Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1992
WESTERN SAHARA
The sovereignty of the Western Sahara remains the subject of diplomatic and
military dispute. Morocco assumed administration of the northern three provinces
of the Western Sahara after the withdrawal of Spanish forces in 1975 and of the
southernmost province of Oued ed Dahab in 1979 when Mauritania renounced its
claim to the area. Aft«r unifying the territory, Morocco undertook a massive
infrastructural and economic development program that resulted in substantial
growth in the region's cities.
Since 1973 the Polisario Front, with support from Algeria, has sought independence
for the Western Sahara by challenging first Spain s and later Morocco's claim
to the territory. Moroccan and Polisario forces have continued to fight intermittently
since 1975. Several military actions occurred in the weeks leading up to the U.N.-
monitored cease-fire that began on September 6, 1991, but no fighting has occurred
since then.
At the request of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the International
Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion in 1975. The Court held that
the ties of Morocco and Mauritania to the Western Sahara did not establish a relationship
of sovereignty, nor did they affect the decolonization process set out in the
UNGA resolutions, including application of the principle of self-determination
throiigh the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the Territory.
The Organization of African Unity (OAU) attempted without success to mediate a
solution. In 1981 Morocco agreed to hold a referendum to determine the population's
wishes regarding independence or integration with Morocco. Attempts to resolve the
Question of sovereignty through mediation or referendum collapsed in 1984 when
tne Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), the civilian arm of the Polisario,
was seated at the OAU sununit and Morocco withdrew from the OAU in protest.
In 1986 Morocco agreed to revive efforts to reach a solution and asked the United
Nations to administer a referendum; the same year U.N. Secretary General Perez
de Cuellar began efforts to arrange it. In November and December 1987^ a U.N.
technical team visited the territory to explore the practical arrangements for a referendum.
On August 30, 1988, Morocco and the SADR accepted in principle the Sec1067
retary General's proposal for a referendum under U.N. and OAU auspices, and the
Secretary General named a special representative to work out the detads.
In April 1991 the Secretary General presented a plan for a referendum in the
Western Sahara in whidi the Sahrawis (Western Sahara natives) would decide between
integration with Morocco and independence. The plan, approved by the Security
Councu in May 1991, called for a cease-fire established under the supervision
of a U.N. Monitoring Force (MINURSO), to be followed within 20 weeks by a referendum
vote. This was to be accompanied by the voluntary repatriation to Western
Sahara of the Sahrawi refugees in Algeria under the auspices of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Remgees (UNHCR). The 1974 Spanish census of the region
was to serve as the basis for the voting list. Morocco challenged the accuracy and
completeness of the list and presented to the U.N. a supplemental list containing
in excess of 120,000 names.
On September 6, 1991, the cease-fire went into effect and the initial MINURSO
forces were deployed. Siinilarly, the UNHCR mobilized an international team to implement
the repatriation of Sahrawi refugees. Although the referendum was originally
scheduled to take place in late January 1992, the Secretary General announced
in December 1991 that the resolution of the contentious voter identification
issue would delay the referendum for at least several months. Before he left office
in late December, the Secretary General presented to the U.N. Security Council a
report containing proposed criteria for resolving the voter identification issue. On
December 31, 1991, the Security Council passed a resolution "welcoming" the report,
but the Polisario rejected the Secretary General's proposed criteria for eligibility of
voters.
On March 3 UJ4. Secretary General Boutros-Ghali issued a report to the Security
Council outlining unresolved problems in the dispute. On Marcn 24 Boutros-Ghali
named a new special representative for the Western Sahara, Sahabzada Yaqub-
Khan, who undertook to resolve remaining disagreements between the two sides.
The Secretary General issued further status reports to the Security Council in May,
Aiigust, and September.
The Polisario accused Morocco of undermining the U.N. peace process by: (a) dispatching
over 100,000 people from Morocco to the Western Sahara; (b) including the
Western Sahara in a constitutional referendum and in local and legislative elections;
and (c) violating the cease-fire. The Secretary Greneral's report of August 22
noted that it would have been preferable for Morocco to postpone its plans lor elections
and a plebiscite. At his request, Morocco gave formal assurances to the United
Nations that the voting would not prejudice the final status of the Western Sahara.
The Secretary Generafs reports noted a substantial decline in cease-fire violations,
but attributed almost all oi the violations to Morocco.
Since 1977 the northern provinces of Laayoune, Smara, and Bouidour have participated
in Moroccan elections. The southernmost province of Oued ed Dfihab also
participated in the 1983 and 1984 Moroccan elections. In the Moroccan Parliament
that left office in July, Sahrawis filled all 10 of the seats allotted to the Western
Sfihara. Three of the four governors of the region, who are appointed by the King
of Morocco, are Sahrawis.
When it became apparent in May that a referendum would not be held before September,
King Hassan chose to proceed with national elections, including in the
Western Sahara. The region participated in the September referendum to amend
the Moroccan Constitution, and the Moroccan Government reported that 99.99 percent
of registered voters in the provinces turned out for the referendum, with over
99 percent approving the changes. The region also participated in October 16 municipal
elections.
The civilian population in the approximately 85 percent of the Western Sahara
under Moroccan control is subject to Moroccan law. U.N. observers and foreign
human rights groups have reported that Sahrawis often have more difficulty obtaining
passports, that their political views are more closely monitored than those of
residents of Morocco proper, and that police and paramilitary authorities react
harshly against those suspected of supporting the Polisario. There were credible reports
in February of widescede arrests of Sanrawi youths, especially in Laayoune.
Several hundred youths were said to have been held incommunicado for varying
lengths of time. The Moroccan Government formally denied those charges, countering
with reports of Polisario human rights abuses. TTie Polisario also accused Moroccan
authorities of mistreating some participants in demonstrations in Laayoune and
elsewhere in the Western Sahara in October and November 1992, but the Moroccans
denied these accusations. A number of Sahrawis who returned to Morocco from
Polisario camps near Tindouf stated that the Polisario tortured and mistreated
Sahrawis of Western Saharan origin residing in the camps. For its part, the
Polisario claims that the Moroccans tortured suspected Polisario supporters. Given
the difficulty of access, neither the Moroccan nor the Polisario allegations can be
confirmed or refuted.
In June 1991 King Hassan II of Morocco granted a general amnesty to an unspecified
number of Sahrawi prisoners arrested during military operations or because
of their alleged cooperation with the Polisario. Many of those released included
Sahrawis who "disappeared" in the 1970's and 1980's and whom the Moroccan Government
had previously denied holding. Despite this release of about 300 prisoners,
the PoUsario and foreign human rights groups continued to claim that Morocco was
holding in excess of 800 Sahrawis as political prisoners. The Government responded
informally to the charge by claLxdng that the 800 names consisted of people who
were dead, released former prisoners, and persons who were never detained and
who reside in Moroccan-controlled territory. The Royal Consultative Council on
Human Rights (CCDH) asked the Moroccan Government to verify the release of all
Sahrawi prisoners. The Government provided the CCDH with a list of the released
prisoners names but did not tell the CCDH which government agency was responsible
for making the list. The Government formally denied that any more Sahrawis
were in Moroccan detention. Given the reports of arbitrary arrests during the year
and the Government's history of denying such charges even when true, the accuracy
of the Government's statements was questionable.
The UNHCR, using figures provided by the Government of Algeria, estimates that
approximately 165,000 refugees reside in camps near Tindouf, Algeria. Recently returned
Sahrawis in Morocco and members of MINURSO estimate, however, that no
more than 80,000 refugees inhabit the camps. They believe that 40,000 to 50,000
of those are Sahrawis, with the remainder coming from other countries in the region.
The Government of Morocco alleges that the Sahrawis are held in the Tindouf
camps against their wUl, but the Polisario denies these allegations.
Freedom of movement within the Western Sahara is limited in militarily sensitive
areas. While technically unrestricted elsewhere, travelers inside and outside the
cities are reportedly subjected to arbitrary questioning, detention, and even abuse
by the Moroccan security forces.
The same labor laws that apply in Morocco apply in the Moroccan-controlled areas
of the Western Sahara, and enforcement is equivalent to that in Morocco proper.
Within the Western Sahara there is little organized labor activity. Since salaries in
both the private and public sectors are significantly higher than those in Morocco,
wage demands are not an issue.
Outside the territory controlled by Morocco, the Polisario established a labor wing
called the Sario Federation of Labor (UGTSARIO), which in the past reportedly enjoyed
close relations with a few Arab and African national labor centers. The
UGTSARIO does not engage in customary trade union activities in the Polisario-controUed
areas.
