Several NGOs drew the attention of the international community on Friday, at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, to the persistence of slavery practices in the camps of Tindouf.
Speaking during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, jurist Lucia Ferreyra Perea denounced the reality of hereditary slavery and ongoing racial segregation in these camps run by the polisario armed group.
Taking the floor on behalf of the Independent Center for Research and Initiatives for Dialogue (CIRID), Ferreyra Perea mentioned the case of Mohammed Salem, a young Sahrawi who was barred from marrying because his family was considered to be of servile origin.
She described this situation as a "flagrant violation of human dignity," calling on the HRC to launch an independent investigation into these practices.
For his part, Mostafa Maelainine, from the International Committee For the Respect and Application of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (ICRAC), referred to testimonies from former Sahrawi "refugees" reporting systemic discrimination targeting populations of servile descent.
He accused the polisario of instrumentalizing these practices to maintain social and political control over camp populations, in blatant violation of international conventions on the abolition of slavery.
Maelainine also called on the Special Rapporteur to conduct an on-site visit and include these violations in his next report to the Council.
Both speakers stressed the urgency of guaranteeing the fundamental rights to freedom, dignity, and justice for the victims in the camps of Tindouf.
MAP: 13 September 2025
