Women and children at risk: Algeria, a reflection of violence in Africa

During the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a side event highlighted the systemic violence suffered by women, girls, and boys across the African continent. Organized by Africa Watch, the Altamirano Foundation, and the OIDUR Observatory, the parallel conference addressed the issue of violence against women, girls, and children on the African continent and in the Tindouf camps, located in Algerian territory and controlled by the armed group Polisario.

Gathered in the city of human rights, Geneva, the speakers offered a forceful analysis of the situation in several conflict zones in Africa, with a particular focus on fundamental rights violations in the Sahrawi camps in Tindouf, Algeria. Moderated by Abdelouahab Gain, president of the NGO Africa Watch, the debates revealed the often hidden realities of these territories, which are outside the sovereignty of any state. Sara Baresi, director of OIDUR (Italy), opened the debate by analyzing the root causes of violence against women and children in Africa: armed conflict, violent extremism, poverty, ethnic discrimination, and marginalization.

She strongly denounced early and forced marriages imposed in the Tindouf camps, describing them as a tool of ideological domination and selective control, concluding that these practices are routinely used to create a generation completely subordinate to Polisario propaganda.

Shaibata Mrabih Rabou, a human rights activist, presented a heartbreaking case: that of young Ennouha, who was prevented from reuniting with her seriously ill mother in France due to arbitrary decisions by the camp's military leaders. This case, he said, illustrates the cynical use of family separation as a tool of political control. He called for international mobilization for the immediate release of the girl and family reunification, in accordance with international law.

Pedro Ignacio Altamirano, president of the Altamirano Foundation (Spain), denounced the post-conflict trauma suffered by children in the Tindouf camps. He described a climate of terror in which children and women are used as human shields, sex slaves, or propagandists, exposed to physical, psychological, and sexual violence. He specifically accused the armed group in the camp of being guilty of “lies, manipulation, and cowardice,” forever tarnishing the future of these populations.

Judit Segarra, a Spanish psychologist and member of the Altamirano Foundation, highlighted the essential role of the family and the State in protecting children. She recalled that in the Tindouf camps, children are deprived of their education, their rights, and their future, while in the Kingdom of Morocco, including its southern provinces, constant efforts are being made to ensure equal access to education, health, and social protection.

In conclusion, the organizers and speakers unanimously urged the United Nations and its Member States to end impunity in the Tindouf camps, support independent Sahrawi NGOs, and recognize Morocco's efforts for human development and respect for fundamental rights. This side event highlighted a fundamental fact: the cause of women and children cannot be politically exploited, and any attempt to violate human rights for separatist purposes must be strongly condemned.

Inhumane expulsions and abandonment of migrants in the desert: Algeria again denounced before the UN

Furthermore, also within the framework of the 59th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, during the interactive dialogue with Gehad Madi, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants, Algeria was again singled out for its flagrant violations in this area.

Speaking on behalf of the Network for Training, Research and Action on African Migration (REFORMAF), Ms. Berfin Hayran denounced the mass and inhumane expulsions carried out by the Algerian authorities. Since 2024, numerous migrants, including women and children, have been abandoned in the Sahara desert without water, food, or assistance. These practices, described as systematic, constitute serious violations of international law and humanitarian conventions.

REFORMAF also sounded the alarm about the mass disappearances of migrants and exploitation by human trafficking networks, particularly in Libya, in a climate of impunity.

In light of this dramatic situation, the NGO called on states to:

• Strengthen regional cooperation to better protect migrants.
• Implement effective mechanisms for searching for and identifying missing migrants.
• Give absolute priority to the protection of vulnerable groups, in particular women and children.

This intervention serves as a reminder of Algeria's direct responsibility for the current drift in migration policies, pointing to a regime which, behind an official discourse of solidarity, practices rejection and deliberate abandonment of human lives on the ground.