Algeria’s Crimes and the Polisario Militias in Tindouf Under Scrutiny by the UN Human Rights Council
Express TV: Mustafa Filali
The Tindouf camps, located on Algerian territory and controlled by the Polisario militias, have transformed into centers of silence and suffering that span over five decades. During the sixtieth session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, human rights activists issued urgent calls to rescue thousands of Sahrawis detained in these camps, described as “collective detention centers.” They hold Algeria and the separatist militias fully responsible for ongoing crimes and violations against civilians.
Human rights activist and former detainee of the Polisario, Mahmoud Zidan, revealed the catastrophic conditions within the camps, including military besiegement, torture, arbitrary arrests, and enforced disappearances. He noted that over 30 young men have been killed by Algerian forces while attempting to escape the hell of the camps, in addition to documenting more than 130 cases of enforced disappearance in secret centers run by the militias, amid complete silence from Algerian authorities, who have ceded their land to an armed group operating outside the law.
In his remarks, Mustafa Maayaneen, representative of the International Committee for the Respect of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, highlighted the ongoing tragedy of activist Ahmed Khalil, who has been missing since 2009. He emphasized that this crime illustrates the complicity of Algerian intelligence with the Polisario in silencing dissenting voices. He argued that Algeria’s silence perpetuates a culture of impunity and violates its international obligations, particularly the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Ocaproce International also warned of the media and military blockade imposed on the camps for half a century, aimed at obscuring the grave crimes and violations affecting both activists and the general population. The organization urged the international community to intervene immediately and hold those responsible for these crimes accountable, asserting that the realistic and just solution lies in the Moroccan autonomy initiative, which guarantees dignity and freedom for Sahrawis, in stark contrast to the oppression, starvation, and deprivation exercised by Algeria and its separatist arm.
