Editing Western Sahara (section)

== Politics ==
{{See also|Politics of Western Sahara|Foreign relations of Morocco|Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}}

[[File:Laayoune-miltary checkpoint.jpg|thumb|A Moroccan police checkpoint in the suburbs of [[Laayoune]]]]

[[Sovereignty]] over Western Sahara is contested between [[Morocco]] and the [[Polisario Front]] and its legal status remains unresolved. The United Nations considers it to be a "[[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|non-self-governing territory]]".

Formally, Morocco is administered by a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of Morocco|parliament]] under a [[constitutional monarchy]] wherein the [[List of rulers of Morocco|monarch]] retains significant powers, such as the capacity to appoint the government and to dissolve parliament. The last elections to [[House of Representatives (Morocco)|the parliament's lower house]] were deemed reasonably free and fair by international observers.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} The Morocco-controlled parts of Western Sahara are divided into [[Southern Provinces|several provinces]] that are treated as integral parts of the kingdom. The Moroccan government heavily subsidizes the Saharan provinces under its control with cut-rate fuel and related subsidies, to appease nationalist dissent and attract immigrants from Sahrawis and other communities in Morocco proper.<ref name="Thobhani">{{Cite book |last= Thobhani |first= Akbarali |title= Western Sahara Since 1975 Under Moroccan Administration: Social, Economic, and Political Transformation |location= [[Lewiston, New York]] |publisher= [[Edwin Mellen Press]] |isbn= 0-7734-7173-1 |year= 2002 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/westernsaharasin0000thob}}</ref>

The [[government in exile|exiled government]] of the self-proclaimed [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] (SADR) is a form of single-party parliamentary and presidential system, but according to its constitution, this will be changed into a multi-party system at the achievement of independence. It is presently based at the [[Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria|Tindouf refugee camps]] in Algeria, which it controls. It also controls the part of Western Sahara to the east of the Moroccan Wall, known as the ''[[Free Zone (region)|liberated territories]]''. This area has a very small population, estimated to be approximately 30,000 nomads.<ref name="nrc.no" /> The Moroccan government views it as a no-man's land patrolled by UN troops. The SADR government whose troops also patrol the area have proclaimed a village in the area, [[Bir Lehlou]] and [[Tifariti]], as SADR's former and actual temporary factual capitals.

On 18 December 2019, the [[Comoros]] became the first nation to open a consulate in [[Laayoune]] in support of Moroccan claims to Western Sahara.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1600946/world|title=First foreign diplomatic post opens in Western Sahara|website=Arab News|date=18 December 2019}}</ref> In January 2020, [[The Gambia]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sahara-news.org/2259-sahara-gambia-opens-consulate-in-dakhla-dealing-another-hard-blow-to-polisario.html|title=Sahara: Gambia Opens Consulate in Dakhla, Dealing another Hard Blow to Polisario|website=Sahara News|date=7 January 2020}}</ref> and [[Guinea]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sahara-news.org/2270-sahara-guinea-opens-consulate-in-dakhla-another-diplomatic-setback-for-polisario.html|title=Sahara: Guinea Opens Consulate in Dakhla, Another Diplomatic Setback for Polisario|website=Sahara News|date=17 January 2020}}</ref> opened consulates in [[Dakhla, Western Sahara|Dakhla]]; meanwhile, [[Gabon]] opened a consulate general in Laayoune.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sahara-news.org/2274-gabon-opens-consulate-general-in-laayoune.html|title=Gabon Opens Consulate General in Laayoune|website=Sahara News|date=17 January 2020}}</ref> As part of the Moroccan-Israeli normalisation deal, the [[United States]] established a temporary consulate post in Dakhla in January 2021 as a transition to establishing a permanent consulate within the near future.<ref name="bbc.com"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Elshamy|first= Mosa'ab|url=https://apnews.com/d5f1a1416e429b8a168a7eaaed3e702e|title=US Consulate a turning point for disputed Western Sahara|publisher=Associated Press|date=9 January 2021}}</ref>

=== Human rights ===
{{Main|Human rights in Western Sahara}}

[[File:Sangar western sahara.jpg|thumb|A [[Sangar (fortification)|sangar]] (fortification) from the Western Sahara conflict. The fortification is built of rocks on top of a mesa overlooking the Grart Chwchia, Al Gada, Western Sahara. The Sangar is facing north and was probably built by the Sahrawis in the 1980s.]]
[[File:Tamekinprison.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sahrawi people|Sahrawi]] human rights defender [[Ali Salem Tamek]] in [[Ait Meloul Prison]], Morocco<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.spsrasd.info/en/content/violent-aggression-against-saharawi-political-prisoners-sal%C3%A9 |title=Violent aggression against the Saharawi political prisoners in Salé |publisher=SPS |date=12 February 2012 |access-date=10 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708185632/http://www.spsrasd.info/en/content/violent-aggression-against-saharawi-political-prisoners-sal%C3%A9 |archive-date=8 July 2014}}</ref>]]

The Western Sahara conflict has resulted in severe human-rights abuses, constantly reported by external reporters and human rights activists,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-kennedy/morocco-secret-police-laayoune_b_1835223.html |title=A Brush With Morocco's Secret Police in Laayoune, Moroccan-Occupied Western Sahara (PHOTOS) |publisher=Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights |date=25 August 2012 |access-date=1 September 2012 |author=Kerry Kennedy, President of the RFK}}</ref> most notably the displacement of tens of thousands of Sahrawi civilians from the country, the expulsion of tens of thousands of Moroccan civilians by the Algerian government from Algeria,<ref>*[http://www.telquel-online.com/189/couverture_189_1.shtml Maroc/Algérie. Bluff et petites manœuvres] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115012241/http://www.telquel-online.com/189/couverture_189_1.shtml |date=15 January 2016 }}, Telquel, not in English{{Unreliable source?|www.telquel-online.com|date=May 2011}}
* [http://www.aljazeera.net/news/archive/archive?ArchiveId=316911 Aljazeera.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322115134/http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/2c63a1c5-c249-45cd-b131-ff57a53ae894 |date=22 March 2014 }}, not in English
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.lagazettedumaroc.com/articles.php?r=7&sr=959&n=409&%20%20id_artl=5975 |title=La "Répudiation massive" de l'Algérie des colonels! |language=fr |work=La Gazette Du Maroc |date=28 February 2005 |access-date=12 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012214448/http://www.lagazettedumaroc.com/articles.php?r=7&sr=959&n=409&%20%20id_artl=5975 |archive-date=12 October 2007 }}
* [http://www.maroc-hebdo.press.ma/MHinternet/Archives_435/html_435/jugement.html Jugement Dernier], Maroc Hebdo International, not in English {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909032212/http://www.maroc-hebdo.press.ma/MHinternet/Archives_435/html_435/jugement.html |date=9 September 2006 }}
* [http://cinemanageria.ifrance.com/cine_maroc/films_marocains/82.htm#drame Le Drame des 40.000], cinemanageria.ifrance.com, not in English {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016105500/http://cinemanageria.ifrance.com/cine_maroc/films_marocains/82.htm |date=16 October 2006 }}
* [http://www.usfp.ma/article.php?t=4&id=46 Mohamed Elyazghi au Matin du Sahara: Solution politique au Sahara et refondation de nos relations avec Alger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060910000000/http://www.usfp.ma/article.php?t=4&id=46 |date=10 September 2006 }}, USFP, not in English{{Unreliable source?|www.usfp.ma|date=May 2011}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://minorites.org/article.php?IDA=7531 |title=La mal-vie des Marocains d'Algérie |archive-date=13 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013180223/http://minorites.org/article.php?IDA=7531 |url-status=dead }}
* [http://www.ambafrance-ma.org/presse/index.cfm?pjour=1&jr=20060728 Revue de Presse des Quotidiens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107232935/http://www.ambafrance-ma.org/presse/index.cfm?pjour=1&jr=20060728 |date=7 January 2009 }} <!--
 --></ref> and numerous casualties of war and repression.

During the war years (1975–1991), both sides accused each other of targeting civilians. Moroccan claims of Polisario terrorism have generally had little to no support abroad, with the US, European Union, [[African Union]] and UN all refusing to include the group on their [[United States Department of State list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|lists]] of terrorist organizations. Polisario leaders maintain that they are ideologically opposed to terrorism, and insist that collective punishment and [[forced disappearance]]s among Sahrawi civilians<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/webmepcountries/MOROCCO+AND+WESTERN+SAHARA?OpenDocument |title=Amnesty International &#124; Working to Protect Human Rights |publisher=Web.amnesty.org |access-date=13 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114174415/http://www.web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/webmepcountries/MOROCCO%2BAND%2BWESTERN%2BSAHARA?OpenDocument |archive-date=14 November 2007}}</ref> should be considered [[state terrorism]] on the part of Morocco.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arso.org/akhbar2.htm |title=Western Sahara – Sahara Occidental – Akhbar Es-Sahra 2 |publisher=Arso.org |access-date=13 February 2012}}</ref> Both Morocco and the Polisario additionally accuse each other of violating the human rights of the populations under their control, in the [[Southern Provinces|Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara]] and the [[Sahrawi refugee camps|Tindouf refugee camps]] in Algeria, respectively. Morocco and organizations such as [[:fr:France Libertés&nbsp;— Fondation Danielle-Mitterrand|France Libertés]] consider Algeria to be directly responsible for any crimes committed on its territory, and accuse the country of having been directly involved in such violations.<ref name="Tindouf1">[http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/040929/2004092916.html Morocco's Memorandum to UN unveils Algiers' responsibility in Sahara conflict, political parties] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014213721/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/040929/2004092916.html |date=14 October 2013}}, Arabic News, Morocco-Algeria, Politics, 29 September 2004</ref>{{Unreliable source?|www.arabicnews.com|date=May 2011}}

[[Morocco]] has been repeatedly criticized for its actions in Western Sahara by international human rights organizations including:
* [[Amnesty International]]<ref>*{{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/001/2010/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Broken Promises: The Equity and Reconciliation Commission and its Follow-up |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=6 January 2010 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/005/2009/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: No more half measures: Addressing enforced disappearances in Morocco and Western Sahara |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=28 August 2009 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/004/2008/en |title=Morocco/ Western Sahara: Further Information on UA 16/08&nbsp;– Fear of unfair imprisonment/ Prisoners of conscience/ Health concern |date=8 February 2008 |publisher=Amnesty.org |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/005/2008/en |title=Morocco/ Western Sahara: Three years' imprisonment for putting a profile of Prince Moulay Rachid on Facebook |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=25 February 2008 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/004/2005/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: New arrests and allegations of torture of Sahrawi human rights defenders |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=31 July 2005 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/003/2005/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Justice must begin with torture inquiries |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=21 June 2005 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/008/2004/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Torture of detainees must end |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=23 June 2004 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/004/2004/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Torture in the "anti-terrorism" campaign&nbsp;– the case of Témara detention centre |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=23 June 2004 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/011/2003/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Briefing to the Committee against torture (November 2003) |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=11 November 2003 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/001/2003/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: reports of secret detention and torture on the rise |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=21 February 2003 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/morocco-and-western-sahara/page.do?id=1011203 |title=Morocco and Western Sahara Human Rights |publisher=Amnestyusa.org |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503215530/http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/morocco-and-western-sahara/page.do?id=1011203 |archive-date=3 May 2011}}<!--
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* [[Human Rights Watch]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/10/morocc12183.htm |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Activists Need Fair Trial |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=9 December 2005 |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723211820/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/10/morocc12183.htm |archive-date=23 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Wsahara.htm |title=Western Sahara: Keeping It Secret – The United Nations Operation in the Western Sahara |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-date=18 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018112444/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Wsahara.htm |url-status=dead }}<!--
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* [[World Organization Against Torture]]
* [[Freedom House]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2006&country=7106 |title=Western Sahara * |publisher=Freedomhouse.org |date=10 May 2004 |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-date=3 October 2009 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091003035206/http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&country=7106&year=2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Reporters Without Borders]]<ref>*{{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/swedish-photographer-expelled-western-sahara-day-after-his-arrest |title=Swedish photographer expelled from Western Sahara a day after his arrest |date=22 February 2007 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=18 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018112321/https://rsf.org/en/news/swedish-photographer-expelled-western-sahara-day-after-his-arrest |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/journalist-assaulted-name-moroccan-control-western-sahara |title=Journalist assaulted in the name of Moroccan control of Western Sahara |date=26 May 2005 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415023733/https://rsf.org/en/news/journalist-assaulted-name-moroccan-control-western-sahara |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/journalists-working-western-sahara-face-assaults-arrests-and-harassment |title=Journalists working in Western Sahara face assaults, arrests and harassment |date=16 June 2005 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415023904/https://rsf.org/en/news/journalists-working-western-sahara-face-assaults-arrests-and-harassment |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/western-sahara-government-corruption-and-palace-life-are-all-limits-press |title=Western Sahara, government corruption and palace life are all off-limits for the press |date=13 April 2005 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415023957/https://rsf.org/en/news/western-sahara-government-corruption-and-palace-life-are-all-limits-press |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/two-norwegian-journalists-threatened-expulsion |title=Two Norwegian journalists threatened with expulsion |date=16 June 2004 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415023312/https://rsf.org/en/news/two-norwegian-journalists-threatened-expulsion |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/morocco-puts-us-censorship-busting-site-anonymizercom-its-black-list |title=Morocco puts US censorship busting site Anonymizer.com on its black list |date=20 December 2005 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415024414/https://rsf.org/en/news/morocco-puts-us-censorship-busting-site-anonymizercom-its-black-list |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/appeal-court-upholds-exorbitant-damages-award-against-journal-hebdomadaire |title=Appeal court upholds exorbitant damages award against Journal Hebdomadaire |date=18 April 2006 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017}}<!--
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* [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]
* [[OHCHR|UN High Commissioner for Human Rights]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arso.org/OHCHRrep2006en.pdf |title=Report of the OHCHR to Western Sahara & the refugee camps in Tindouf 2006 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>
* Derechos Human Rights<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/mena/moro/ |title=Human rights in Morocco & Western Sahara |publisher=Derechos.org |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>
* [[Defend International]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.defendinternational.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=191&Itemid=126 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121182849/http://www.defendinternational.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=191&Itemid=126 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 January 2013 |title=Wave of arrests in Western Sahara |publisher=Defendinternational.com |date=31 August 2007 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.defendinternational.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153&Itemid=126 |title=Morocco: Protect And Preserve Mass Grave Sites |publisher=Defendinternational.com |date=15 January 2008 |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202151033/http://www.defendinternational.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153&Itemid=126 |archive-date=2 December 2011}}</ref>
* [[Front Line (NGO)|Front Line]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/2436 |title=Western Sahara: UPDATE&nbsp;– Human rights defenders on hunger strike in protest at continued arbitrary detention |publisher=Frontlinedefenders.org |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/2154 |title=Western Sahara: Severe beating of human rights defender, Mr Mohammed al-Tahleel by security forces |publisher=Frontlinedefenders.org |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1932 |title=Western Sahara: Torture and solitary confinement of human rights defender Mr Yahya Mohamed el Hafed Aaza |publisher=Frontlinedefenders.org |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1585 |title=Western Sahara: Systematic repression of human rights defenders |publisher=Frontlinedefenders.org |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205123703/http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1585 |archive-date=5 December 2011}}</ref>
* [[International Federation for Human Rights]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fidh.org/fr/regions/maghreb-moyen-orient/maroc/7588-sahara-occidental-arrestation-de-m-duihi-hassan-mar-001-0210-obs-024|title=Sahara occidental : Arrestation de M. Duihi Hassan – MAR 001 / 0210 / OBS 024|website=Fédération internationale pour les droits humains}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fidh.org/fr/regions/maghreb-moyen-orient/maroc/Harcelement-a-l-encontre-de-Mme,7215|title=Harcèlement à l'encontre de Mme Elghalia Dijim et M. Duihi Hassan – MAR 003 / 1109 / OBS 166|website=Fédération internationale pour les droits humains}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fidh.org/Detentions-arbitraires-Poursuites-judiciaires,3433 |title=Détentions arbitraires&nbsp;– Poursuites judiciaires&nbsp;– Mauvais traitements |publisher=Fidh.org |date=8 November 2011 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fidh.org/fr/regions/maghreb-moyen-orient/maroc/Nouvelle-condamnation-d-un|title=Nouvelle condamnation d'un militant sahraoui.|website=Fédération internationale pour les droits humains}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fidh.org/Apres-l-interdiction-de-trois-hebdomadaires-au|title=Après l'interdiction de trois hebdomadaires au Maroc, RSF et la FIDH dénoncent une décision inique et inacceptable|author=FIDH|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>
* [[Society for Threatened Peoples]]<ref>{{Cite web |author=Gesellschaft fuer bedrohte Voelker&nbsp;– Society for Threatened Peoples |url=http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=2204&stayInsideTree=1 |title=EU ignores violations of human rights in Morocco |publisher=Gfbv.de |access-date=1 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128141944/http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=2204&stayInsideTree=1 |archive-date=28 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Gesellschaft fuer bedrohte Voelker&nbsp;– Society for Threatened Peoples |url=http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=807&stayInsideTree=1 |title=Almost 700 arrested in the year 2006 |publisher=Gfbv.de |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128142112/http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=807&stayInsideTree=1 |archive-date=28 January 2012}}</ref>
* [[Norwegian Refugee Council]]<ref>{{Cite web |author=Norwegian Refugee Council |url=https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/occupied-country-displaced-people/ |title=Occupied Country, Displaced People [Updated] |website=nrc.no |date=15 February 2014 |access-date=15 April 2017}}</ref>

{{See also|List of human rights organisations}}

The [[Polisario Front|POLISARIO]] has received criticism from the French organisation France Libertes on its treatment of Moroccan prisoners of war,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.freethemnow.org/FranceLiberte.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051211175842/http://www.freethemnow.org/FranceLiberte.pdf |archive-date=11 December 2005 |title=The Conditions of Detentions of the Moroccan POWs Detained in Tindouf (Algeria) |date=11 December 2005 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref> and on its general behaviour in the Tindouf refugee camps in reports by the [[Belgium|Belgian]] commercial counseling society [[European strategic intelligence and security center|ESISC]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.esisc.net/en/p.asp?TYP=TEWN&LV=187&see=y&t=37&PG=TEWN/EN/detail_os&l=8&AI=1840 |title=The Polisario Front and the IRA – Two approaches to the process of negotiation |publisher=Esisc.net |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918134233/http://www.esisc.net/en/p.asp?TYP=TEWN&LV=187&see=y&t=37&PG=TEWN%2FEN%2Fdetail_os&l=8&AI=1840 |archive-date=18 September 2011}}</ref><ref>ESISC is [http://kbopub.economie.fgov.be/kbopub/toonondernemingps.html?ondernemingsnummer=878853652 a Brussels-based commercial firm in the domain of counselling] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018112445/http://kbopub.economie.fgov.be/kbopub/toonondernemingps.html?ondernemingsnummer=878853652 |date=18 October 2017 }}, including among its clients the Moroccan embassy in Belgium</ref> Social anthropologist of the Sahara Desert, Konstantina Isidoros, said that in both 2005 and 2008, ESISC issued two near-identical reports proclaiming distorted truths that Polisario is evolving to new fears terrorism,{{Clarify|date=June 2018}} radical Islamism or international crime. According Isidoros "lies appear to play some peculiar importance in this report".<ref>Konstantina Isidoros. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170827165230/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1951/9a64ad4b0e97872d03e42d752087ace599ce.pdf Western Sahara and the United States' geographical imaginings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827165230/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1951/9a64ad4b0e97872d03e42d752087ace599ce.pdf#page=65 |date=27 August 2017}} // ACAS Concerned Africa Scholars, BULLETIN N°85 – SPRING 2010</ref>{{Clarify|date=June 2018}} Jacob Mundi<ref>Jacob Mundy – Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University</ref> considers this report as a part of the Moroccan propaganda designed to discredit the Polisario Front.<ref>Jacob Mundi. Failed States. Ungoverned Areas, and Safe Havens: The Terrorization of the Western Sahara Peace Process // Fonkem Achankeng. Nationalism and Intra-State Conflicts in the Postcolonial World. Lexington Books, 2015, {{ISBN|1498500269}}, 9781498500265. Pp.139–140. "Decades later, substitute "'Al-Qaeda" for "Communism" and the discourse is essentially the same. One of the first major salvos in the Moroccan offensive to link Polisario to Al-Qaeda was a series of think tank reports paid for by the royal palace (Moniquet, 2005, 2008). When a Moroccan newsmagazine, Le Journal hebdomadaire (9 December 2005), dared expose the fact that the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Institute was being paid to tar and feather Polisario, thus began the regime's successful five-year campaign to drive one of the few independent media voices out of existence. Morocco even enlisted its academic voices to aid in the terrorization of the Western Sahara peace process by linking Al-Qaeda to Polisario. "</ref>

A number of [[Polisario defections|former Polisario officials]] who have defected to Morocco accuse the organization of abuse of human rights and sequestration of the population in Tindouf.<ref>{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901215633/https://www.un.org/press/fr/1996/19961010.CPSD108.html |archive-date=2018-09-01 |url=https://www.un.org/News/fr-press/docs/1996/19961010.CPSD108.html |title=Communiquées de presse CPSD/108. Quatrième Commission: Le Maroc reste attaché au plan de règlement et à la tenue d'un référendum transparent au Sahara Occidental |publisher=United Nations |access-date=6 January 2025 |language=fr |trans-title=Press releases CPSD/108 Fourth Committee: Morocco remains committed to the settlement plan and the holding of a transparent referendum in Western Sahara |date=10 October 1996}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/991105/1999110536.html |title=Report: Clan wars and unavoidable scission in Tindouf, defectors |publisher=Arabicnews.com |access-date=12 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014201349/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/991105/1999110536.html |archive-date=14 October 2013}}</ref>