The right to freely consent to return: parallels and differences with the Sahara
- Tindouf camps: between violations and prolonged captivity
- Palestine: between forced exile and reconstruction
- Global reflections on asylum and dignity
- A conclusion that moved the audience
In Geneva, on the sidelines of the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a high-level side event was held at the Hotel N'VY in Geneva under the title: ‘The Right of Return’, or the right to freely consent to return. Organised by several international organisations, this meeting provided an opportunity to compare the Sahrawi and Palestinian experiences from the same perspective: the right of return remains one of the most violated human rights in conflict zones.
Moderated by Mr Moulay Lahsen Naji, President of CIDH Africa, the panel brought together leading figures from the academic and humanitarian fields:
- Ms Gajmoula Boussif (Morocco), President of the Sahara Observatory for Economic and Social Development
- Mr Ayman Okeil (Egypt), President of MAAT for Peace
- Mr Ignacio Ortiz (Spain), President of the Fórum Canario Saharaui
- Mr. Mehmet Şükrü Güzel (Turkey), President of the Centre for Peace and Reconciliation Studies
- Mr. Bruce Wong (Australia), President of the Bruce Wong Foundation
- Ms. Hülya Kurt (Switzerland), President of Women in International Trade and Professor at SSBM Geneva
Tindouf camps: between violations and prolonged captivity
Several panellists focused their speeches on the critical situation in the Tindouf camps. Mehmet Şükrü Güzel from Turkey described what is happening there as genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the non-state armed group Polisario Front. He denounced the forced deportation of Sahrawis to the camps and considered that the UN had made a mistake in including the Sahara issue in the decolonisation process. He also criticised the admission of the so-called SADR to the African Union, describing it as a violation of the United Nations Charter, and called for the recognition of refugee status for Sahrawis.
Gajmoula Boussif addressed the situation of Sahrawi women, victims of forced marriages, sexual violence and ideological surveillance. She denounced the exploitation of the ‘Holidays in Peace’ programme as a mechanism for propaganda and family breakdown.
Ignacio Ortiz presented several documented cases of torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and repression of freedoms that would amply justify the right of return. He pointed out the responsibility of the Algerian State, as the host country, for ceding control of these camps to an armed group without legitimacy, and demanded a transparent international census and the guarantee of the right of return to Morocco. He also recalled what was probably the first serious human rights violation committed by the Polisario against the Sahrawi population, even during the final stages of Spanish rule, through kidnappings in inland settlements, forced recruitment and subsequent transfer to camps in Algeria, with the calculated aim of swelling the population that could support the Polisario's claims to form a government in exile.
Palestine: between forced exile and reconstruction
From Egypt, Ayman Okeil focused his speech on the situation in Gaza, where the massive destruction of civilian infrastructure and forced displacement threaten the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people. He asserted the right of return as a pillar of international justice and called for reconstruction based on legality, equity and human rights.
Global reflections on asylum and dignity
Bruce Wong, an Australian entrepreneur and activist, shared his personal experience as a Cambodian refugee in Thailand before being welcomed in Australia. He recounted how he managed to rebuild his life and found a humanitarian organisation active in Asia, which will now expand its work to Africa. He emphasised that education is the foundation of refugee dignity and called for concrete action and the building of bridges between peoples.
Hülya Kurt offered a comprehensive overview of the refugee phenomenon, highlighting that refugees suffer humiliation, exclusion and a lack of real integration. She called for urgent humanitarian assistance but also for sustainable integration policies, with a particular focus on empowering refugee women. She emphasised the essential role of civil society in defending their rights.
A conclusion that moved the audience
The event concluded with the screening of a shocking video, recently shared on social media, showing Sahrawi families trying to escape from the Tindouf camps to return to Morocco, their historic homeland, after the massacre of 9 April 2025, perpetrated by the Algerian army against Sahrawi gold miners. In the recording, civilians can be heard begging Algerian soldiers not to shoot them, while shouting loudly their desire to return to Morocco. These images starkly reflect the desperate longing for freedom, justice and dignity that resonates in the hearts of those who have been confined to oblivion for decades.