"Children in the Tindouf camps are victims of serious violations perpetrated by the polisario on the territory of a UN member state, Algeria," said Sahrawi community activist Mahjouba Daoudi, speaking on behalf of the NGO during the 46th session of the HRC.
"These children do not enjoy their right to a normal childhood, including the right to identity, a healthy life, education and schooling and to be raised within their own family," she said.
Separated from their families at an early age, these children have become a target for illegal trafficking networks. They are deported to faraway countries where they are exploited in prohibited activities such as forced labor and recruitment through bucket shops operating under the cover of so-called "summer camps," Daoudi revealed.
The only detriment of these children is that they were born on the territory of a country that abandons its state prerogatives to the polisario leaders, who exploit the suffering of this vulnerable population to divert humanitarian aid for enrichment, a truth revealed in various international official documents, such as the Reports of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the Office of the Inspector General of the UNHCR, she added.
In light of this situation that has endangered, for decades, the Sahrawi children imprisoned in the camps of Tindouf in Algeria, the activist invited the Council to act urgently to put an end to the abuses, violence, and acts of exploitation they are victims of.