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citizens and are in doing so bound by the provisions of regional and international
conventions and treaties ratified by the Sahrawi State with legal guarantees by the
Sahrawi national legislation. It is also part of the mandate of these judicial authorities
that they should ensure respect for laws and human rights. This includes the Criminal
Proceedings Act, application and detailed proceedings for the protection and
preservation of rights in addition to the Penal Code that punishes all crimes without
discrimination, particularly crimes related to the moral aspect (insult, degradation, etc.)
and physical assault (killing, beating, violence, abduction, etc.).
73.
In the same vein, an advisory office was created in the Presidency concerned
with human rights by virtue of the Presidential Decree issued 23 May 2004. This office
has the mandate of assisting the Head of State by providing opinion and making
proposals designed to promote human rights performance and dissemination of the
human rights culture in the Sahrawi society.
Part II: The Rights, Obligations and Liberties Guaranteed by the African Charter
on Human and Peoples Rights
Chapter One: Civil and Political Rights (Articles 2 – 13 of the Charter)
1.
74.
Enjoyment of the Rights and Freedoms Guaranteed by the African
Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Article 2)
These rights guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights
are contained in the Preamble of the 2007 Sahrawi Constitution where it is stated that
the Sahrawi people uphold the following:
Principles of justice and democracy enshrined in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights of 10 December 1948, the African Charter on Human and
Peoples‟ Rights of 28 June 1981 and the relevant international conventions
ratified by Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic;