Human Rights Organizations: Polisario and Algeria Complicit in Crimes Against Children and Women in Tindouf
In a new development highlighting the magnitude of the humanitarian tragedy within the Tindouf camps in southwestern Algeria, non-governmental organizations condemned, on Friday in Geneva, the serious violations perpetrated by Polisario militias, with the support and complicity of Algerian authorities, against children and women detained in these camps.
Charlotte Bama, representative of the Elizka Relief Foundation, condemned the phenomenon of forced child labor in the Gara Djebilet mines in Algeria, in addition to their organized recruitment within the camps to serve the military agenda of the separatist front. According to the organization, more than 8,000 children, some as young as 12, have been recruited and forced to carry weapons and participate in military parades and strenuous training under the threat of penalties, actions described as crimes against humanity known to and occurring under the watchful eye of the Algerian authorities.
Kjmoulla Boucif, from the Independent Center for Research and Initiatives for Dialogue, revealed serious deviations in the “Vacaciones en Paz” (Holidays in Peace) program, which is supposed to be humanitarian but is used as a means for the exploitation and detention of Sahrawi girls. She highlighted the case of 28-year-old Safia, residing in Spain, who was abducted during a family visit to the Tindouf camps in February 2023, where her documents were confiscated, she was threatened with forced marriage, and prevented from leaving the camp despite having official consular documents. The organization confirmed that this is not an isolated case, but rather dozens of women have suffered similar detentions, forced marriages, and threats.
The organizations called for urgent intervention from the Human Rights Council, demanding the immediate release of Safia and the opening of an independent international investigation into the systematic violations in the camps, with a clear condemnation of Algerian complicity that allows these crimes against humanity to continue.
Human rights bodies emphasized that the suffering of children and women in Tindouf is a direct result of Algeria’s policy of supporting and financing Polisario militias, transforming the camps into a closed space devoid of basic rights, overwhelmed by repression, violence, and systematic exploitation, in blatant defiance of international law and human rights charters.
