In anticipation of the United Nations Security Council meeting on Western Sahara on 17th April, 116 organisations from 21 countries around the world have issued a joint letter calling for Security Council members to agree an expansion of the current MINURSO mandate to include the monitoring and protection of the human rights of the people of Western Sahara.
The co-signatories to the letter highlighted the frequent reports of human rights abuses by Moroccan authorities in occupied Western Sahara, including physical violence, torture, forced disappearances and political prisoners. The letter also points out that the continuing exploitation of Western Sahara's natural resources by Morocco and its international partners, without reference to the Sahrawi people, also falls under the category of human rights violations.Many of the international organisations involved in the letter provide assistance, support and basic humanitarian aid for up to 160,000 Sahrawis living in refugee camps which were set up in neighbouring Algeria in 39 years ago.http://english.pravda.ru/world/africa/22-04-2014/127420-wstern_sahara_referendum-0/
