According to the latest report by the UN Secretary-General (issued in April 2006), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have jointly decided to cut the number of individuals receiving humanitarian aid in the Tindouf camps from 158 000 to 90 000. The failure since 1982 to carry out a reliable census of the populations of the Tindouf camps along internationally recognised lines, which would give precise demographic data on the number of people in the camps and their origins, is preventing the competent international bodies from quantifying the real humanitarian assistance needs of the people in question. Furthermore, this anachronistic situation invites misappropriation of part of the aid.

What measures does the Commission intend taking to ensure that Algeria allows UNHCR to carry out its job, thus putting an end to the statistical inconsistencies surrounding the populations of the Tindouf camps?