Cenacolo’s written Statement. Human rights violations committed by armed groups in refugee camps: the case of Tindouf Camps.

Summary of the Written statement submitted by Il Cenacolo NGO during the 48th UN Session for Human Rights. 

This written Statement has been received by the Secretary-General in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31. 

The Tindouf camps on Algerian territory are the scene of numerous human rights violations. The Polisario, a non-state armed group, incites hatred and violence against dissidents. The individual violations are aggravated by the inhuman situation of the inhabitants of these camps and by the fact that Algeria has devolved ‘de facto’ the jurisdiction to the Polisario militia, which exercises it in a totally discretionary manner. The freedom to express is threatened by violent repression and by the fact that one cannot know the legal consequences of his actions.

The renunciation by the Polisario of the ceasefire on November 13, 2020, was only an ostensible reason for this armed group to lead a new wave of repression against the population sequestered in the Tindouf camps marked by a serious deterioration of an already precarious human rights situation, and the propagation of a speech inciting hatred and violence against any dissenting voices who criticize Polisario’s ideological line.

The regime forces residents not to leave the camps and controls the content published by bloggers.

Child soldiering in Tindouf camps shows the real repugnant face of the Polisario militia: young people between the ages of 12 and 13 are taken from Tindouf and sent to training camps in northern Algeria. Polisario shows photos of children in uniform handling weapons, which is a violation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted in 1998 that considers it a war crime, whether recruitment is voluntary or compulsory.

Finally, Polisario sees the covid-19 emergency as an opportunity to tighten the control measures on people who are usually active in reporting abuses in the camps.

Aid to tackle the virus is only granted to those who show loyalty to the regime, creating a trade-off between freedom and health