Human rights defenders, under the Geneva International Observatory for Peace, Democracy, and Human Rights (IOPDHR), have issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations to allow access to the Tindouf camps in southwest Algeria.
Concerned by the “unprecedented situation” in the Tindouf camps, the human rights advocates called for “immediate and tangible measures to ensure that Algeria fully assumes its responsibilities towards the populations of these camps and guarantees access to these territories for technical commissions, UN special procedures, and international organizations.”
The camps are run by Polisario leaders on behalf of Algeria, in violation of international law running their operation outside of international observation and control.
“The rare observation operations are at best sporadic or partial, a long way from being able to reveal the systematic pattern of serious human rights violations perpetrated against the population of the camps,” the appeal reads.
For several decades, “the inhabitants of these camps have been living in extremely precarious conditions, mostly depending on humanitarian aid to meet their fundamental needs, virtually isolated from the world, excluded from monitoring and documentation by regional, continental, and international mechanisms working in the field of human rights,” the right defenders added.
In addition, they noted that “this state of affairs is due to the blockade imposed by the Algerian state on the area housing the camps.”
In their call for action, they requested technical commissions to be sent to the camps to observe “the serious violations and abuses taking place there, the resurgence of violence, and the appalling lack of security.”
They also demanded that Algeria assume its international responsibilities as a host country, guaranteeing dignified and safe living conditions for refugees in the Tindouf camps and recognizing their refugee status and all the rights that go with it.
Similarly, the document calls for UN special procedures and international organizations to be given access to the Tindouf camps to independently and transparently assess the humanitarian situation and the needs of the refugees.
It highlighted the need to “strengthen the monitoring and transparency of humanitarian operations in the camps, ensuring that aid actually reaches the refugees without detour or discrimination.”
The appeal also urges the UN and its member states to act “decisively and in solidarity to alleviate the suffering of refugees in the Tindouf camps.”