After decades of broken promises, the situation in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara has worsened as Morocco has restarted the war and thwarted diplomatic solutions

The UNSC recently extended the mandate of the UN mission in Western Sahara for one more year, without taking any concrete measures to force Morocco to conduct a referendum in the territory

The report published by CODESA on the atrocities committed by the Moroccan forces blames UN agencies and other human rights organizations for failing to intervene and investigate the cases of human rights violations

Mahjoub Maliha of CODESA (Collective of Saharawi Human Rights Defenders) speaks to Peoples Dispatch on the developments since last November in Western Sahara and the way ahead for the Saharawi struggle for self-determination

The Polisario Front, which is fighting for independence of Western Sahara from Morocco, claimed that allegations of war crimes against chief Brahim Ghali are Morocco’s attempts to discredit the movement

The Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA) has called on the International Red Cross to immediately establish its humanitarian operation in the region as the situation is deteriorating in the occupied territories due to Moroccan aggression against the Sahrawi people

According to the deal, the US will recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara territory in return for Morocco establishing diplomatic relations with Israel

In return of US recognition of its rights over Western Sahara, Morocco has agreed to “normalize” its relations with Israel. The United Nations and the majority of the world does not recognize Moroccan claims of sovereignty over the territory.   

The Moroccan military launched an attack on the Sahrawi village of El-Guerguerat on November 13, violating a three-decade-old ceasefire in the disputed Western Sahara region

Moroccan forces entered the UN-designated buffer zone in the Western Sahara on Friday to attack a peaceful demonstration of Sahrawi people demanding independence from Moroccan occupation and a referendum for self-determination 

The Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders or CODESA was first formed in 2007, but could not take formal shape until now due to interference by the occupying Moroccan authorities

After six months in jail on a politically-motivated charge, Saharawi Human rights activist Mahfouda Bamba Lefkir has been released but enjoys only partial freedom