HRW urges Polisario to respect Sahrawi refugee rights

Algiers (AFP) - Human Rights Watch has urged the Western Sahara's Polisario Front to make more of an effort to ensure respect for human rights in refugee camps the pro-independence group runs in the Algerian desert.

Western Sahara has mostly been under Moroccan control since Spanish colonisers left in the 1970s, but it is claimed by the Algerian-backed Polisario.

Rabat has proposed autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for the vast desert region, which has fewer than one million inhabitants, while Polisario wants a referendum on the territory's status.

In a report released Saturday, HRW said refugees who have been living in the camps for four decades "seem to be generally able to leave the camps if they wish, but face curbs on some rights."

The Polisario tolerates some speech and demonstrations critical of its governance, but there are "credible allegations that authorities harassed some critics for speaking out," the New York-based group said in a statement to accompany its report.

"In addition, the rights of some civilians tried before military courts have been abridged and slavery-like practices continue to exist in isolated cases," the statement added.

The Polisario "should end military court jurisdiction over civilians and redouble its efforts to eradicate all vestiges of slavery," as well as "ensure that camp residents are free to challenge its policies and leadership peacefully and to advocate options other than independence."

At the same time, "Algeria should publicly acknowledge its legal responsibility for ensuring respect for the rights of everyone on its territory, including residents of the Polisario-run refugee camps."

Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East and North Africa director, said "regular, on-the-ground UN human rights monitoring and reporting would help establish the truth and protect both Sahrawis who live under Moroccan rule in Western Sahara and these isolated refugees."

The Polisario says it favours enlarging the mandate of the UN peace-keeping force in the region to include human rights monitoring, but Morocco opposes that as an infringement on the sovereignty it claims over the territory.