Urgent call for support as Polisario embezzles aid meant for Sahrawis

Friday 02 May 2025 - 09:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Urgent call for support as Polisario embezzles aid meant for Sahrawis

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued a pressing appeal for increased support for Sahrawis, as aid continues to be misappropriated in Tindouf due to the ongoing embezzlement by the Polisario Front. Alistair Alain Boulton, the UNHCR representative in Algeria, emphasized on Tuesday that the organization requires $100 million annually to provide adequate assistance to Sahrawi refugees.

The UN has repeatedly expressed alarm regarding the dire conditions in Tindouf, where approximately 90,000 Sahrawis reside in harsh circumstances, lacking basic rights, including freedom of movement. The residents of the camps are confined, as Algeria's government prohibits them from traveling beyond Tindouf, a remote area where malnutrition and anemia are rampant among thousands of women and children.

Reports from UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlight the troubling situation in the camps, with the most recent update published in October of last year. "Combined with extreme environmental conditions and limited economic opportunities, this situation leaves many Sahrawis malnourished and highly vulnerable," Boulton noted.

The crisis is compounded by Algeria's refusal to conduct a census that would accurately assess the number of refugees in the camps, which is currently estimated at around 90,000. Former members of the Polisario leadership have suggested that only 20% of the camp's inhabitants are Sahrawis, while the rest comprise individuals from various tribes, including those from Algeria.

Despite substantial financial contributions from numerous donors and countries within the European Union and beyond, reports indicate a persistent decline in living standards for the Sahrawis. The ongoing embezzlement of humanitarian funds by the Polisario has only worsened this situation.

A 2021 report from the Tindouf Autonomy Support Forum (FORSATIN) raised alarms over a severe health crisis in the camps, attributing it to a lack of medical supplies, which are often smuggled rather than distributed to those in need. This concern is not isolated; FORSATIN has been vocal about these illicit practices for an extended period.

In 2015, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) revealed embezzlement of humanitarian aid from 2003 to 2007. The report stated that the Polisario leadership had been selling aid designated for refugees in Mauritania and sub-Saharan markets to fund arms purchases.

In April, Morocco's permanent ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale, highlighted Algeria's ongoing refusal to allow a census and registration of Sahrawis in Tindouf for over five decades, despite explicit directives from the Security Council since 2011. "The absence of a census facilitates the diversion of humanitarian aid, which has compelled agencies and NGOs to curtail their assistance," Hilale remarked, referencing reports from OLAF, the UNHCR Inspector General’s Office, and the World Food Programme that confirmed the diversion of aid by Polisario and Algerian officials.

He further underscored how Algeria's regime denies Sahrawis their fundamental rights, including the option to return to Morocco, resettle in a third country, or integrate into Algeria.

Recent accounts have emerged detailing the experiences of three former Polisario members who fled the camps to Morocco, surrendering and appealing for assistance. This situation unfolds as numerous politicians and influential figures globally advocate for the international community to classify the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization, citing its role in destabilizing the region and its continued deprivation of Sahrawis' basic rights.