Several NGOs on Friday called in Geneva, during the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), for stronger human rights protection mechanisms in the Tindouf camps, citing restrictions on freedom of movement and expression, arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearances.
Speaking under Item 3 of the general debate, which addresses the promotion and protection of all human rights—including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural—as well as the right to development, the NGOs also called for stronger protection mechanisms, effective avenues for legal redress, and an independent assessment of the human rights situation in the camps.
Speaking on behalf of the Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association, its president, Ayman Okeil, expressed “concerns” over violations committed by the polisario against the populations living in the camps. He cited in particular arbitrary detention, acts of torture, and restrictions on peaceful demonstrations and protests.
Okeil also pointed to the lack of access to the Tindouf camps for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and human rights experts. He called for the OHCHR to be granted access to the camps so that it can independently assess the human rights situation.
For his part, El Fadel Bua Da Mohamed, speaking on behalf of the African Network for Development, Governance and Human Rights (RADHEG), said that the human rights situation in the Tindouf camps was undergoing a concerning deterioration.
He specifically cited restrictions on freedom of movement, stating that residents have been subject since 2013 to a curfew from midnight to 6:30 a.m. and that leaving the camps is limited to two days a week—Sundays and Thursdays—and only with individual authorization, while access to the camps itself is also subject to authorization.
The speaker further noted that the polisario conducts campaigns of arrests targeting opponents and opinion leaders, accompanied by torture, enforced disappearances, and the withholding of food assistance.
He further referred to pressure directed at journalists and activists living outside the camps, as well as their families, and called for an independent investigation into the human rights situation in the Tindouf camps, as well as for guarantees of freedom of movement and expression and access to justice.
For her part, Aicha Duihi, speaking on behalf of the NGO Promotion du Développement Économique et Social (PDES), welcomed the work of United Nations human rights mechanisms aimed at strengthening the universal and effective protection of all human rights.
She underscored the importance of ensuring effective rights protection in regions facing multiple vulnerabilities, particularly in North Africa and the Sahel-Saharan region, where prolonged displacement, poverty, insecurity, environmental pressures, and limited development opportunities can combine to increase the vulnerability of populations, particularly those living in refugee camps.
Duihi noted that while humanitarian assistance is essential, it cannot by itself address the structural factors affecting the effective enjoyment of rights. She called on states and the international community to strengthen protection mechanisms, support national capacities, ensure access to information and effective avenues of redress, and promote the participation of affected populations in decisions concerning their rights and their future.
She also stressed the importance of the right to development in reducing vulnerabilities, strengthening the capacities of individuals and communities, and promoting inclusive participation, arguing that these elements are essential conditions for sustainable human development.
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