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Algeria promptly responded to the intervention of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, on Monday, March 4. In his speech delivered during the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, Turk made no mention of the so-called «war» in the Sahara.
Taking exception to this omission, the Algerian ambassador to the United Nations organizations in Geneva sought to «recall» the «existence» of the conflict in the Sahara.
The Algerian ambassador expressed his country's «concerns» regarding «the systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the Moroccan occupation in Western Sahara». He reiterated his government's demand for the UN to «monitor and document violations against the Sahrawi people».
The ambassador called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to send a commission of inquiry to the Sahara in order to «prepare a detailed report to the Council on the documented facts of violations committed on Saharawi territory».
The High Commissioner expressed his wish, in March 2023, to send a new technical mission to the Sahara to inquire about the human rights situation there. «Regarding Western Sahara, my Office continues to monitor the human rights situation remotely. Given that the last visit of the Office took place almost eight years ago, it is crucial that my Office can once again undertake meaningful missions in the region», declared the Austrian, during his visit to the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The last visit of an OHCHR technical commission to the province dates back to 2015. Since then, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has faced pressure from countries allied to the Polisario, including Algeria and South Africa, as well as international NGOs, to resume sending observers to the Sahara.
