Authors: Hanga Sántha Swedish Section of the International Commission of Jurists; Ylva Lennartsson Hartmann Swedish Section of the International Commission of Jurists; Mark Klamberg Stockholm University – Faculty of Law
May 24, 2010

The authors of this report argue that the violations against the Saharawis by Morocco may constitute crimes against humanity. Moreover they suggest that the international community should act as soon as possible to end Moroccan impunity and to make greater efforts for a just and lasting solution of the question of Western Sahara.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1614745

The Lancet,  Volume 375, Issue 9732, Pages 2135 – 2136, 19 June 2010

Stefan Simonowitz (Free Sahara Network) reports on health care in the Saharawi refugee camps in south west Algeria

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The Sydney Centre for International Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney organised on 9 June 2010 an important public Seminar. The Seminar was fully booked. It was well attended by students, academics and the public in general.
The seminar explored the unfinished business of decolonisation, by considering the legal, political and historical aspects of two territories which raise questions about the international right to self-determination and the enduring legacies of colonialism and occupation.

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Freedom House’s annual “Worst of the Worst” report still includes Western Sahara. Consult the original document via this link, and browse to page 24.

“The appeals court in Sale has accepted the bail demand of three of these six activists, after it was rejected last Thursday by the military court,” Mohammed Sebbar said.
All six men were arrested in the coastal town of Casablanca after their trip to Tindouf, which is the headquarters of the Polisario Front movement that wants independence of the Western Sahara from Morocco.
The military tribunal in Rabat accused the six of “treason and intelligence with the enemy”, but none of them have yet been tried.

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Statement, 27 April 2010 :
After Forty-one days the six Sahrawi prisoners of conscience in Sale, Morocco ended their hunger strike.
We want to announce to the public that we have decided to suspend our open hunger strike on the evening of Tuesday, April 27th, 2010, after we have received pledges from the Moroccan authorities following many dialogues and meetings during the last two weeks of the strike regarding our case.

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Australia Western Sahara Association
PRESS RELEASE –FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Tuesday 27 April 2010

* Prominent Western Saharan hunger strikers edge closer to death

* UN Boss Ban Ki-Moon voices strong concern over human rights in the territory

As discussions on the role of the UN in Western Sahara intensify early this week, Security Council member states are coming under increased pressure to ensure international monitoring of human rights in Western Sahara – the only country in Africa still awaiting the completion of its process of decolonisation.
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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern today about alleged violations of human rights in the Western Sahara conflict after vowed to continue to promote the rights of Sahrawis after meeting with the head of the Frente Polisario, one of the parties to the dispute.
Mr. Ban held discussions with Mohamed Abdelaziz, Secretary-General of the Frente Polisario, in New York and thanked the group for its active participation in the most recent round of informal UN-backed talks aimed at ending the conflict.

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