At the Fourth Committee of the United Nations, Spain took the floor on behalf of the European Union to request a census of the population of the Tindouf camps.
“The representative of Spain, speaking on behalf of the European Union, expressed support for the consensual adoption of the text on Western Sahara and welcomed the Secretary-General’s efforts to achieve a just and lasting solution on that matter,” read the committee minutes.
Encouraging parties to work towards such a solution, Spain, who holds the rotating presidency of the European Union until December 31, 2023, expressed support for the efforts of the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara to relaunch the political process.
The official then called for “new and additional contributions to support those living in the Tindouf camps,” stressing “the need to register refugees,” saying: “Confidence-building measures are essential to improve the atmosphere for the political process.”
Both the UN Security Council and Morocco have been requesting a Tindouf census for well over a decade, but Algiers’ categorical refusal to authorize UN services to carry out this operation on its territory has blocked the initiative.
Morocco’s representative within the same committee, Ambassador Omar Hilale additionally asked: “Why did Algeria not allow the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to register refugees?”
Hilale invited Algeria to participate in round-table discussions and negotiations to address ongoing issues, who in response, ignored Morocco and Spain’s calls for registering the refugees kept in the Tindouf camps.
Back in September 2022, in a statement to the UN General Assembly, the Algerian government had stated that “for the census, it only makes sense if it forms part of a fair and free referendum aimed at enabling the people of Western Sahara to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination, in accordance with international legality.”
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