A key overall challenge remains the lack of political progress with regards to efforts to reach a just, durable and mutually acceptable political solution to the conflict in Western Sahara that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. While no breakthrough was reached, an encouraging development was the December 2018 round of political talks involving the parties hosted by the UN, the first of their kind in 6 years. The political situation is followed closely by the Sahrawi refugee community, and the perceived lack of progress has been linked to the frustration of the community in general, particularly young people. The youth segment is faced with the major issue of unemployment, poverty, idleness and loss of hope, which may have negative consequences affecting the entire community in terms of protection risks. While individual and biometric registration, whether by the host country or UNHCR, remained a politically unachievable goal due to the intrinsic link to the political context and to the issue of the planned but unrealized referendum on the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, a relative breakthrough was obtained during 2018. After several years of preparation, UNHCR deployed technical experts to lead the development of a new evidence-based population figure which was shared in the report, in March 2018. The report shared the population figure for the Sahrawi refugees living in the five camps, revising the more than 10 year old planning figure of 90,000 most vulnerable refugees and 125,000 individuals receiving food and nutrition assistance, which had remained the same since 2005. A second mission took place in 2018, again led by UNHCR deployed technical experts, building on the work of the March report and which involved an interagency working group in order to conduct a multi-sector vulnerability assessment. While the field work was largely completed, at the time of reporting the vulnerability assessment was not yet finalised. As a country of transit, due to its geographical situation, and of destination, Algeria continued to be confronted with a significant influx of refugees and migrants, facing a number of challenges in responding to the dynamics of mixed movements of refugees and migrants arriving in the country. Highly organized transnational criminal networks that facilitate illegal border crossings, transport and accommodation in the south of Algeria, expose many migrants and refugees to violence and exploitation risks. The regional context was marked by instability in two neighboring countries (Libya and Mali) with the potential spillover of threats to Algeria. Deportation campaigns of irregular migrants increased in 2018 and have affected also several refugees and asylum-seekers. UNHCR Algeria systematically collected information, allowing the office to closely monitor trends and advocate with the authorities. The concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee on the fourth periodic report of Algeria on the implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were published on 17 August 2018, highlighting the need to adopt as soon as possible an asylum legislation which protects asylum-seekers and refugees, and to stop arbitrary arrest and collective expulsion of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers. Challenges resulted from limited access to economic, social and civil rights, creating serious obstacles for self-reliance of refugees and the risk of detention and expulsion. UNHCR’s presence is limited to Algiers. The lack of outreach outside of Algiers and access for UNHCR to borders and large parts of the country, due to security restrictions and lack of authorization from the Algerian authorities, is a major constraint in terms of reaching out to people in need of international protection, moving as part of mixed movements.
