Since Morocco’s invasion of Western Sahara in 1975, the systematic dispossession of the Sahrawi people has never ceased. On the contrary, it has intensified, establishing a regime of occupation based on land theft, economic exploitation, forced impoverishment, and political marginalization of the Sahrawis.
The recent demolition of Sahrawi homes in the Tadkhest area, on the outskirts of occupied El-Ayoun on 22 April 2025, illustrates a policy of systematic land grabbing that has been ongoing for decades. The repeated destruction of Sahrawi homes and confiscation of their lands are not isolated acts but part of a deliberate strategy of forced displacement, in direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians during wartime.
These acts constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. International law is clear: any attempt to alter the demographic composition of an occupied territory is illegal. Nevertheless, Moroccan authorities continue encouraging the implantation of Moroccan settlers, promoting internal migration, and creating conditions of systematic racial segregation — effectively establishing an apartheid regime in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
Meanwhile, the Sahrawi people face organized impoverishment. Deprived of direct access to their agricultural lands, natural resources, and employment opportunities in their own country, Sahrawis suffer from extremely high unemployment rates. The local economy is locked down and dominated by Moroccan or foreign actors illegally established in the territory. This economic exclusion is not accidental; it is a deliberate policy of social eradication aimed at making life unbearable for the Sahrawis in their own land.
Furthermore, the massive influx of foreign investments in agriculture, solar, and wind energy projects on confiscated lands helps normalize the illegal occupation. By attracting these economic projects, Morocco fabricates a semblance of “international legitimacy,” making foreign investors direct accomplices in serious violations of international law. These enterprises are participating in the illegal exploitation of the natural resources of a non-self-governing territory, in blatant contradiction with the 2002 Legal Opinion of the UN Legal Department.
This is not just a military occupation; it is a systematic policy of colonization, repression, and identity erasure. Demolitions, forced displacements, resource plundering, social marginalization, demographic manipulation, and mass human rights violations are all elements of the same colonial system.
In light of this situation, the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations (ASVDH) calls on the international community to end its passivity and demands the establishment of an independent mechanism for monitoring human rights in occupied Western Sahara. It reiterates that only the full implementation of the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination can bring an end to these continuous violations and establish a just and lasting peace in the region.
As long as impunity prevails, war crimes and massive violations of international law will continue to be perpetrated in general indifference.
