Geneva, 12 September 2024 (SPS)  – The Geneva Support Group for Western Sahara reiterated its concern over Morocco’s systemic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, condemning the «silence» of the Human Rights Council.

In a statement made during the general debate on the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, held as part of the 57th session of the Human Rights Council which began on Monday in Geneva, the Group, represented by Namibia, emphasized the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination and independence, as well as their full sovereignty over their natural resources, which have thus far been plundered by the Moroccan occupier.

The Group also called on all states to «respect and defend the internationally recognized status of the territory,» urging them to «refrain from engaging in any actions that could hinder the political process and the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination.»

Additionally, the Group denounced the «inertia» of the Council in response to Morocco’s refusal to allow the High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct a technical visit to the occupied territories of Western Sahara, the last of which took place in 2015.

In another statement, made by the permanent representative of Timor-Leste to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Maria Lourdes Bessa, on behalf of a transregional group of states, called on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to dispatch a technical mission to Western Sahara and submit a report to the Council on the human rights situation in these territories.

The respective delegations of Algeria, South Africa, and Uganda also expressed their «deep concerns» regarding the human rights situation in the Sahrawi territories, calling on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities toward this oppressed people.