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Article 25:
Each Sahrawi citizen is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth and
guaranteed in this Constitution, without discrimination of any kind, such as on the
basis of race, color, sex, language, religion or political or other opinion.
Article 26:
All citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equality in terms of
protections and in terms of penalties….
[The letter then cites from Articles 27-30, which guarantee citizens other basic rights]
As you saw when visiting the refugee camps, we live in a refuge away from our home
and endure a difficult natural environment and harsh suffering, which makes the
right to life, stipulated in all human laws and regulations, a top priority. Nevertheless,
the Front, as a political organization administering the refugee camps, has ensured
this right as well as all other internationally recognized rights, especially the right to
equal treatment without discrimination of any kind …. The citizens are in practice
equal with respect to all opportunities and services provided by the state….
In spite of these efforts, we do not deny the survival, to a limited extent, of certain
practices resulting from antiquated thinking. These practices are observed from time
to time, though not officially recorded by the competent authorities. They are headed
for extinction; the state is determined to combat and eradicate them whenever they
surface and whatever the forms they take. These practices include:
• Some old-fashioned persons resort to exploiting the Maliki madhhab, [school
of Islamic jurisprudence] regarding the role of the guardian in the marriage of
a virgin girl (irrespective of her color) in order to impose custody on her.
• Polyphyleticism resulting from the civil status system used by the Spanish
colonial administration, the effects of which some persons have yet to correct.
• Some persons continue to use certain tribal and even racial terms, which
reflect a kind of social discrimination.
Human Rights in Western Sahara and Tindouf 180