AFAPREDESA is an independent Sahrawi non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to the defense of human rights. It was founded on August 20, 1989, in the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria.

The association was created in direct response to the grave human rights violations — including enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture, and war crimes — committed by Moroccan authorities following the illegal invasion and occupation of Western Sahara in 1975.

Since its inception, AFAPREDESA has served as the voice of the victims’ families, tirelessly working for truth, justice, comprehensive reparation, and the end of impunity in the context of the long-standing conflict over the decolonization of Western Sahara.

Nature and Structure

• Headquarters: Sahrawi refugee camps, Tindouf, Algeria
• European delegation: Operational office in Europe
• Legal status: Sahrawi NGO officially recognized under the laws of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). It holds observer status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).
• Situation in the occupied territory: AFAPREDESA is banned and operates clandestinely in the areas of Western Sahara under Moroccan control, documenting abuses at constant personal risk.

Main Objectives

• Systematically document and denounce human rights violations
• Defend the rights of Sahrawi political prisoners
• Seek the truth regarding enforced disappearances (450+ cases)
• Demand justice, reparations, and non-repetition
• Promote the right to self-determination

Activities and Actions

• Publication of reports and analyses
• International advocacy campaigns
• Cooperation with human rights organizations
• Calls for MINURSO human rights mandate

Key Historical Achievements

• Release of 322 survivors in 1991
• Campaigns for political prisoners
• Judicial recognition of genocide by Spain’s National Court