WESTERN SAHARA: GOM SATISFIED WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 001032 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/MAG, DRL, IO; GENEVA FOR RMA E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2009 TAGS: MO PBTS PHUM PREL SUBJECT: WESTERN SAHARA: GOM SATISFIED WITH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION VISIT BUT NERVOUS ABOUT NEXT STEPS REF: RABAT 913 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Pol/C Tim Lenderking for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: ¶2. (C) Polcouns called on MFA Director of UN and International Affairs Nasser Bourita May 24 for the GOM perspective on the May 15-18 visit to Morocco and the Western Sahara of the UN Human Rights Commission delegation. The five-person delegation was led by Christophe Girod (Swiss), and included Roueida El Hage (Lebanon),Karin Lucke (Germany),Alain Chergui, and Daria Ferrari from DPKO in New York. Bourita said the GOM had two overarching objectives for the mission: disprove the idea that an "intifida" is underway in the Western Sahara, as propounded by the Polisario; and demonstrate that Algeria plays an integral role in the Western Sahara conflict. ¶3. (SBU) Bourita enumerated the delegation's meetings and activities. In Rabat on May 15 they met with MFA SYG Omar Hilale; MOI Governor Mohiyuddin Amzazi; prison officials from the Ministry of Justice; the Royal Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS); Sahrawi parliamentarians; ex-POWs; and prominent NGOs AMDH and OMDH (the Moroccan Association and Organization, respectively, of Human Rights). In Laayoune May 16-18, they met with prominent Sahrawi dissidents Mohamed Daddach, Brahim Dahane, and twice with Ali Salem Tamek; with MINURSO; with members of the banned Forum for Truth and Justice; and they had dinner with the Wali. They met with the royal prosecutor, with UNHCR, and visited Laayoune prison. They met with Polisario "President" Abdelaziz's brother, who is a lawyer in Laayoune (and whom, politically, Bourita described as "halfway between Abdelaziz and Abdelaziz's father, who is a member of CORCAS). Altogether, the delegation had more than 30 meetings and met with more than 100 people between Morocco and the Western Sahara, Bourita said. ¶4. (SBU) As he has noted in previous conversations (reftels),Bourita said the GOM did everything possible to accommodate the delegation. The GOM did not obstruct or prevent any meeting or site visit. They did not arrange the meetings with the Sahrawi dissidents, but nor did they obstruct them or intervene in any way. Polcouns asked Bourita about reports on the Polisario website that several of the dissidents were detained by the Moroccan authorities after meeting the delegation. Bourita flatly denied the reports, replying, "We are not that stupid." Bourita said Moroccan officials made clear to the delegation that the majority of people in the Western Sahara were peaceful, but there was a minority of agitators. People are free to express their views in the Western Sahara, but not to commit violence, and that is where the GOM draws the line, Bourita said. ¶5. (C) Bourita said it was clear the Polisario was "furious" with the visit to the Western Sahara, as Girod had said publicly after the Morocco leg of the trip that the GOM had been fully cooperative, and that the delegation had been free to circulate and meet with whomever they wanted. Bourita commented that Girod, a former employee of the ICRC, seemed "balanced and professional." Bourita said the Polisario had deliberately provoked demonstrations in Laayoune during the delegation's visit. More egregiously, names and contact information for the delegation, including cell phone numbers, email addresses, their schedule, and where they were staying in Morocco, appeared on the Polisario website. Bourita said this information must have been given to the Polisario by the Algerians, because the Algerian and Moroccan missions in Geneva were the only ones given this information. Having this information shared had made some of the delegation members uncomfortable, Bourita said. ¶6. (C) Bourita continued that the GOM sought to demonstrate to the delegation that there was no disparity in the human rights situation in the north and south of Morocco. There was one human rights policy and one set of laws "for all of Morocco." The global safeguards for human rights are the same throughout Morocco, Bourita said. Yes, there are deficiencies in administering the laws of Morocco, but the same deficiencies are found throughout the country. ¶7. (C) The GOM sought to underline that Algeria, as a country of first asylum, must provide protection to the refugees in the Tindouf camps. Why can the refugees in Tindouf not work? Why must they enroll only in Algerian schools? Why are the refugees not free to travel? Algeria, not the Polisario, must explain to the delegation the precarious situation of the refugees, and as the protecting power Algeria is responsible for violations against the refugees. The GOM also hopes the delegation can clarify the status of the missing. ¶8. (C) Bourita said the GOM remained disappointed with the delegation's limited program in Algeria. There was an imbalance between the Morocco and Algeria stops. Human rights issues could not be discussed solely with the MFA in Algeria. The GOM had given the delegation a file of specific human rights cases for the delegation to follow up on. ¶9. (C) While satisfied with the visit, Bourita said the GOM was somewhat uneasy about what follow-up activities the delegation might recommend. The GOM hoped the delegation would not be drawn into responding to every little allegation from the Polisario. The delegation should not respond to every letter from Abdelaziz that raises a human rights complaint. The delegation must remain within their terms of reference, which Bourita described as (reading from a UN document): to gather information on the human rights situation concerning the question of the Western Sahara; and, to propose to the High Commissioner for Human Rights measures through which the UN might be able to better assist all concerned parties in addressing human rights concerns that may be highlighted in the course of the mission. A View from MINURSO -------------- ¶10. (C) Polcouns touched base by phone on May 22 with UNSYG Francesco Bastagli in Laayoune. Bastagli said he had met with the delegation at the outset, so it was difficult to know what their findings would be. DKPO, he said, helped the delegation with logistics but was not a major substantive player in the visit. He described the purpose of the visit as fact-finding, but said the delegation was not in Laayoune long enough to get more than a snapshot. "They did not see much," he said, though he echoed Bourita that the delegation had seen the people they wanted. It was difficult for them to get a feel for Laayoune. There was a pro-Moroccan demonstration outside of their hotel at one point, Bastagli said. What was clear, he said, was the tightened security in town. Police were checking documents and people in the vicinity of the Parador Hotel, where the delegation was staying. ****************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ****************************************** Riley