Adala UK today calls on the international community to take immediate and effective action to end the use of torture in Western Sahara and to ensure justice and reparations for its victims. The appeal comes on 26 June, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, a day that marks the entry into force of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) in 1987. This convention is a critical pillar of international human rights law and confirms that torture is absolutely prohibited under all circumstances—with no exception.

Despite being a party to this convention, the Moroccan occupation authorities persistently violate their obligations by using torture and cruel treatment against Sahrawi civilians, human rights defenders, students, journalists, and political prisoners in occupied Western Sahara. Torture continues to be used as a method of silencing dissent, punishing resistance, and repressing legitimate demands for self-determination.

Over the past years, numerous international mechanisms, Sahrawi organisations, and independent experts have reported on serious human rights violations committed by Moroccan forces in the territory. These include:

• Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances
• Severe beatings with clubs, wires, and plastic pipes
• Prolonged blindfolding and solitary confinement
• Suspension by limbs in painful stress positions
• Electric shocks and exposure to extreme temperatures
• Sexual violence and threats of rape
• Deprivation of food, sleep, and medical care
• Psychological abuse, intimidation, and threats to family members

Torture often occurs during the initial days of incommunicado detention in secret locations. Detainees are routinely denied access to lawyers or independent doctors. Confessions obtained under duress are still used in Moroccan courts, in blatant violation of international standards.

Despite repeated recommendations by UN human rights bodies, no meaningful accountability exists. Victims face retaliation for reporting abuses. Perpetrators are protected or promoted, and families of detainees are harassed or silenced. In short, a climate of fear and impunity prevails.

The United Nations has appointed Special Rapporteurs on torture and arbitrary detention to investigate these patterns. However, Morocco has consistently blocked access to the occupied territory and has failed to cooperate with many special procedures, undermining international efforts to document abuses and offer protection to victims.

Year after year, Adala UK has documented and reported cases of torture in Western Sahara. Despite mounting evidence, the response from the international community has remained inadequate and inconsistent. This inaction emboldens the perpetrators and betrays the survivors.

The global commitment to the absolute prohibition of torture must be upheld. There can be no justification—political, security-related, religious, or cultural—for torture. As affirmed in international law, including the Convention Against Torture and customary international norms, the prohibition of torture is non-derogable. States must never tolerate practices that inflict pain and suffering or allow such crimes to go unpunished.

Adala UK therefore calls on:

1. The Moroccan Government to:

• Immediately cease the use of torture and all forms of ill-treatment
• Allow access to all places of detention for independent monitors
• Ensure all allegations of torture are promptly and impartially investigated
• Prosecute those responsible at all levels of command
• Provide effective remedies, including compensation and rehabilitation for victims

2. The United Nations and international actors to:

• Establish an independent human rights monitoring mechanism in Western Sahara
• Ensure that MINURSO includes a human rights mandate
• Support visits by UN Special Rapporteurs and allow access to detention centres
• Demand Morocco’s full compliance with the UN Convention Against Torture and the Optional Protocol

3. States such as the UK, EU members, and democratic governments to:

• Publicly condemn the use of torture in Western Sahara
• End all forms of support to Moroccan institutions implicated in torture
• Uphold non-refoulement by protecting Sahrawi asylum seekers from forced return
• Support Sahrawi civil society organisations and victims seeking justice

At the national and international levels, all governments must take their obligations seriously. Those who have signed or ratified the Convention Against Torture must fully implement it in law and practice. They must:

• Amend or repeal domestic laws that enable impunity
• Investigate, prosecute, or extradite torturers
• Prevent the transfer of individuals to places where they risk being tortured
• Support national and international mechanisms for visiting places of detention
• Contribute generously to rehabilitation programmes and support funds for victims

Torturers and those who shield them must be held accountable—whether they are the direct perpetrators, their commanders, or state institutions. Victims must not be abandoned. They have the right to truth, justice, and reparation.

On this International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Adala UK stands with all survivors in Western Sahara and across the world. We remain committed to documenting violations, supporting victims, and pressuring governments and international institutions to fulfil their legal and moral obligations to end torture, once and for all.

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Public Document – Adala UK
Promoting Justice, Accountability, and Human Rights for Western Sahara

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