Agadir – Several non-governmental organizations have raised concerns over the human rights situation in the separatist Polisario-run Tindouf camps, calling for stronger protection mechanisms and independent monitoring during the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).
Speaking on Friday under the council’s Agenda Item 3, devoted to the promotion and protection of all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, the NGOs pointed to alleged restrictions on movement and freedom of expression, arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearances in the camps.
The organizations also called for strengthening protection mechanisms, guaranteeing access to effective legal remedies, and conducting an independent assessment of human rights conditions in the camps.
Ayman Okail, president of the Maat Foundation for Peace, Development, and Human Rights, said the organization was concerned about the violations committed by the Polisario against residents of the camps.
Okail referred to alleged cases of detention and torture, as well as restrictions on peaceful demonstrations and protests.
He further explained that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN human rights experts have not been able to access the Tindouf camps.
Okail called for the UN human rights office to gain access to the camps to independently assess the situation.
El Fadel Bua Da Mohamed, speaking on behalf of the African Network for Development, Governance, and Human Rights, also raised concerns about restrictions imposed on residents.
He said residents have faced a curfew since 2013, running from midnight to 6:30 a.m., while leaving the camps is reportedly permitted only on Sundays and Thursdays and requires individual authorization. He added that access to the camps also requires prior authorization.
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Da Mohamed further accused the Polisario of carrying out arrests targeting opponents and people expressing dissent. He said such practices allegedly involve torture, enforced disappearance, and restrictions on access to food assistance.
The speaker also raised concerns about alleged pressure on journalists and activists living outside the camps and their families, urging an independent investigation into the human rights situation in Tindouf and calling for guarantees of freedom of movement, freedom of expression, and access to justice.
Aicha Douihi, representing the NGO Organization for the Promotion of Economic and Social Development, focused on the broader challenges facing vulnerable populations in North Africa and the Sahel-Sahara region.
She said UN human rights mechanisms play an important role in strengthening protection for people facing multiple forms of vulnerability, particularly where prolonged displacement, poverty, insecurity, environmental pressures, and limited development opportunities combine to deepen hardship, including among people living in refugee camps.
Duihi added that humanitarian assistance, while necessary, cannot by itself address the structural conditions affecting the effective enjoyment of rights.
She called for stronger protection mechanisms, greater support for national capacities, access to information and effective remedies, and meaningful participation by affected populations in decisions concerning their rights and future. She also stressed the importance of the right to development in reducing vulnerability and promoting sustainable human development.
