Acknowledgments

Eric Goldstein, research director for the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, and Bill Van Esveld, Arthur Helton fellow at Human Rights Watch, wrote the section of this report devoted to the Tindouf refugee camps. Goldstein wrote the section of this report devoted to Western Sahara. Goldstein, Van Esveld, and Joseph Logan, researcher at Human Rights Watch, conducted the research for this report, with additional field research conducted by consultant Omar Brouksy.

Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the Middle East and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, and Iain Levine, program director of Human Rights Watch, edited the report. Clive Baldwin, senior legal advisor, provided legal review. Clarisa Bencomo, researcher with the Children's Rights division, reviewed the draft.

Human Rights Watch thanks Morocco's ambassador to the United States, Aziz Mekouar, for receiving us on numerous occasions to discuss human rights issues and for facilitating communication with authorities in Rabat. We also thank the governor (wali) of El-Ayoun-Boujdour, M'hamed Drif, for receiving us on November 6, 2007 for a wide-ranging discussion; Nasser Bourita, chef de cabinet and director for the United Nations and International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Governor Rachid Rguibi, director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Interior, for receiving us in Rabat on March 3, 2008; Ahmed Herzenni, president of the Advisory Council on Human Rights, for receiving us in Rabat on November 8, 2007 in Rabat, and Assistant Crown Prosecutor for El-Ayoun Abdennasser Barzali for receiving us in El-Ayoun on November 7, 2007.

Human Rights Watch thanks the Polisario's ambassador to the United States, Mouloud Saïd, for helping to facilitate our mission to the Tindouf refugee camps and for obtaining answers to our written questions from Polisario authorities. We also thank SADR President Mohamed Abdelaziz, Justice Minister Hamada Selma, and Polisario Front directorate member M'hamed Khadad for meeting with us during our mission to the Tindouf camps to discuss human rights issues. We are grateful to Moroccan authorities and the Moroccan-American Center for Policy for arranging meetings with former residents of the Tindouf camps who had resettled recently in Western Sahara.

We also thank the many human rights organizations that helped us in our research, especially the Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH), the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, the Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice, the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders, and the Sahrawi Committee to Defend Human Rights in Smara, Western Sahara.

Consultant Julia Choucair provided interpretation in the Tindouf refugee camps. Human Rights Watch intern Hamdi Khalifa provided research assistance. Intern Naseema Noor helped to proofread the text.

The report was prepared for publication by Brent Giannotta and Nadia Barhoum, associates in the Middle East and North Africa division, Grace Choi, publications director, and Fitzroy Hepkins, mail manager.