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| Kerry Kennedy: Morocco has pressured UN to ignore Western Sahara | Kerry Kennedy: Morocco has pressured UN to ignore Western Sahara |
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| Mohamed Lamine Haidala was 21 years old when he died from wounds that his family say were inflicted by five Moroccan men. | Mohamed Lamine Haidala was 21 years old when he died from wounds that his family say were inflicted by five Moroccan men. |
| An ethnic Saharwi, Haidala was attacked, beaten, and stabbed in the neck in El Aaiun, Western Sahara on 31 January. His family insist he was yet another victim in a territory where the native Sahrawis are constantly subjected to abuses by Moroccan authorities or by Moroccan settlers who enjoy an environment of near-total impunity. | An ethnic Saharwi, Haidala was attacked, beaten, and stabbed in the neck in El Aaiun, Western Sahara on 31 January. His family insist he was yet another victim in a territory where the native Sahrawis are constantly subjected to abuses by Moroccan authorities or by Moroccan settlers who enjoy an environment of near-total impunity. |
| Related: Leaked cables: Morocco lobbied UN to turn blind eye to Western Sahara in 'House of Cards' operation | Related: Leaked cables: Morocco lobbied UN to turn blind eye to Western Sahara in 'House of Cards' operation |
| Haidala did not die immediately. His family believe his death was the result of incompetent hospital care which saw him receive stitches without anaesthetic. His treatment was regularly interrupted by trips to a police station. | Haidala did not die immediately. His family believe his death was the result of incompetent hospital care which saw him receive stitches without anaesthetic. His treatment was regularly interrupted by trips to a police station. |
| He died on 8 February, from complications resulting from his wounds. Against the family’s protests, Moroccan police immediately confiscated the body and buried it in an unknown location. | He died on 8 February, from complications resulting from his wounds. Against the family’s protests, Moroccan police immediately confiscated the body and buried it in an unknown location. |
| Stories like Haidala’s are all too common in Western Sahara, where there are large-scale human rights violations on a daily basis. Reports by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Amnesty International, and other non-governmental organisations have demonstrated that abuses like the one that ended Haidala’s life are disturbingly commonplace. | Stories like Haidala’s are all too common in Western Sahara, where there are large-scale human rights violations on a daily basis. Reports by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Amnesty International, and other non-governmental organisations have demonstrated that abuses like the one that ended Haidala’s life are disturbingly commonplace. |
| Moroccan security forces sometimes use violent force to disrupt peaceful protests by Sahrawi people. When I visited the territory in 2011, I witnessed police and uniformed security forces beat a woman to the point of hospitalisation. When we took photos of her bruised face and showed that information to a representative of the minister of interior, El Arbi Mrabet, who was in charge of justice for the region, we were told that photographs can be faked and that the woman had simply fallen down. | |
| Part of the reason for this complete impunity is that there is no credible third party on the ground doing anything about the human rights abuses taking place there on a regular basis. The mandate for UN’s peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, known as Minurso, does not include human rights monitoring. This is despite vocal calls from the Sahrawi people for international observation. | Part of the reason for this complete impunity is that there is no credible third party on the ground doing anything about the human rights abuses taking place there on a regular basis. The mandate for UN’s peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, known as Minurso, does not include human rights monitoring. This is despite vocal calls from the Sahrawi people for international observation. |
| In a letter to the UN presented before the latest security council vote on Minurso’s mandate, Sahrawi civil society organisations pleaded that “the time has come for the security council to take its moral and legal responsibility towards the Saharawi people,” adding “it was unacceptable for the UNSC to fail to veto in favour of human rights component over the past years.” | In a letter to the UN presented before the latest security council vote on Minurso’s mandate, Sahrawi civil society organisations pleaded that “the time has come for the security council to take its moral and legal responsibility towards the Saharawi people,” adding “it was unacceptable for the UNSC to fail to veto in favour of human rights component over the past years.” |
| Given Morocco’s longstanding brutality in its occupation of Western Sahara, it should come as no surprise that Moroccan authorities have intensely lobbied the UN security council to block any attempt to include a human rights component to Minurso. | Given Morocco’s longstanding brutality in its occupation of Western Sahara, it should come as no surprise that Moroccan authorities have intensely lobbied the UN security council to block any attempt to include a human rights component to Minurso. |
| A recent article that appeared in this paper meticulously laid out, through analysis of leaked Moroccan diplomatic cables, the many ways Morocco has coerced, bribed, and co-opted the international community to prevent any scrutiny on its treatment of people in Western Sahara. | A recent article that appeared in this paper meticulously laid out, through analysis of leaked Moroccan diplomatic cables, the many ways Morocco has coerced, bribed, and co-opted the international community to prevent any scrutiny on its treatment of people in Western Sahara. |
| Related: Justice in Pakistan: "The government is hanging people left, right and centre" | Related: Justice in Pakistan: "The government is hanging people left, right and centre" |
| The UN announced recently that the secretary general would be travelling to the region later this year in an apparent attempt to restart the long-stalled negotiations over a final political resolution for Western Sahara. During his visit the secretary general must put the issue of Morocco’s abuses in the territory front and centre. | The UN announced recently that the secretary general would be travelling to the region later this year in an apparent attempt to restart the long-stalled negotiations over a final political resolution for Western Sahara. During his visit the secretary general must put the issue of Morocco’s abuses in the territory front and centre. |
| In the meantime, after numerous unsuccessful attempts to get the Moroccan authorities to investigate the case, Haildala’s mother began a hunger strike on 15 May. She’s calling for the body of her son to be returned, for the case to be properly investigated and for the attackers to be arrested. | In the meantime, after numerous unsuccessful attempts to get the Moroccan authorities to investigate the case, Haildala’s mother began a hunger strike on 15 May. She’s calling for the body of her son to be returned, for the case to be properly investigated and for the attackers to be arrested. |
| After intense pressure, Morocco has arrested two of the individuals allegedly responsible for the attack, but it remains to be seen what justice they may receive. So far, Morocco shows no sign that they will return the body, perfectly content to let the mother of a murdered child starve herself to death. | After intense pressure, Morocco has arrested two of the individuals allegedly responsible for the attack, but it remains to be seen what justice they may receive. So far, Morocco shows no sign that they will return the body, perfectly content to let the mother of a murdered child starve herself to death. |
| Kerry Kennedy is the president of Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. Follow @KerryKennedyRFK on Twitter. | Kerry Kennedy is the president of Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. Follow @KerryKennedyRFK on Twitter. |
| Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow@GuardianGDP on Twitter. | Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow@GuardianGDP on Twitter. |