The Asociación Saharaui de Víctimas de Violaciones Graves de los Derechos Humanos Cometidas por el Estado Marroquí (Spanish for the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Violations of Human Rights Committed by the Moroccan State; Arabic,جمعية الصحراوية لضحايا الانتهاكات الجسيمة لحقوق الإنسان المرتكبة من طرف الدولة المغربية; French, Association Sahraouie des Victimes des Violations Graves des Droits Humains Commises par l’Etat Marocain), or ASVDH, is a Sahrawihuman rights organization operating in the Moroccan-occupied parts of Western Sahara (by Morocco considered the kingdom's "Southern Provinces").
To return to their families the remains of the Sahrawi martyrs who died in secret Moroccan prisons
To press for the release of Sahrawi political prisoners and the right to reparations through material and moral compensation and physical rehabilitation for the victims and relatives, in accordance with International Human Rights Law and International Jurisprudence
To end impunity and push for the prosecution of violations of crimes against humanity related to the Moroccan occupation in Western Sahara
To protect the community against arbitrary arrest and detention, forced disappearances, torture, murder and other forms of degradation and attacks on human dignity
To establish a culture of peaceful respect for human rights in Western Sahara based on the principles of the International Human Rights Covenants.
History
ASVDH was founded in Laayoune on May 7, 2005, by Sahrawi activists, along with President Brahim Dahane, a former prisoner of conscience. Although the association had completed all the procedures under the Moroccan Law of Public Associations, it has been refused permission to operate by the Moroccan authorities, and thus operates illegally, with very limited means at its disposal.[1] Its activities have consisted of researching and recording abuses by interviewing alleged victims of persecution, and releasing documentation and photographsofdemonstrations, police interventions and torture scars on the Internet.
As a result of this, ASVDH has been the subject of harassment and police action. For example, Dahane was detained on October 30, 2005, and later charged with "belonging to an illegal organization", namely ASVDH. This was condemned by Amnesty International and other international human rights organizations, which campaigned for Dahane's release.[2] As part of a general royal pardon, Dahane and other members of ASVDH were set free on April 22, 2006.[3]
The ASVDH applied for official government recognition in 2006 and the following year a court ruled that it needs to be recognized by the government. However, this did not happen until 2015.[4][5] Moroccan authorities continue to interfere with its work in monitoring human rights abuses.[6] The Moroccan government has called independence movements, such as ASVDH, a threat to security in the region.[7]