Washington - US House of Representative members called on the UN high Commissioner for refugees (HCR) to "protect the rights" of the population held against its will in the Polisario-run camps of Tindouf, south-western Algeria.
In a letter sent the HCR head Antonio Guterres, co-chairs of the partisan Congressional Refugee Caucus of the US House of Representatives, Lincoln-Diaz-Balart and Zoe Lofgren said they believe the Office of the UN high Commissioner for refugees "should work toward ensuring that the rights of the populations living in Tindouf be fully protected".

"Before another generation is born in these camps, we respectfully request that you actively work with the UN Security Council and other states to establish a credible system to protect the population of these camps that have reportedly suffered far too much already", they said.

While commending the latest visit of the HCR head to the region in September 2009, the first of a Commissioner since 1976, Diaz-Balart and Lofgren underscored the critical need for the HCR to "take a strong position" on behalf of the population held against its will in these camps.

In a comment on a recent report released by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) on the situation in Tindouf, the two US Representatives said they were concerned about the report's description of the dire living conditions in the Polisario-controlled camps.

They also deplored that no international body has conducted a census of the camps population to properly identify and document this population, saying that such an initiative is required "to ensure the security of this population and to adequately assess whether foreign aid is meeting its needs".

"A reliable population count is also an important first step toward developing a process of resettlement" for this population, they added.

The population of the Tindouf camps are denied the right of free movement although this is a basic right guaranteed by the 1951 convention on refugees and the 1967 protocol, to which Algeria is signatory and bound to respect under international law, Diaz-Balart and Lofgren said, quoting the report.

According to the two US MPs, the population of these camps should have "the option of repatriation" to third countries.

Source : Maghreb Arab Press