Tindouf camps must stop being an except to registration, an indispensable tool for protection against the embezzlement of humanitarian aid, said Morocco's permanent representative in Geneva Ambassador Mohamed Aujjar.
Speaking Thursday before the session of the Standing Committee of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Mr. Aujjar stressed that "the absence of registration of refugees condemned to live in a situation of legal uncertainty, dependent on assistance and exposed to protection risks, including exploitation and slavery. "
The ambassador welcomed UNHCR's commitment to the enlargement of the biometric registration in several countries hosting refugees for the establishment of a universal standard biometric system in the field.
This registration system should apply to all refugee situations, without restrictions by host countries, he stressed, noting that the registration remains an essential tool for protection against embezzlement of humanitarian aid.
Host countries and humanitarian actors, including implementing partners on the ground have the primary responsibility to prevent the embezzlement of aid before it reaches the needy, he has said.
Mr. Aujjar said that in Tindouf camps, misappropriation of humanitarian aid was unveiled in a report by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The embezzlement of humanitarian aid, he added, was also the subject of a resolution adopted by the European Parliament on April 29.
This resolution emphasizes the need to reassess the EU aid and to adapt to the real needs of the populations of the Tindouf camps and ensure that the Algerian and Saharawi officials implicated by the report have more access to aid financed by European taxpayers, he said.
He further noted that if protection remains a major concern to UNHCR, the success of this humanitarian mission depends on the level of commitment and cooperation of host countries.
"We support the state's approach allowing refugees equitable access to basic social services such as education, health and access to the labor market and the free movement outside camps," he continued.
The ambassador added in this context the recent organization in Morocco of the thematic meeting of the Rabat process on asylum and international protection at the joint initiative of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Spain, the meeting discussed ways and means to strengthen national protection systems in order to provide better cooperation in the region of Rabat process.
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