South American media reported that child soldiers were displayed in photos of the visit of UN Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, to the Tindouf camps, considering that as a "testimony of violations of humanitarian law by the polisario
The Argentine news agency "Alternativa Presse Agency" recalled that "for years, various international humanitarian organizations and independent journalists publish articles, with photos and videos, denouncing the presence of child soldiers in the ranks of the polisario, in the face of the indifference of UN and European authorities”.
The author of the article is surprised by "the presence of a child soldier amongthe delegation that accompanied the Personal envoy of UN Secretary General, Staffan de Mistura, during his first visit to the camps" of Tindouf.
In Peru, the daily "La Razon" writes that the presence of child soldiers alongside Staffan De Mistura in the Tindouf camps "has caused indignation and rejection by various observers and political and civil actors at the international level”, noting that "the Italian diplomat Staffan De Mistura witnessed the presence of these child soldiers displayed by the separatist militia, in total violation of the Rights of the Child”.
La Razon also emphasizes that "the militarization of children is so common among the Polisario militia that the Personal envoy of the UN SG for the Sahara was received in Tindouf by some of these little soldiers in uniform," as evidenced by photos of his visit.
Similarly, the Federation of Peruvian Journalists expressed astonishment at the presence of these child soldiers at the reception of De Mistura in Tindouf, who should, according to the Federation, "assume his responsibility as Personal envoy of the Secretary General of an organization that makes ethics and morality cardinal values”.
The Federation's website publishes a photo that shows several child soldiers in military uniforms, placed along the path taken by De Mistura.
The same source notes that "these people, wrongly called refugees, live in the camps of Tindouf, located on Algerian soil, and do not receive any international humanitarian protection, because the country that hosts them does not allow the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to register them.
"The tragedy of these children forcibly recruited by the Polisario militias has once again been exposed to the international community," concludes the website of the Federation of Peruvian Journalists.