04-03-2025
NGOs Expose Rights Violations in Tindouf Camps at UN Council
Doha – Several non-governmental organizations and witnesses raised serious concerns about human rights violations in the Tindouf camps in southwestern Algeria during the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The Sahrawi NGO Promotion of Economic and Social Development (PDES) brought international attention to the concerning situation in the Tindouf camps, where thousands of people have been living in extremely difficult humanitarian conditions for nearly five decades, deprived of their fundamental rights.
'The security situation has recently significantly worsened, with an increase in criminal acts and violence, which further intensifies the suffering of the inhabitants,' declared Fatima Ezzahrae Zouhairi, an activist and member of PDES, during her intervention at the Human Rights Council session.
According to Zouhairi, the absence of security and stability in these camps, combined with the lack of security and judicial mechanisms from the host country, Algeria, exposes the populations to increased risks and deprives them of any possibility of accessing protection or justice.
'Recent reports show that the geographical isolation of the camps, far from any international monitoring, contributes to aggravating these violations,' she affirmed, adding that the most vulnerable populations, particularly women and children, are especially exposed to physical and psychological violence, as well as inhumane living conditions.
Lemaadla Mohamed Salem Zrug, a Sahrawi refugee representing the African Network for Development, Governance, and Human Rights (RADHEG), provided damning testimony about the suffering of Sahrawis in the camps.
She denounced kidnappings, torture, extrajudicial executions, and the forced recruitment of children for military training. She also reported the impunity of Polisario officials, protected by Algerian authorities.
El Fadel Braika, representing the NGO Il Cenacollo and a former Sahrawi detainee in the Polisario's secret prisons, blasted the inhumane conditions in the camps, including forced disappearances, torture, and the exploitation of child soldiers. He also mentioned repressive acts by Algeria, such as the arrests of young people attempting to flee the camps.
Judit Segara Casasepare from the NGO CIRAC expressed concern regarding the recruitment of children in the Tindouf camps, who are exposed to an ideology of violence.
She vilified the 'Vacations in Peace' program, which she claimed is used as 'a cover for child trafficking,' sending them abroad without guarantees of return. The NGO has asked the UN to investigate and demand accountability from Algeria.
Read also: UN Sahara Report: Guterres Reiterates Concern Over Dire Humanitarian Situation in Tindouf
Similarly, Abdelwahab Gain from the NGO Africa Culture International condemned the indoctrination of children and their exploitation through the same program. 'Behind this humanitarian facade, these children are often trafficking victims separated from their families,' he stated.
PDES called on the international community to 'intensify efforts to ensure full respect for the human rights' of people living in the Tindouf camps.
These efforts, according to Zouhairi, must include providing humanitarian aid without logistical obstacles from the host country or the separatist Polisario Front, guaranteeing freedom of movement for inhabitants, and establishing transparent monitoring mechanisms to track violations and end impunity.
The organization also insisted on the need for urgent measures to end these concerning violations, secure humanitarian routes, and provide sustainable solutions for the inhabitants.
In this context, they called on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to send a fact-finding mission to closely monitor the situation and provide transparent reports contributing to the protection of the rights of sequestered persons, in accordance with the Geneva Convention on Refugees.
On the broader regional front, Morocco asserted its human rights commitment during the same session. Ambassador Omar Zniber declared that 'the Kingdom of Morocco, faithful to its irreversible choice to build a democratic state based on the rule of law, resolutely continues the process of consolidating its legal arsenal for the promotion of human rights.'
He voiced that Morocco has presented 'two major national commitments' concerning the organization of a regional symposium to encourage ratification of the Convention against Forced Disappearances and the inscription of forced disappearance in criminal legislation as an independent crime.
Additionally, some forty countries championed Morocco's sovereignty over its Sahara, with Yemen's Ambassador Ali Mohamed Saeed Majawar articulating that Morocco engages in 'constructive, voluntary, and profound interaction with the United Nations human rights system.'
The group endorsed the opening of consulates in Dakhla and Laayoune, describing them as a 'lever for strengthening economic cooperation and investments, for the benefit of local populations as well as regional and continental development.' Tags: Human Rights in Tindouf Camps
