UN Documents on Human Rights in Southern Provinces ‘Reflect Our Management of Regional Dispute over Moroccan Sahara’ – Official –

The Ministerial Delegate in charge of Human Rights, Ahmed Chaouki Benyoub, said on Wednesday in Rabat that the UN documents on human rights in the southern regions “reflect our management of the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara within the framework of the United Nations”. Benyoub, who was the guest of MAP forum, said that when researchers, academics and political experts intend to interact with the issue of human rights in the southern provinces, they refer to three main sources, namely the reports of the UN Secretary General, the resolutions of the Security Council and the Moroccan correspondences addressed to the UN. The ministerial delegate in charge of human rights, who presented, on this occasion, the basic report on human rights in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, stressed that these documents are available in the special offices of the United Nations, but their circulation and use remain limited, stressing that those who “engage in anti-Moroccan campaigns in the field of human rights” avoid using these documents because the mere fact of referring to them would undermine their theses. The section “Human Rights in the Southern Provinces through UN Documents” of this report indicates that the reports of the UN Secretary General on the Moroccan Sahara issue have highlighted Morocco’s interaction with the various UN human rights bodies, notes the background report on human rights in the southern provinces of the Kingdom of Morocco. The background report also emphasizes Morocco’s interaction with the UN Secretary General as well as with the various UN bodies in charge of human rights, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the bodies in charge of the covenants, the mechanism relating to the Universal Periodic Review and the mechanism of special procedures and the situation in the Tindouf camps. It is also noted that the reports of the SG have always confirmed Morocco’s willingness to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict within the framework of international legitimacy and effective cooperation with the UN Mission, so as to provide the latter with the facilities and means to carry out its responsibilities in the best conditions. The baseline report on human rights in the southern provinces of the Kingdom of Morocco also notes that the SG’s reports have always included information and data that Morocco is keen to provide to the United Nations regarding the human rights situation, including those related to alleged violations in the Moroccan Sahara, human rights violations in the Tindouf camps, and the maneuvers of Morocco’s adversaries to exploit certain social events for political purposes. The reports also describe the actions carried out by regional human rights mechanisms, as well as the visit of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to Morocco in 2015, during which she was informed of Morocco’s progress in protecting and promoting human rights, and of the measures taken by the Moroccan government to guarantee these rights throughout the country, including in the southern provinces, while calling for full cooperation with the National Human Rights Institution.