On 26th May 2019, Moroccan police forces arrested 14-year-old Saharawi Ambarak Mohamed Bani near Morabitine School on Smara street in occupied el Aaiun, according to the boy's family. They took him to the police station where Ambarak was tortured, causing injuries and bruises, and threatened with more violence. Photos and...
For the attention of: Sir Adrian White, Chief Executive and Chairman, BiwaterBiwater House Station Approach Dorking RH4 1TZ London, 14 May 2019 Re: Biwater’s presence in Western Sahara Dear Sir Adrian, I am writing on behalf of Adala UK, a British NGO focused on documenting human rights violations in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, with regard to Biwater’s activities there. We became aware of...
As outlined in a number of laws and international rules, once a person is detained it becomes the responsibility of the authorities to protect the prisoner's health. The Moroccan authorities must immediately and without condition transfer the political prisoner Mohamed Tahlil to hospital given that his health has deteriorated. The...
The 8th March is celebrated around the world as International Women’s Day, recognising the important role women play in the development of our societies. The Saharawi woman celebrates this day under the constant threat of attacks on her physical integrity, insults, sexual assault, kidnap, ridicule, beatings and other forms of humiliation,...
The 1951 Refugee Convention, signed and ratified by Spain in 1978, sets forward the right to seek international protection. The right to seek asylum is similarly stipulated in the Declaration of Human Rights Article 14, stating that "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum...
Mbarek Daoudi, a well-known Saharawi human rights defender, was arrested, tortured and imprisoned in September 2013. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded in Opinion No. 60/2018 that the arrest and detention of Mbarek Daoudi was arbitrary, breaching Articles 9, 14, 19 and 26 of the ICCPR, and Articles...
Brussels – The President of British NGO Adala UK, Sidi Fadel, concluded a visit to Belgium last week where he met with MEPs from across the political spectrum. During these meetings he discussed the ruling of the ECJ that invalidated the trade agreement between Morocco and the EU, stating it...
The creation of a siege, a wave of arrests, police violence, demonstrations and a media blockade. The UN Special Envoy, Horst Khöler, recently visited the region of Western Sahara in order to gain a deeper understanding of the conflict. The Special Envoy, following a visit to the Saharawi Refugee camps...
Through a new wave of arbitrary arrests and detentions, the Moroccan authorities continue their attack on the network of Saharawi journalists, aimed at preventing and intimidating journalists from doing their work: to document and report on human rights violations committed by the Moroccan authorities in the occupied territories of Western...
Nearly 200 people, among them Saharawis and those in solidarity with the Saharawi cause,demonstrated in front of the United Nations offices in Geneva (Switzerland) on Friday 16th March to protest against the blockade in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara and denounce the human rights violations committed against Saharawis. The...