On November 21 Aminatou Haidar, a leading human rights defender in Western Sahara advocating a referendum to settle the relationship of that territory with its occupying country, Morocco, gave a talk, "Forgotten in Transition? The Western Sahara and the Moroccan Transitional Justice Experience," as part of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice's Transitional Justice Lunch Series. Arrested after helping to organize a peaceful demonstration, Haidar was subsequently "disappeared" for four years and tortured by the Moroccan police. Since her release in 1991 she has worked tirelessly for the Sahrawis' right to self-determination; Haidar received the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in recognition of her unyielding dedication to that cause.
Read Aminatou Haidar's Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award profile