Algeria
OVERVIEW
The decade-long conflict in Algeria and the human rights violations committed during this time form the backdrop to the activities of human rights defenders in Algeria. Lawyers, journalists and those calling for an end to impunity in relation to those individuals who "disappeared" during the post-1992 conflict, including relatives of the disappeared, are targeted. A number of human rights organizations have been denied legal registration.
The controversial Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation grants amnesty to authors of human rights violations committed during the conflict. Critics of the Charter and other human rights defenders have reportedly been subjected to harassment and aggression by security forces, threats, arbitrary detention and judicial proceedings, and violent dispersal of demonstrations. Freedom of assembly is restricted, with authorisation for public anti-impunity demonstrations reportedly being refused. Freedom of expression has also been limited by the reported closure of press-houses and the bringing of defamation actions and other judicial proceedings against journalists who denounce the actions of state officials or the security forces.
