Controversial reactions on Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights visit to Western Sahara:

While intimacy exposed bias intentions

 Kerry Kennedy, President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center), has started her exploration trip to Western Sahara and to Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria from August 24 to 31. The objective of the visit was basically designated to assess the human rights situation on the ground.

The American delegation arrived Friday in Laayoune then left after three days stay there to the Tindouf camps located in Algeria’s South West, to inquire about the human rights situation.

According to several observers and experts on the issue, Robert F. Kennedy Center has already damaged the efficiency of the report expected to be prepared by the center including observations from delegation members, after the trip concludes.

Criticism has already focused on the lack of neutrality in the performance of delegation members who have:

– excluded several Sahraoui NGOs from their contacts

– been hosted by Aminatou Haidar instead of avoiding intimacy with both concern parties

– has not respected a balanced timetable allocation during their stay in both areas.

Several Moroccan NGOs, that regularly criticize Moroccan government on various issues, have been surprised by the overt bias of the visiting Robert Kennedy center for Justice & Human Rights in favour of Western Sahara Separatists operating in the city of Laayoune. The NGOs claim that the RFK Center delegation has held meetings that excluded other activists of civil society and representatives of the local population that don’t agree with their point of view.

According to some Minurso agents -who have favoured to keep themselves anonymous-, the delegation members were not professional and provided a very non-constructive image on the international organizations’ assessment.

“We were expecting a very neutral delegation who will visit the city, to interview, to listen to people mainly young communities, and gender Sahraoui activists, to check infrastructure accessibilities, to investigate on security and all administrative related structures in the city… but what has happened was similar to a friendly visit of an American group to Aminato Haidar’s place. Completely a familial like visit and not professional in all means”

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