During the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the International Fellowship of Reconciliation took the floor in the plenary of the Council to address the issue of the violations of fundamental rights in Western Sahara.
In particular, IFOR referred to the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara and to the military occupation by the Kingdom of Morocco and consequent lasting violation of human rights in the region.
Mr. President,
With reference to the report on the Conclusions and Recommendations of the Special Procedures (A/HRC/49/26), IFOR would like to highlight the importance of the seven themes that have been recurring in the reports presented by the Special Procedures during the year 2021.
Among these, we pay particular attention to the Prevention of human rights violations, security and peace building, as well as to new technologies in the context of the illegal military occupation of the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara by the Kingdom of Morocco.
There can be no peace in Western Sahara without respect for the fundamental rights of peoples, starting with the right to self-determination, enshrined in General Assembly resolution 1514 on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples and reaffirmed by the International Court of Justice in its 1975 Advisory Opinion.
IFOR calls on the Council to implement without delay operational paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 76/152 and to pay particular attention to the violation of the right to self-determination resulting from the aggression and military occupation of Western Sahara by the Kingdom of Morocco.
