UN refugee chief warns conditions worsening for Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih warned Friday that conditions for Sahrawi refugees in and around Tindouf, Algeria, are deteriorating, saying humanitarian needs remain significantly underfunded after more than five decades of displacement.

Addressing the U.N. Security Council, Salih said generations of Sahrawi refugees have grown up in Tindouf and nearby camps facing uncertainty and limited prospects.

“After more than fifty years, managing displacement indefinitely cannot be the measure of our collective ambition,” Salih said, describing the situation as “untenable, unsustainable, and genuinely, truly, inhumane.”

Salih said solutions should begin with refugees themselves, taking into account their differing aspirations and ensuring they can make informed and voluntary choices about their future. He added that UNHCR was working with the U.N. secretary-general’s personal envoy, the United States and other parties to help move the process forward.

The UNHCR chief’s remarks come as rights advocates have raised concerns over conditions in the Tindouf camps, including alleged restrictions on freedom of movement and expression, arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearances.

During a Sept. 18 U.N. Human Rights Council session, El Fadel Bua Da Mohamed, speaking on behalf of the African Network for Development, Governance and Human Rights, said residents faced restrictions on movement. He alleged that a curfew from midnight to 6:30 a.m. had been in place since 2013 and that residents could leave the camps only on Sundays and Thursdays with written authorization.

He also alleged that access to the camps was subject to authorization and raised allegations of restrictions on freedom of expression, enforced disappearance and torture. Those claims were presented by the speaker as allegations concerning the camps.

UNHCR says it supports Sahrawi refugees in five camps near Tindouf, where the population remains dependent on humanitarian assistance in what the agency describes as a protracted displacement situation.

In a broader appeal to the Security Council, Salih said humanitarian organizations can protect and assist displaced people but cannot resolve the conflicts that force them from their homes.

“Ultimately, the most durable solution to forced displacement is peace,” he said.

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