Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the UK component within the report by the European Anti-Fraud Office alleging large-scale embezzlement of the EU International Development aid intended to assist refugees in the Tindouf camps.

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 European Commission has taken measures to address the findings documented in the OLAF report. The European Commission has found no evidence of aid diversion since these measures were put in place and it has taken measures to ensure that aid continues to reach the intended beneficiaries and to avoid diversion risks. We understand that the European Commission has also taken steps with the Algerian Government to allow for donations intended for Sahrawi refugees to be exempt from VAT.

We are concerned about the people of Western Sahara, particularly those in the Tindouf refugee camps. The UK has provided support to displaced people in camps in the Tindouf region of Algeria via contributions to the EU's ECHO humanitarian fund, which provided €9 million in humanitarian funding in 2020. Our core contributions to the UN also help to support UN bodies in Tindouf. The UK strongly supports UN-led efforts to reach a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution on the Western Sahara dispute that provides for the self determination of the people of Western Sahara.