The main humanitarian websites have little information on the Sahrawi refugees but a good starting point is the U.N. Refugee Agency page for Western Sahara and Algeria.

An International Crisis Group report published in June 2007, Western Sahara: The Cost of the Conflict", addresses the human, political and economic cost of the crisis.

Another ICG report titled Western Sahara: Out of the Impasse", also published in June 2007, examines the role played by the U.N. Security Council.

An estimated 80 percent of the refugees are women and children, and the U.N. Development Fund for Women has a useful page looking at the impact of the war and refugee life on women, plus lots of links to other websites and reports on women's issues.

The Sahrawi independence movement, Polisario Front, has encouraged some of the women living in the camps and those still living in Western Sahara to form the National Union of Saharawi Women. Their website has contact details for the camps as well as Algiers.

For detailed information about nutrition in the camps, you can read a U.N. nutrition survey.(August 2005)

The World Food Programme and U.N. Refugee Agency carried out a joint assessment in 2004, which makes for an easier read and gives more information about camp life.

For information about the peace process, the U.N. Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara gives the official background to the situation. The U.N. Secretary General's Report on Western Sahara also contains some useful information. These reports are updated regularly. For the Sahrawi perspective, visit the Western Sahara referendum organisation and Western Sahara Online.

General Sahrawi news is available from the Sahara Press Service and Western Sahara Update .