CODAPSO Condemns the Destruction of Sahrawi Properties by Moroccan Authorities
The Committee for the Defense of the Right to Self-Determination of the Sahrawi People (CODAPSO) strongly condemned on Tuesday the demolition and destruction of Sahrawi properties by Moroccan occupation authorities in the occupied city of Laâyoune and its outskirts.
In a statement, CODAPSO highlighted that Moroccan occupation authorities have recently intensified demolition operations targeting the homes of numerous Sahrawi citizens, as well as buildings housing their livestock and poultry, which serve as vital sources of livelihood for some families.
These demolitions have impacted neighborhoods such as “Laburkou,” “Diridik,” “Dar Al Salam Street,” and the “new Ruhaiba market.” Additionally, shacks along the seashore were set ablaze and demolished by occupation forces.
Describing these actions as “terrorist acts,” CODAPSO noted that these operations, initiated last February, are ongoing.
The “Freedomsun” organization, which protects Sahrawi human rights defenders, has previously gathered numerous testimonies from victims and eyewitnesses of these demolitions. The organization denounced what it called a “systematic practice” aimed at “intimidating the Sahrawi population.”
Freedomsun asserted that the methods employed by the occupation authorities represent “a systematic practice by these occupying forces,” used in other occupied regions like Smara, Oued Es-Saguiya, and Sidi Ahmed Laaroussi, aiming to “restrict and stifle the Sahrawis and force them to accept the policy of colonization and coexistence with Moroccan settlers.”
It also emphasized that these practices constitute a “grave violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention,” which stipulates that “no protected person may be punished for an offense they have not personally committed.” Collective punishments, intimidation, terrorism, and reprisals against protected individuals and their property are all prohibited.
According to Freedomsun, this policy of home destruction is part of a broader context of severe violations and organized practices, such as targeting Sahrawi protesters, banning their gatherings, suspending their salaries, and restricting their freedom of movement—all of which constitute “violations of human rights and international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
Despite the clarity of these violations, the international community has remained passive in addressing human rights abuses in occupied Western Sahara and has not sought to protect civilians in accordance with its legal obligations under Articles 1 to 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the organization lamented.
Moreover, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his latest report covering July 2023 to June 2024, expressed regret over the lack of data on the human rights situation in the occupied Sahrawi territories, recalling Morocco’s refusal to grant access to representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“The lack of firsthand information and the absence of independent, impartial, comprehensive, and regular monitoring of the human rights situation have hindered a thorough assessment of the human rights situation in the region,” he stated.
