A Sahrawi human rights defender called on the international community in Geneva to hold Algeria accountable for human rights violations committed in the Tindouf camps (southwestern Algeria) and to put an end to the impunity enjoyed by polisario leaders.
“We urge the international community to hold Algeria accountable for its responsibilities as a host country. Impunity should no longer be granted to polisario leadership for these crimes,” El Filali Hammadi, Secretary-General of the Independent Human Rights Commission Network for North Africa, said when addressing earlier this week the 58th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC).
Algeria has given control of the Tindouf camps to the polisario, which operates with very little oversight. This situation has created a legal and administrative vacuum, leaving the detained populations exposed to serious abuses starting from arbitrary detentions to extrajudicial executions, noted El Filali, who was speaking under agenda item 4 of the general debate.
Algeria has repeatedly refused to respond to special UN rapporteurs urgent communications, he said, recalling that in October 2020, for example, Algerian soldiers burned two Sahrawi gold prospectors alive in a well.
The activist referred to the World Food Program’s 2024 report on the Tindouf camps, which states that “nearly 90% of Sahrawi refugees are either vulnerable to food insecurity or are food insecure.”
He also pointed to reports from organizations such as Human Rights Watch, which highlight issues such as mismanagement and the diversion of humanitarian aid.
Despite this, Algeria has failed to fulfill its obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which is supposed to protect refugees’ rights.
The lack of proper oversight and accountability of both Algeria and the polisario has caused continued suffering and violations of human rights, he deplored.