The Canarian Sahrawi Forum denounces serious human rights violations in Tindouf camps before the UN

During the 59th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Canarian Sahrawi Forum officially submitted a letter denouncing systematic human rights violations in the Tindouf camps, under the control of the Polisario Front. The letter, addressed to High Commissioner Volker Türk and UN bodies, describes a critical humanitarian situation marked by extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture, modern slavery, and massive diversion of humanitarian aid.

The delegation led by Ignacio Ortiz Palacio, president of the Forum, presented a documented dossier on these abuses, including the case of Ahmed Khalil, former Polisario human rights advisor kidnapped in Algiers. The Forum also warns of the Polisario’s involvement in terrorist activities in the Sahel, highlighting links with groups such as AQIM and Daesh through former Polisario fighters.

Faced with this situation, the Canarian Sahrawi Forum demands immediate and unrestricted access for international organizations to the camps, the conduct of a transparent census under international supervision, and strict monitoring of aid distribution. It also accuses Algeria, as the host state, of complicity in these violations by delegating its responsibility to an illegitimate armed group.

In a tense context marked by the UN’s financial crisis, this action aims to break impunity and draw global attention to a humanitarian crisis forgotten for nearly fifty years.