"These women are deprived of their right to expression, free movement and health in a territory lacking decent living conditions and separated from their deported children"
The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) of Colombia, the country's largest trade union, has launched an "urgent appeal for the release of Sahrawi women sequestered in the Tindouf camps, victims of unacceptable and systematic violations of their fundamental rights".
In a statement published on its website on the occasion of International Women's Day, the CGT of Colombia called for "immediate international and UN intervention to prevent the deterioration of the human rights situation in Tindouf (southern Algeria), where women suffer from a precarious humanitarian situation due to sexual abuse and forced procreation".
"These women are deprived of their most basic rights, such as the right to expression, free movement and health, and are subjected to slavery-like practices in a territory lacking the minimum conditions for a dignified life and separated from their children deported to distant countries, "the statement said.
The General Confederation of Labor of Colombia also draws attention to the alarming situation of women in the Tindouf camps, which are subject to serious violations, noting that despite the repeated calls by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Secretariat, the number of people detained in these camps remains unknown.
According to the Colombian CGT, the absence of a census of the sequestered population has led to the diversion of humanitarian aid to these camps, as confirmed by UNHCR, World Food Program (WFP) reports, European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Union, to the detriment of women and children most affected by extreme poverty in these camps.
This situation, says the communiqué, has been denounced on several occasions by the United Nations bodies, in particular the Human Rights Council, or the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly, as well as by many NGOs and humanitarian organizations around the world.
In the face of this alarming situation that has lasted for four decades, the CGT urges the Secretary General of the United Nations and the international community to intervene to put an end to the serious human rights violations perpetrated in the Tindouf camps, "The parties concerned to find a political and final solution to the regional dispute in the Sahara within the framework of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco and in accordance with the Moroccan proposal for autonomy, described as serious and credible by the international community" .
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