Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what independent assessment has been made of the number of refugees living in the Tindouf camps; and what the most recent estimate of that number is.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have no access to independent figures on the number of refugees living in the Tindouf camps. The UK supports the language in the UN Secretary General’s latest report on the situation in Western Sahara (S/2014/258), which cites a figure of 90,000 refugees.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on when the report to the European Anti Fraud Office on food aid for the Tindouf refugee camps was (a) undertaken, (b) completed and (c) published.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The European Anti Fraud Office (OLAF) report on food aid in Tindouf refugee camps was undertaken from 2003, drafted in 2007 and released in 2015 following an intervention by the EU Ombudsman.Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the findings of the report of the European Anti Fraud Office on food aid for the Tindouf refugee camps.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The European Anti Fraud Office (OLAF) report on food aid in Tindouf refugee camps was undertaken from 2003, drafted in 2007 and released in 2015 following an intervention by the EU Ombudsman. The report cites three key elements to the fraud: the diversion of food aid, the inflation of refugee numbers in camps and the use of unpaid labour. The evidence may encourage the European Commission to look at measures to reduce the risk of fraudulent practices.