which calls for an independent state in the territory and has set up a self-proclaimed government-in-exile in refugee camps in south-western Algeria."

(Content provided by Amnesty International through action mailing list on 04/12/09)

ACTION: Ken Loach and Paul Laverty on Aminatou Haidar and Rosa Park

Ken Loach and Paul Laverty have long supported the peaceful Saharawi resistance to their Moroccan occupiers. They released the following statement on December 1, 2009 to the UK campaigners for Saharawi self-determination, namely the Western Sahara Campaign, the Free Western Sahara Network and Sandblast.

Statement concerning Saharawi human rights activists Aminatou Haidar (Dec 1, 2009) 

Haidar's boarding card and Rosa Parks' seat

On December 1, 1955 in Montgommery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to obey a bus driver and give up her seat to a white passenger. On Friday, November 13, 2009, Aminatou Haidar refused to fill out her boarding card as instructed by the authorities in Laayoun (where she lives) in Morocco controlled Western Sahara.

Now, with growing horror, we watch the plight of Aminatou Haidar, mother of two small children, continue her hunger strike in Lanzarote Airport. Haidar, a life-long human rights activists for the Saharawi people, was thrown out of Morocco controlled Western Sahara by the authorities because she filled out her boarding card, (on her return from picking up a human rights award in the UK), with the words "Western Sahara" instead of Morocco. The Moroccan authorities said she had thereby waived her Moroccan citizenship, confiscated her passport, and then dumped her on a flight without any papers to Lanzarote against her willl, all of which breaks Article 12 of the International Convenant of Civil and Political Rights, which states "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country".

At the heart of this dispute is Morocco's refusal to allow the Saharawi people the right to a referendum on self-determination following Spain giving up its colony in 1975. The United Nations and the international community, do not recognise de jure Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, but at the same time they keep silent while hundreds of thousands of Saharawis still languish in desert refugee camps for now over 34 years. In recent weeks Moroccan oppression against human rights activists has increased following King Mohammed VI vulgar George Bush-like speech when he said "...either a person is a Moroccan or is not... On is either patriot or a traitor. There is no half-way house...". Haidar and her arrested colleagues inside Morocco controlled Western Sahara are supporters of a non-violent solution to this long-standing problem. It is about time the International Community and especially Spain, whose silence over the year has been shameful, put pressure on Morocco to allow a fair and free democratic referendum, or once against must we see how mineral rights (massive phosphate deposits( and economic interests take precedence over human rights. It is perhaps wishful thinking to imagine that Haidar's boarding card could be equivalent to Rosa Parks not giving up her seat. But we live in hope and send our solidarity to this remarkable woman who, despite being "disappeared" for 4 years and tortured by the MOroccan authorities still has the courage to resist. But what a tragedy it would be for non-violent resistance, and to the possibility of a peaceful solution, if she is left to die.

We urge the Spanish government ot ensure the safe return of Aminatou to her homeland immediately.

Paul Laverty and Ken Loach.

It's not easy being green? Try being a human rights activist

Activist of all kinds of convictions have made the headline this year. Most prominently in the UK, we remember the G20 protests early 2009 that saw British police officers literally lashing out to protesters causing one death and countless injuries. Only limited and highly censored news of the arrest and abuse of human rights activists at the Beijing Olympics reached us in the summer of 2008. 


No news at all reaches us (unless we look carefully enough), about human rights activists that campaign in support of the Saharawi refugees. While the Moroccan UN ambassador tours the world and proposes... well... "visions", those aiming to effect change or "merely" want to observe, investigate, and understand what is going on "behind closed doors" are hindered to do just that. Hindered with violence, hindered with arrest. ASVDH reports:

Morocco arrests 6 Western Saharan human rights activists at Casablanca airport
08/10/2009 | INFORMATION-UPDATE

ASVDH has received a telephone call from its President, Mr. Brahim Dahanne, confirming that he was on board a plane and had just landed, along with six Sahrawi human rights defenders, at the Casblanca Airport. They had returned from a visit to the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria, lasting from 23 September and 8 October.

The other activists on the flight were:
Ali Salem Tamek (vice president of the CODESA)
Degja Lechgar (ex-disappeared, member of ASVDH and CODAPSO)
Hammadi Naciri (vice president of the CSPDH (Smara))
Rachid Saghair (member of the Committe Against Torture, Dakhla)
Saleh Lebaihi (president of Forum to Protect Children)
Yahdih Ettarouzi (human rights activist)

At 13h37 (GMT) we called him again and he told us that there were a few police cars near the plane and they will be arrested. Since that time we have lost contact with him. (Source: ASVDH)