Situación alarmante que se vive en los campamentos de Tinduf

La ONG internacional «Unidad en Red para el Desarrollo de Mauritania» (RUDM) presentó ante el Consejo de Derechos Humanos en Ginebra tres (03) comunicados escritos en los que deplora la alarmante situación que se vive en los campamentos de Tinduf. Su presidente, Mohamed VallBarka, se apoderó de los Derechos Humanos Consejo: sobre la intimidación y represión sufrida por los defensores de los derechos humanos en los campamentos de Tinduf, sobre la explotación de los niños en los campamentos y también presentó una comunicación escrita sobre la situación actual en el Sáhara. Estascomunicaciones son (en idioma inglés):

1-/ Repression and Intimidation of Human Rights Defenders in Algeria and Tidouf Camps

“In a context of increasing repression of peaceful demonstrations by the Algerian security forces, hundreds of people have been arbitrarily arrested since the beginning the peaceful movement Al hirak, including many human rights defenders who try to expose corruption and frauds in Algeria. this anti -corruption activism expose human rights defenders to years of prison and months of pretrial arrests under some ambiguous laws that explain any peaceful criticism to the authorities as a treat to the public order.

This wave of arbitrary arrests, which has clearly targeted human rights defenders, is a very bad signal for a possible transition to democracy in Algeria. The current government is trying by all means to maintain its power and to stifle the ongoing peaceful protest movement, creating a climate of fear through repression, and continuous restrictions on human rights defenders.

Journalists, lawyers’ bloggers and social media activists are systematically targeted by authorities especially those who try to expose corruption as an illustration:

We remind you of

MrTounsi was arrested and charged in connection with his efforts to expose corruption, including his social media posts criticizing members of the judiciary. He was trailed three times september2020, April 2021, before he started a hunger strike on the 20th of May 2020 for accusing him a second time for insulting symbols of the state as the president. He was sentenced a year of prison

Not only in Algeria anti -corruption human rights defenders but also the are targeted in the In Tinduf refugee camps : : MoulayBouzid Abba, Fadel El Mahdi, Breica and Mahmoud Zeidane are incarcerated in the prison, with a highly bad reputation of “Dheibiya” for denouncing the diversion of humanitarian food aid given to camps population by polisario leaders and some highly ranked Algerian military officials to the African markets for sale.

Finally, we recommend that

The practice of corruption by state agents in Algeria must be acknowledged at the highest level and allow the prosecution of perpetrators.
Remove all restrictions that limits freedom of expression.
Align its laws with international standards to guarantee free access to information
Make public all findings of investigations of corruption cases

Tinduf camps are Algerian territories that gather an unidentified number of Sahrawi refugees since 1975, many of them calling for autonomy as political solution to their situation to the conflict with.”

2-/ Stop child exploitation in Western Sahara

“As the recruitment and exploitation of children in crises and political conflicts is a war crime under international humanitarian law.

As the recruitment and exploitation of children in conflicts is a violation of the essence of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and its annexed protocols and it requires no impunity.

As the crime of exploiting children and recruiting them in armed conflicts requires international condemnation and intolerance with these violations that threaten the lives of children and violate their basic rights

We draw your attention and international public opinion to the involvement of the Algerian state as being responsible for what happens in the Tindouf camps, along with the Polisario, in the crime of recruitment and exploitation of children in the Western Sahara conflict.

As it has been proven to us by conclusive evidence that children are continuously and obligately subjected to military training inside the Tindouf camps and are used as soldiers inside these camps, which makes them vulnerable to all forms of violations related to this crime, and in complete silence by the Algerian state as it is the first responsible before the United Nations for any violations committed in or outside the Tindouf camps, which are located on its territory.

Thus, the Polisario and Algeria share the responsibility for violating all international references that frame the protection of children’s rights, and they clearly violate all resolutions of Security Council in this regard.

Based on our responsibility as a coalition to protect the rights of the child and expose those responsible for involvement in this crime, whether countries, groups or individuals:

We denounce the practices committed by the Polisario and Algeria against children in refugee camps
We reject the exploitation of Sahrawi children and their recruitment into the Western Sahara conflict
We call on the international community not to remain silent about the condemnation of Algeria and the Polisario, and to ensure that those responsible for recruiting children in the camps do not go unpunished.
We call on the Algerian state to fulfill all its international obligations towards the residents of the camps and to ensure that children enjoy their right to education and a comfortable family life.
We call on the UNHCR in Tindouf camps to take all preventive measures to protect Sahrawi children from exploitation and recruitment military activities.”

3-/ The Current Situation Over The Western Sahara Conflict

“From our belief in the importance of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights and its pivotal role in consolidating peace and the welfare of peoples and respect for human rights around the world, we are sending you this communication about the situation in Western Sahara, which has known a political conflict since the seventies of the last century. As you know, this long-lasting conflict is a threat to peace and stability in both North Africa and the Sahel and Sahara region.

The residents of the Western Sahara region are looking for a peaceful solution that protects them from the isolation and division they are experiencing because of the camps and the separation wall. Since 1976, Saharawi families have been living in division and scattering due to the insistence of the parties to the conflict not to provide concrete solutions to lift the siege on these victims.

The Sahara conflict has become a burden on the international community, as we see that its seriousness and its ability to push for a diplomatic solution are starting to be questioned since all the conditions are suitable impose the solution that respond to the aspirations and security of the local resident first and protect the region from the geopolitical repercussions the world is witnessing these days.

The residents of the camps have been greatly affected by the repercussions of the covid pandemic, which proved Algeria’s inability to protect the residents of the camps in Tindouf from the devastating effects of the pandemic Algeria failed to fulfill its international obligations as it is responsible for the protection of the refugees in the camps of Tinduf on its territory from human rights violations committed by polisario officials as well as terrorist and criminal groups.

Unfortunately, the political decision in the Tindouf refugee camps is not in the hands of the Polisario. Rather, it has become our duty to acknowledge that Algeria is the one that controls and dominates the choices of the Sahrawis. Therefore, the independent commission for human rights draws your attention to its concern that Algeria will take destructive decisions for the future of these victims, as it has chosen to be support the countries that call for wars and has chosen to be a rear base for these forces. Therefore, we refuse to involve the saharwi refugees in any possible tension that Algeria may escalate in the near future.

The Tindouf camps, under that state-quo and the absence of a promising political intention of polisario and Algeria for overcoming the conflict in a manner that preserves human dignity and a decent life for the original inhabitants of Western Sahara, these camps have become incubating structures that support and nourish terrorism and organized crime. These groups exploit youth who seeks to improve his economic conditions by all means. This makes them easy victims of the exploitation of terrorist organizations, especially since the camps provide young people trained to carry weapons since they were children. Therefore, resolving the conflict in the Western Sahara will be an effective way to dry up one of the sources of terrorism in the Sahel and Sahara region

The general political context in Western Sahara, in addition to the growing desire of the population of the region to end the conflict, help greatly to take effective steps on your part to urge Algeria to accept a peaceful and realistic solution, which we see that Morocco has interacted positively in order to resolve the conflict by proposing autonomy to negotiation since 2007. The opportunity is ripe to put pressure on Algeria to allow the polisario leaders to accept autonomy as a solution to the conflict, especially since there is increasing international recognition for considering autonomy as the credible and rational solution to resolving the conflict in Western Sahara.

The American recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara is a strong signal that the population received with satisfaction and acceptance, and it must be exploited in order to push for the adoption of autonomy based on respect for human rights and to enable the Sahrawis to enjoy their full economic, civil and political rights, preserve their culture and benefit from the natural resources of the Western Sahara region.

We call for respect for human rights in the Western Sahara region by both Morocco and Algeria and under all circumstances.
We consider that autonomy provides an important opportunity for the Sahrawis to enjoy a decent and peaceful life.
We consider that the United Nations is directly responsible for putting pressure on Algeria to allow the Polisario to lift the siege on the camps and to interact positively with international efforts to bring about a serious and realistic peace process.”