URGENT CALL

For the Lifting of the Siege and Access to the Tindouf Camps in Southwestern Algeria

We, human rights defenders concerned about the unprecedented situation in the Tindouf camps on Algerian territory, call on the United Nations to take immediate and concrete measures for the host country, Algeria, to fully assume its responsibilities towards the populations in these camps and to guarantee access for technical commissions, UN special procedures, and international organizations to these territories.

The leaders of the POLISARIO Front manage the camps instead of the host country, Algeria, in violation of international law and shielded from international observation and control. The rare observation operations are at best sporadic or partial, far from revealing the systematic pattern of serious human rights violations committed against the camp population.

For several decades, the inhabitants of these camps have been living in extremely precarious conditions, essentially dependent on humanitarian aid to meet their basic needs, almost isolated from the world, and removed from monitoring and documentation by regional, continental, and international human rights mechanisms. This situation is due to the blockade imposed by the Algerian state on the area housing the camps.

Furthermore, the few UN special procedures that visit the host country, Algeria, are denied access to the Tindouf camps, hindering the response to the urgent needs of the refugees and undermining the legitimacy and effectiveness of international human rights protection efforts.

The critical situation of the refugees, whose host country is Algeria, urgently necessitates the opening of these camps to international observation and control.

Given this situation, the demand for technical assistance has become imperative by sending technical commissions to the Tindouf camps. In return, the Algerian state, as the host country, should take immediate measures to allow UN special procedures access to the refugee camps. Special procedures play a crucial role in protecting human rights and monitoring the living conditions of refugees, as well as contributing to the maintenance of peace and security. Their presence in these camps would ensure greater transparency, raise international awareness of the refugees' specific needs, and ensure that the fundamental rights of these populations are respected.

In these delicate conditions, we urge the United Nations to:

- Send technical commissions to the Tindouf camps in southwestern Algeria to observe the grave violations and abuses taking place, the resurgence of violence, and the alarming lack of security, especially after the proclamation of the return to arms by the POLISARIO Front;

- Demand that Algeria assume its international responsibilities as the host country by ensuring dignified and safe living conditions for the Tindouf camp refugees and recognizing their refugee status and all the rights that come with it;

- Ensure the accessibility of UN special procedures and international organizations to the Tindouf camps to independently and transparently assess the humanitarian situation and the needs of the refugees;

- Strengthen the monitoring and transparency of humanitarian operations in the Tindouf camps, ensuring that aid effectively reaches the refugees without diversion or discrimination;

- Promote sustainable solutions and initiatives for resettlement, voluntary repatriation, or local integration, in collaboration with Algeria, to offer refugees a prospect of dignity and a stable future;

- Encourage international cooperation to share the responsibility of hosting and protecting refugees, supporting the efforts of UNHCR and humanitarian agencies on the ground.

We have faith in the capacity of the international community to ensure the protection of human dignity and the fundamental rights of refugees, and we hereby call on the United Nations and its member states to act decisively and in solidarity to alleviate the suffering of the Tindouf camp refugees and to allow them a better future.

 

Sincerely,