Nancy Huff, head of the US-based NGO Teach the Children International, condemned the widespread misappropriation of humanitarian aid destined for residents of the Tindouf camps by the Polisario Front’s armed separatist militia in a speech before the 4th Committee of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in New York.
Huff pointed to “serious dysfunctions” in Algeria’s management of food aid in the camps, citing a damning report of the European Anti-Fraud Office’s (OLAF), revealing the involvement of the Polisario in ongoing embezzlement of humanitarian aid that ends up in the personal possession of leaders of the armed separatist group. She highlighted a World Food Program (WFP) investigation conducted by an independent team and released on July 3, 2023, demonstrating the aid misuse in the camp.
Praising Morocco’s 2007 Autonomy Plan as the “most humane and peaceful” approach for putting an end to the misery that the residents in the camps in North-West Algeria are experiencing, Huff urged the international community to take action to hold the separatists accountable.
The activist also saluted the people of Morocco’s southern provinces for coming together to support Morocco’s national disaster relief response for victims of the September 8 earthquake.