|
|
Media
- On World Refugee Day 2008, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants details abuses in Polisario Jun 20 2008
CONTACT: Calvin Dark
202-587-0855
On World Refugee Day 2008, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants details abuses in Polisario refugee camps
Washington, DC (June 20, 2008) – Today, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) marks World Refugee Day 2008 and calls the international community to action on behalf of the more than 30 million refugees dispersed in conflicts across the globe. On this occasion, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) released its annual report detailing the plights of these often ignored refugee communities, including the tens of thousands of Sahrawi refugees currently being held by a rebel separatist group, known as the Polisario Front, in southern Algeria.
The USCRI’s World Refugee Survey 2008 details the stifling and deteriorating conditions for the tens of thousands of Sahrawi refugees held captive by the Polisario Front with the “acquiescence of the Government of Algeria.” Specifically, the USCRI’s findings confirm past accounts by hundreds of former Sahrawi refugees that there is no freedom of movement in the tightly-controlled Polisario camps. According to the Survey, “[the] Polisario forbade return to the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara […] and arrested those who expressed an interest in doing so.”
The Survey also revealed that the Sahrawi refugees under Polisario control were forced to undergo military training, that unwed refugee mothers were confined to a detention center and that Polisario military officials “reportedly opened fire […] upon at least one pair of persons attempting to cross the sand wall separating the camps from Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.” The USCRI further highlighted the role of Algeria in this on-going humanitarian crisis, particularly its complicity in the systematic diversion of international humanitarian aid. “[Algeria’s] refusal to allow a registration census prevented UNHCR from profiling the population for humanitarian and protection needs or monitoring aid distribution,” outlined the Survey.
For the complete USCRI’s World Refugee Survey 2008, please visit www.refugees.org
Earlier this month, the New York Times (“Western Sahara’s Conflict Traps Refugees in Limbo”, June 4, 2008) highlighted the testimonies of six former Sahrawi refugees who recently visited the U.S. to speak out on behalf of their family members and thousands of others still being held by the Polisario Front. (For more information about the former refugees’ visit to the U.S., please visit www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org) Their accounts, along with the extensive findings by the USCRI, underscore the urgency for the international community to call upon Algeria and the Polisario Front to open their camps and allow the refugees the choice to leave or stay.
“Refugees are not unique because they are away from home,” declared António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, on World Refugee Day 2007. “What sets them apart is that they cannot return there.”
###
The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and an interested public in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.
FINAL_MACP_Press_Release061808_World_Refugee_Day _4_.pdf
- Press Release: Members of Congress Pledge to Address Inhumane Conditions and Theft of Humanitarian A May 12 2008
CONTACT: Calvin Dark
202-587-0855
Members of Congress Pledge to Address Inhumane Conditions and Theft of Humanitarian Aid in Polisario Refugee Camps
Washington, DC (May 12, 2008) – Last week, members and staff of the U.S. Congress met with former Sahrawi refugees who recently returned from the Polisario camps in southern Algeria. These refugees—some held in the camps their entire lives—shared eye-witness accounts of human rights abuses and the diversion of international humanitarian aid by the Polisario Front.
“We can make sure that the dollars we send are used in the way the Congress intended it to be used, making sure that the aid is going to the people and that is not being resold and making sure that the people have the freedom to leave the camps when they want to and make sure that the humanitarian conditions are as we expect in any camp around the world,” said Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), an active member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the Caucus for Women's Issues.
Rep. Brown pointed out that Congress can adopt resolutions and urge the United Nations to lead investigations into the conditions in the camps to make sure that the humanitarian aid reaches those it is intended to assist. This pledge to encourage oversight by the US Congress was welcomed by Naba Deddah El Meki, a former Polisario humanitarian aid coordinator who shared her accounts of systematic corruption and theft with the Congresswoman.
The former Sahrawi refugees also visited the offices of Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Rep. John Boozman (R-AR), Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
After speaking with the former Sahrawi refugees about the lack of freedom of movement in the camps Congressman Ellison said that if these conditions exist, he would do what he could.
“International pressure, particularly from the United States Congress, is the most effective tool to bring an end to the suffering of the Sahrawi refugees and their families,” said Robert Holley, Executive Director of the Moroccan American Center for Policy. “Until Algeria and the Polisario realize that the international community will no longer tolerate this shameful humanitarian crisis, the refugees will not have the choice to leave the camps.”
###
The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and an interested public in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.
FINAL_Press_Release050908V2.pdf
- Press Release: Former Refugees in Washington, DC this week speak out for thousands still held in Pol May 05 2008
CONTACT: Calvin Dark
202-587-0855
Former Refugees in Washington, DC this week speak out for thousands still held in Polisario camps
Washington, DC (May 5, 2008) – This week, a group of former Sahrawi refugees held by the Polisario Front in southern Algeria—some for their entire lives—have come to United States to meet with US government officials, media, and human rights organizations. Their mission is to speak out on behalf of their own families and the tens of thousands of other refugees still being held in the tightly-controlled Polisario camps.
Among the group of former refugees are: Naba Deddah El Meki (a former Polisario humanitarian aid coordinator who witnessed systematic corruption and theft), Naha Al Salek Sidi (a handicapped mother of two, who was used by the Polisario to solicit medical supplies from international NGOs – supplies which were subsequently sold), Salma Essalek and Said Abderahman (a pregnant woman and her husband who made their nighttime escape through a minefield, chased by Polisario soldiers), Al Afia Hammidi (a mother of five who, with the assistance of UNHCR, last week won the battle to force the Polisario to return her two youngest children) and Brahim Al Selem (a former Polisario police officer who was imprisoned for speaking out against the Polisario, and who has first-hand knowledge of secret prisons for unwed mothers, and the extensive smuggling and contraband network operating in the region).
Their testimonies are hardly unique; they represent hundreds of similar accounts witnessed by international organizations, such as the UN High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Program. Too often, the Polisario Front has used the Western Sahara political impasse to distract attention away from this on-going humanitarian crisis. In fact, just two weeks ago, the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for the Western Sahara, Peter Van Walsum acknowledged that there is also a “moral dilemma” to the situation and lamented that the intolerable status quo is “too readily accepted [. . .] by deeply involved supporters of the Frente Polisario, who do not live in the camps themselves [. . .].”
“It is vital for the international community to be aware of these inhumane conditions and denial of refugee rights under international law, including the most basic freedom to leave the Polisario controlled refugee camps,” said Robert Holley, Executive Director of the Moroccan American Center for Policy. “The overall situation in the Western Sahara is not merely a political conflict, but an unconscionable humanitarian crisis that must be addressed.”
###
The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and an interested public in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.
FINAL_Press_Release05_05_08V3 _2_.pdf
|
|
