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Report on Human Rights Practices for 2000
Algeria
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected in April 1999
to a 5-year term. Bouteflika had served as Foreign Minister in a
previous government. The President is the constitutional head of
state, appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister, and may dissolve the
legislature. According to the Constitution, the Prime Minister
appoints the cabinet ministers; however, in practice the President has
taken a key role in designating the members of the Cabinet. The
military establishment strongly influences defense and foreign
policy. Bouteflika was regarded throughout the 1999 election campaign
as the candidate most favored by the dominant security establishment and
the most likely winner. At the end of the campaign, the other six
candidates withdrew, credibly charging massive fraud by the military, and
Bouteflika was elected easily, although with a turnout as low as 30
percent. The presidential election campaign was marked by increased
openness; however, international observers and political parties pointed
out numerous problems with the conduct of the elections. A September
16, 1999 national referendum, which asked citizens whether they agreed with
Bouteflika's peace plan (which includes an amnesty program for the
extremists fighting to overthrow the Government), was free of charges of
fraud, and Bouteflika's peace plan won a reported 98 percent majority, with
a reported 85 percent turnout. Bouteflika is not affiliated formally
with any political party, but he has the parliamentary support of a
seven-party coalition. In June 1997, Algeria held its first
parliamentary elections since January 1992 and elected the first multiparty
parliament in the country's history. The cancellation of the 1992
elections, which the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was poised to win,
suspended the democratization process and a transition to a pluralistic
republic, and escalated fighting, which still continues, between the
security forces and armed insurgent groups seeking to overthrow the
Government and impose an Islamic state. The Government does not
always respect the independence of the judiciary.
The Government's security apparatus is composed of the
army, air force, navy, the national gendarmerie, the national police,
communal guards, and local self-defense forces. All of these elements
are involved in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations and are
under the control of the Government. The security forces committed
serious human rights abuses, although allegations of such abuses continued
to decline.
The economy is slowly developing from a
state-administered to a market-oriented system. The Government has
implemented stabilization policies and structural reforms. However,
privatization of state enterprises has made little progress, and there has
been little progress on reform of the banking and housing construction
sectors. The state-owned petroleum sector's output represented about
a quarter of national income and more than 96 percent of export earnings
during the year. Noncompetitive and unprofitable state enterprises
constitute the bulk of the nonhydrocarbon industrial sector. The
agricultural sector, which produces grains, fruit, cattle, fiber,
vegetables, and poultry, makes up 10 to 12 percent of the economy.
Algeria is a middle-income country; annual per capita income is
approximately $1,600. Officially, about 30 percent of the working-age
population is unemployed, and about 70 percent of persons under the age of
30 cannot find adequate employment.
Despite measurable improvements, particularly in
addressing problems of torture and arbitrary detention, the human rights
situation was generally poor and serious problems persisted, including
significant government restrictions on citizens' political and association
rights and failure to account for past disappearances; the massacre of
civilians by armed terriorist groups also continued. There are
significant limitations on citizens' right to change their
government. The security forces committed extrajudicial killings,
tortured, beat or otherwise abused detainees, and arbitrarily arrested and
detained, or held incommunicado, individuals suspected of involvement with
armed Islamist groups; however, the incidence of such abuses by security
forces continued to decline. Security force involvement in
disappearances from previous years remains unresolved. Security
forces sometimes reach the sites of massacres too late to prevent or halt
civilian casualties; however, there were no reports that security forces
were complicit in massacres that took place during the year. An
international nongovernmental organization (NGO) noted during the year that
the country's poor prison conditions improved during the year.
Prolonged pretrial detention and lengthy trial delays are problems,
although the practice of detention beyond the legal limit appears to be
less frequent. Although the Constitution provides for an independent
judiciary, executive branch decrees restrict some of the judiciary's
authority. The authorities do not always respect defendants' rights
to due process. Illegal searches and infringements on citizens'
privacy rights also remained problems.
There was no overt censorship of information; however,
while the print media is relatively free, news media practiced
self-censorship. Newspapers reported frequently on terrorist violence
and on surrenders under the amnesty program, about which there was a wide
range of views expressed in the media. The independent press
commented openly and regularly on political matters and other significant
issues. In some cases, newspapers represented specific political and
economic interests. Electronic media continued to express only
government policy. The Government also continued to restrict freedom
of speech, press, assembly, association, and movement, although to a lesser
degree than in the previous year. The Government also places some
restrictions on freedom of religion. During the April 1999
presidential election, the candidates who ultimately withdrew from the
election credibly reported irregularities, such as government ballot-box
stuffing through manipulation of military votes. During the 1997
legislative, municipal, and provincial elections, there were credible
reports of irregularities, such as government harassment of
opposition-party observers and fraud in vote-tally procedures.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, and
the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) visited the
country during the year at the invitation of the Government. Domestic
violence against women, the Family Code's limits on women's civil rights,
and societal discrimination against women remained serious problems.
Child abuse is a problem. Amazigh (Berber) ethnic, cultural, and
linguistic rights continue to be an issue, although these concerns are
represented by at least two political parties with seats in
Parliament. Child labor is a problem.
Armed groups committed numerous serious abuses and
killed hundreds of civilians. There was an increase in violence
compared with 1999. Armed terrorists continued their widespread
campaign of insurgency, targeting government officials, families of
security-force members, and civilians. Many of the killings appeared
to be related to opposition to the amnesty program. According to the
Government, more than 5,000 insurgents have availed themselves of the
amnesty program so far, and the armed groups have become smaller; however,
a hard-core insurgent force remains.
Armed groups killed numerous civilians, including
infants, in massacres and with small bombs. Bombs left in cars,
cafes, and markets killed and maimed persons indiscriminately. Some
killings also were attributed to revenge, banditry, and land grabs.
Press reports estimated that approximately 2,500 civilians, terrorists, and
security force members died during the year in domestic turmoil. The
violence now seems to take place primarily in the countryside, as the
security forces largely have forced the insurgents out of the cities.
There were numerous instances in which armed groups kidnaped women, raped
them, and forced them into servitude.
After his 1999 election, President Bouteflika
acknowledged that a more accurate accounting of the number of persons
killed during the previous 8 years placed the total at about 100,000.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person,
Including ` Freedom From:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
The security forces committed extrajudicial killings,
mostly during clashes with armed terrorist groups, although the number of
such killings continued to decrease during the year. For example, in
early March, the army found and killed 12 suspected terrorists 280 miles
southwest of Algiers. On June 20, troops backed by gunships and
artillery attacked guerrillas, killing 16 persons. Security force
killings of terrorists decreased by approximately 10 percent compared to
1999. The Government maintains that security forces resort to lethal
force only in the context of armed clashes with terrorists. The
Government also contends that, as a matter of policy, disciplinary action
is taken against soldiers or policemen who are guilty of violating human
rights, and such disciplinary action reportedly was taken during the
year. Human Rights Watch and other groups claim that security forces
failed to intervene in some past situations to prevent or halt massacres of
civilians, although there were no claims that this occurred during the
year.
One person died from the injuries he sustained in June
after police rounded up and beat 200 persons who had been attending a local
mosque (see Section 1.c.).
In December 1999, one person died of a heart attack the
day after being beaten by police who had responded to a terrorist attack in
the town of Dellys. The case received considerable print-media
attention, and the government-funded National Observatory for Human Rights
(ONDH) investigated the incident. After the investigation and ensuing
trials, 21 members of the security forces were prosecuted and the local
commanders of 2 different security services were investigated and suspended
from their duties.
There were reports that progovernment militia killed one
or two civilians during the year. The Government handled the killings
as common murder cases.
On November 22, 1999, prominent FIS leader Abdelkader
Hachani, who had spoken out in favor of peace and reconciliation, was shot
and killed in Algiers. On December 13, 1999, authorities arrested a
suspect, who had the murder weapon in his possession. The Government
completed its investigation into the incident, but had not made public the
results by year's end.
Armed groups targeted both security-force members and
civilians, and such killings increased by approximately 20 percent compared
with 1999. In many cases, terrorists randomly targeted civilians in
an apparent attempt to create social disorder. Armed groups killed
numerous civilians, including infants, in massacres and with small
bombs. Bombs left in cars, cafes, and markets killed and maimed
persons indiscriminately (see Section 1.g.). Some killings also were
attributed to revenge, banditry, and land grabs. The violence now
seems to take place primarily in the countryside, as the security forces
largely have forced the insurgents out of the cities. Increasingly
the killing of civilians appeared to be a result of opposition to President
Bouteflika's amnesty program and to facilitate the theft of goods needed by
the armed groups. As well as the use of small bombs, terrorist
tactics included creating false roadblocks outside the cities by using
stolen police uniforms, weapons, and equipment. Press reports
estimated that approximately 2,500 civilians, terrorists, and security
force members died during the year in domestic turmoil. For example,
on March 18, terrorists killed 19 persons, including 7 children, during the
Eid festival. On May 4, militants killed 19 persons and injured 26
when they reportedly opened fire on a bus after the driver refused to stop
at a false roadblock 45 miles south of Algiers. There was an increase
in violence during the summer. More than 200 persons reportedly were
killed during July alone. On July 11, militants shot and killed 11
men who were sleeping in their tents while camping in Tipaza. At
least nine persons were killed on July 17 when an armed group stopped their
bus and sprayed it with machine-gun fire. On July 28, 270 miles west
of Algiers, militants killed eight civilians and wounded six in an attack
on a nomad family, cutting the throats of six children between the ages of
6 months and 4 years. On September 20, six persons, including three
children, reportedly were shot and killed during an ambush by
militants. On December 16, armed intruders killed 16 students and a
security guard, and injured 5 other students at a high school dormitory in
the town of Medea. On December 17, terrorists opened fire on a bus
near the town of Tenes, killing 14 travelers. After his 1999
election, President Bouteflika acknowledged that a more accurate accounting
of the number of persons killed during the previous 8 years placed the
total at about 100,000.
b. Disappearance
There were no credible reports during the year of
disappearances in which the security forces were implicated. However,
there have been credible reports of disappearances occurring over a period
of several years, many of which involved the security forces. In
September 1998, the Ministry of Interior established an office in each
district to accept cases from resident families of those reported
missing. In May the Ministry of Justice reported that it had received
3,019 complaints of disappearance and had clarified 1,146 of them.
However, credible sources state that the offices have not provided any
useful information to the families of those who disappeared. By
year's end, the Ministry of Interior had agreed to investigate 4,700
cases. The Ministry reports that it has provided information to the
families in 3,000 of those cases. In 1,600 of the cases, families
have requested administrative action to obtain death certificates for their
missing relatives. However, there were no prosecutions of
security-force personnel that stemmed from these cases. Families of
the missing persons, defense attorneys, and local human rights groups
insist that the Government could do more to solve the outstanding
cases. The Government asserts that the majority of reported cases of
disappearances either were committed by terrorists disguised as security
forces or involved former armed Islamist supporters who went underground to
avoid terrorist reprisals.
In September Amnesty International reported that more
than 4,000 persons had disappeared since 1994 after being detained by
security forces. AI stated that some died in custody from torture or
were executed, but that many others reportedly were alive. Local NGO
sources state that a few of the persons who disappeared have been released
from captivity by the security forces, but that there has been no public
information about these cases, due to the fear of reprisal against those
released. Human rights activists assert that a number of the persons
who disappeared still are alive in the hands of the security forces, but
offer no evidence to support this assertion.
Terrorist groups continued to kidnap scores of
civilians. In many instances the victims disappeared and the families
were unable to obtain information about their fate. Armed groups
kidnaped young women and held them captive for extended periods for the
purpose of rape and servitude (see Sections 1.a., 1.c., 5, 6.c., and 6.f.).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Both the Constitution and legislation ban torture and
other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; however, according to local
human rights groups and defense lawyers, the police at times resort to
torture when interrogating persons suspected of being involved with, or
having sympathies for, armed insurgency groups. There were no reports
of torture during the year at the Algiers police facility called Chateau
Neuf, as had been the case in the past.
There continued to be reports of police abuse of
detainees during the year. After its October visit (see Section 4),
Amnesty International stated that although there were "substantially
fewer" cases of torture "in comparison to some years ago,"
such cases nevertheless "continue to occur." Many victims
of torture hesitate to make public such allegations due to fear of
government retaliation. Accusations of torture were made by those
accused of involvement in terrorist activities. The Interior Ministry
and the ONDH have stated publicly that the Government would punish those
persons who violated the law and practiced torture. Government
officials reported in November that between 350 and 400 security officials
had been punished for "human rights abuses," although the
Government provided no details regarding the abuses that such officials
committed or the punishment that they received. There is no
independent mechanism available to verify the Government's claims.
In early August, the Government announced new policies
concerning the Police Judiciaire (PJ), the officers who interrogate
suspects when they first are arrested to determine whether there are
grounds for prosecution. Local judges now are to grade the
performance of PJ officers operating in their jurisdiction in an effort to
ensure that the officers comply with the law in their treatment of
suspects. In addition, any suspect held in preventative detention is
to undergo a medical examination at the end of the detention, whether the
suspect requests it or not.
In March in the western cities of Relizane and Oran, the
authorities beat and intimidated demonstrators who were attempting to draw
attention to the problem of persons who had disappeared. The
Government arrested 40 persons during two separate demonstrations that
occurred about a week apart; however, those arrested were released after a
short time (see Section 2.b.). In June following a bomb blast in
Dellys, police rounded up a group of 200 persons who had been attending the
local mosque. The group was taken to police headquarters and
beaten. One person died from the injuries he sustained. Members
of the group took legal action against the police and, as a result, the
local chiefs of the police and the Gendarmerie were fired and two of the
offending officers were arrested. In November police used force to
disrupt a march by families of persons who had disappeared, which coincided
with a visit to that city by Amnesty International (see Section 2.b.).
In December 1999, a terrorist bomb killed and injured
police in the town of Dellys. Within hours security forces rounded up
and detained more than 100 persons of both sexes and a variety of
ages. Police officers beat many of the detainees and threw them into
the crater made by the terrorist bomb. One of the mistreated persons
died of a heart attack the next day. A senior regional police
commander ordered the police to stop these actions. In response to
complaints from the mistreated persons, the authorities suspended the local
commanders of 2 different security services and prosecuted 21 members of
the security forces (see Section 1.a.).
Armed terrorist groups committed numerous abuses, such
as beheading, mutilating, and dismembering their victims, including
infants, children, and pregnant women. These groups also used bombs
that killed and injured persons (see Sections 1.a. and 1.g.).
Terrorists also committed dozens of rapes of female victims, many of whom
subsequently were murdered. There were also frequent reports of other
young women being abducted, raped for weeks at a time by group leaders and
other members, and forced into servitude (see Sections 1.a., 1.b., 5, 6.c.,
and 6.f.).
Prison conditions remain generally poor, with
significant overcrowding. However, an international NGO stated during
the year that conditions had improved considerably. A decrease in
prison population reduced overcrowding somewhat. Moreover, prisoners
were found generally to be in good health and benefiting from adequate food
and expanded visitation rights. The provision of adequate medical
treatment to prisoners still is limited, but the Government reportedly is
addressing the issue.
In general the Government does not permit independent monitoring of prisons
or detention centers. However, in October 1999, March and again in
May, the Government allowed International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
to visit prisons. The ICRC in April decided no longer to seek access
to military prisons because it lacked any credible evidence that these
prisons held civilians. The ICRC did not visit FIS leaders in prison
or under house arrest.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention or Exile
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and
detention; however, the security forces continued arbitrarily to arrest and
detain citizens. Human rights activists state that this practice
continued to diminish during the year. The Constitution stipulates
that incommunicado detention in criminal cases prior to arraignment may not
exceed 48 hours, after which the suspect must be charged or released.
According to the 1992 antiterrorist law, the police may hold suspects in
prearraignment detention for up to 12 days; they also must inform suspects
of the charges against them. In practice the security forces
generally adhered to this 12-day limit during the year.
In March in the western cities of Relizane and Oran, the
Government arrested 40 persons during two separate demonstrations occurring
about a week apart; however, those arrested were released after a short
time (see Section 2.b.). In November police used force to disrupt a
march by families of the disappeared, and arrested five persons. Four
subsequently were released; the fifth was tried and convicted of attacking
a security officer (see Section 2.b.).
FIS president Abassi Madani, who was released from
prison in 1997, remains under house arrest and is allowed to receive visits
only from members of his family (see Section 2.d.), although he has made
numerous press statements and conducted interviews while under house
arrest. Jailed oppositionist and FIS vice president Ali Benhadj, who
had been held incommunicado from 1992 until 1998, now is allowed contact
with members of his family, who speak to the press on his behalf.
The 1992 Antiterrorist Law suspended the requirement
that the police obtain warrants in order to make an arrest. During
the year, the police made limited use of this law. However, according
to defense attorneys, police who execute searches without a warrant
routinely fail to identify themselves as police and abuse those who ask for
identification (see Section 1.f.). Police and communal guards
sometimes detain persons at checkpoints (see Section 2.d.). There are
reports of police arresting close relatives of suspected terrorists in
order to force the suspects to surrender. According to Amnesty
International, on April 4, police arrested 73-year-old El-Hadj M'lik in
front of several witnesses. He had been questioned previously
concerning his sons, one of whom is believed to be a member of a terrorist
group. Security officials reassured the family, on two separate
occasions, that M'lik would be returned to them. However, he had not
been returned by year's end, and the Government provided no information
regarding his whereabouts.
Prolonged pretrial detention was a problem.
Persons accused of crimes sometimes did not receive expeditious trials;
however, long-term detention appeared to decrease somewhat during the past
year (see Section 1.e.). Hundreds of state enterprise officials who
were arrested on charges of corruption in 1996 remained in detention.
Three or four of the higher ranking detainees were released during the
year.
Under the state of emergency, the Minister of Interior
is authorized to detain suspects in special camps that are administered by
the army. In 1995 the Government announced that it had closed the
last camp and released the 641 prisoners there. Local human rights
activists and NGO's state that no such camps now exist. They note
that the Government continues to keep some former prisoners under
surveillance and requires them to report periodically to police.
Forced exile is not a legal form of punishment and is
not known to be practiced. However, there are numerous cases of
self-imposed exile involving former FIS members or individuals who maintain
that they have been accused falsely of terrorism as punishment for openly
criticizing government policies.
One such case was resolved in September when Ali Bensaad,
a professor at the University of Constantine, who had been in exile in
Germany, returned to the country. The former exile was issued a
limited (6-month) passport, which allowed him to return. Bensaad is
pursuing redress in the court system for the "machinations" he
claims were perpetrated against him by former high-ranking officials.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary;
however, in practice the Government does not always respect the
independence of the judicial system. In November 1999, President
Bouteflika named a commission to review the functioning of the judiciary
and to recommend ways to improve it. In August after the commission
submitted its report, the President announced a massive reorganization of
the judiciary. He replaced 80 percent of the heads of the 187 lower
courts and 99 percent of the presidents of the 37 higher-level
courts. Most of the court heads were reassigned to new locations;
however, a number were replaced outright. Whereas only a few courts
previously were headed by women, 19 now have female heads.
The judiciary is composed of the civil courts, which try
cases involving civilians, and the military courts, which have tried
civilians for security and terrorism offenses. There is also a
Constitutional Council, which reviews the constitutionality of treaties,
laws, and regulations. Although the Council is not part of the
judiciary, it has the authority to nullify laws found
unconstitutional.
Regular criminal courts try those individuals accused of
security-related offenses. Long-term detentions of suspects awaiting
trial again appeared to decrease somewhat during the year.
According to the Constitution, defendants are presumed
innocent until proven guilty. They have the right to confront their
accusers and may appeal the conviction. Trials are public, and
defendants have the right to legal counsel. However, the authorities
do not always respect all legal provisions regarding defendants' rights,
and continue to deny due process. Some lawyers do not accept cases of
individuals accused of security-related offenses, due to fear of
retribution from the security forces. Defense lawyers for members of
the banned FIS have suffered harassment, death threats, and arrest.
There are no credible estimates of the number of
political prisoners; some estimate the number to be several thousand.
An unknown number of persons who could be considered political prisoners
are serving prison sentences because of their Islamist sympathies and
membership in the FIS. There are credible estimates that the
Government released 5,000 political prisoners after Bouteflika's 1999
election.
International humanitarian organizations did not request
visits with political prisoners during the year; therefore, it is unclear
whether the Government would permit such organizations to visit political
prisoners. In general the Government does not permit independent
monitoring of prisons or detention centers; however, over the past 18
months, it has permitted the ICRC to monitor general prison conditions in
civilian prisons (see Section 1.c.).
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home
or Correspondence
Authorities frequently infringed on citizens' privacy
rights. The Constitution provides for the inviolability of the home,
but the state of emergency authorizes provincial governors to issue
exceptional warrants at any time. Security forces also entered
residences without warrants. According to defense attorneys, police
who execute searches without a warrant routinely fail to identify
themselves as police and abuse those who ask for identification.
Security forces deployed an extensive network of secret informers against
both terrorist targets and political opponents. The Government
monitors the telephones of, and sometimes disconnects service to, political
opponents and journalists (see Sections 2.a. and 3). There are
reports of police arresting close relatives of suspected terrorists in
order to force the suspects to surrender (see Section 1.d.).
Armed terrorists entered private homes either to kill or
kidnap residents or to steal weapons, valuables, or food. After
massacres that took place in their villages, numerous civilians fled their
homes. Armed terrorist groups consistently used threats of violence
to extort money from businesses and families across the country.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of
Humanitarian Law
Armed groups were responsible for numerous,
indiscriminate, nonselective killings. Terrorists left bombs at
several markets and other public places during the year, killing and
injuring dozens of persons. In rural areas, terrorists continued to
plant bombs and mines, which often targeted security force personnel.
For example, on September 29, a group of at least 100 armed men seized
control of the roads leading into Bani Yassi, a small town 56 miles east of
Algiers near Tizi Ouzou. The group then destroyed the barracks of the
local communal police with an explosive device, entered the wreckage after
the explosion, and killed those police officers who were not killed in the
explosion. On November 4, one soldier was killed and two others were
injured in a bomb blast at an electrical pylon in the mountainous region of
Zaccar, about 40 miles southwest of Algiers. On December 5, three
people were killed and 11 were injured in an explosion in Tiaret (200 miles
west of Algiers).
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech;
however, the Government restricts this right in practice. A 1990 law
specifies that freedom of speech must respect "individual dignity, the
imperatives of foreign policy, and the national defense." The
state of emergency decree gives the Government broad authority to restrict
these freedoms and to take legal action against what it considers to be
threats to the state or public order. However, the Government did not
enforce these regulations strictly, and the independent press reported
regularly on security matters without penalty. Reporting by
government-controlled press organs frequently included deflated numbers of
civilians and government forces killed, and inflated terrorist casualty
counts; however, there were no credible allegations of inflated terrorist
surrenders under the amnesty program during the year, as had been the case
in the past. Government discrepancies were noted frequently in
independent newspapers.
In March 1994, the Government issued an interministerial
decree that independent newspapers could print security information only
from official government bulletins carried by the government-controlled
Algerian Press Service (APS). Independent newspapers openly ignored
the directive, and the trend toward increased openness about security-force
losses continued during the year. The Government continued to provide
the press with more information than in the past about the security
situation. Journalists deliberately did not report on current
possible abuses by security forces to avoid difficulties with the
Government, although there was significant coverage of NGO activity aimed
at publicizing such abuses committed in the past. According to the
Ministry of Health, it no longer forbids medical personnel from speaking to
journalists, and such personnel spoke to the press during the year.
The Government's definition of security information often extended beyond
purely military matters to encompass broader political affairs. In
1995 FIS officials who had been freed from detention in 1994 received
direct orders from the Justice Ministry to make no further public
statements. This ban remains in force. In general, journalists
exercised self-censorship by not publishing criticism of specific senior
military officials.
For a second consecutive year, there were no reports
that the Government put journalists under "judicial
control." In previous years, the Government used this practice
to harass journalists who wrote offending articles by requiring the
journalists to check in regularly with the local police and preventing them
from leaving the country. According to a Europe-based NGO that
specializes in press freedom, the Government continued to refrain from
harassing journalists under criminal defamation statutes during the year,
as had been its practice in the past.
There were no newspapers allied with Islamist political
parties in print, due to government pressure; however, legal Islamist
political parties have access to the existing independent press, in which
they may express their views without government interference.
The Government maintains an effective monopoly over
printing companies and newsprint imports. However, at least two
newspapers were in the final stages of negotiations with private firms to
print newspapers and import newsprint, which would circumvent such
government control. There was no abuse of the Government's power to
halt newspaper publications during the year.
The Government continued to exercise pressure on the
independent press through the state-owned advertising company, which was
created in 1996. All state-owned companies that wish to place an
advertisement in a newspaper must submit the item to the advertising
company, which then decides in which newspapers to place it. In an
economy in which state companies' output and government services still
represent approximately two-thirds of national income, government-provided
advertising constitutes a significant source of advertising revenue for the
country's newspapers. Advertising companies tend to provide
significant amounts of advertising to publications with a strong anti-Islamist
editorial line and to withhold advertising from newspapers on political
grounds, even if such newspapers have large readerships or offer cheap
advertising rates.
President Bouteflika stated in November 1999 that the
media ultimately should be at the service of the State. Radio and
television remained under government control, with coverage biased in favor
of the Government's policies and the government-supported party, the
National Democratic Rally (RND). Parliamentary debates are televised
live. Satellite-dish antennas are widespread, and millions of
citizens have access to European and Middle Eastern broadcasting. A
five-member delegation from Reporters Without Borders visited the country
in June. The group was allowed to meet freely with the interlocutors
of their choice and concluded that the press enjoyed increasing
freedom. However, the delegation also noted a number of continued
barriers to full press freedom.
Many artists, intellectuals, and university educators
fled the country after widespread violence began in 1992; however, some
continued to return during the year. There was a growing number of
academic seminars and colloquiums that occurred without governmental
interference. The Government continues to interfere in seminars that
were political or economic in content (see Section 2.b.). The only
reported strike at a university during the year occurred in October at Bab
Izzouar University, where a small number of professors went on strike to
protest work conditions. After a week, the teachers returned to work
(see Section 6.a.).
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for the right of assembly;
however, the 1992 emergency law and government practice sharply curtail
this right. Citizens and organizations must obtain permits from the
appointed local governor before holding public meetings. While the
Government frequently grants licenses to political parties, NGO's, and
other groups to hold indoor rallies, in most instances outdoor
demonstrations are not permitted.
Some unlicensed groups continue to be active, including
groups dedicated to the cause of persons who have disappeared. Such
groups continued to hold regular demonstrations outside government
buildings. However, in March in the western cities of Relizane and
Oran, the authorities beat and intimidated demonstrators attempting to draw
attention to the cause of persons who disappeared. The Government
arrested 40 persons during two separate demonstrations occurring about a
week apart. However, those arrested were released after a short
time. In November police again disrupted a march by families of
persons who had disappeared. In this instance, which coincided with a
visit to that city by Amnesty International, the police used force, and
arrested five persons. Four subsequently were released; the fifth was
tried and convicted of attacking a security officer.
The Government refused to permit, in the name of public
order, a proposed march in October to protest the Israeli Government's
actions against Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza in the
fall. When a group of protesters attempted to hold a rally despite
the ban, they were dispersed in a nonviolent manner.
The Constitution provides for the right of association;
however, the 1992 Emergency Law and government practice severely restrict
it. The Interior Ministry must approve all political parties before
they may be established (see Section 3). In January the Government
refused to approve the Wafa Party because of its perceived ties to the FIS.
In August 40 members of Parliament petitioned the Government, demanding an
explanation of the Government's refusal to recognize the Party. In
November the Minister of Justice responded, stating that the Wafa Party
would not be recognized because it included large numbers of members who
belonged to the outlawed FIS. The Government closed the Party's
offices on November 13. The Front Democratique, which is headed by
former Prime Minister Sid Ahmed Ghozali, applied for registration but
received no response within the time period specified by law for
governmental decision on such cases (see Section 3). The Interior
Ministry licenses all nongovernmental associations and regards all
associations as illegal unless they have licenses. It may deny a
license to, or dissolve, any group regarded as a threat to the Government's
authority, or to the security or public order of the State. After the
Government suspended the parliamentary election in 1992, it banned the FIS
as a political party, and the social and charitable groups associated with
it. Membership in the FIS remains illegal, although at least one
former FIS leader announced publicly that he intended to form a cultural
youth group.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution declares Islam to be the state religion
but prohibits discrimination based on religious belief, and the Government
generally respects this right in practice; however, there are some
restrictions. Islam is the only legal religion, and the law limits
the practice of other faiths; however, the Government follows a de facto
policy of tolerance by not inquiring into the religious practices of
individuals.
The law prohibits public assembly for purposes of
practicing a faith other than Islam. However, there are Roman
Catholic churches in the country, including a cathedral in Algiers (the
seat of the Archbishop), which conduct services without government
interference. In 1994 the size of the Jewish community diminished
significantly, and its synagogue since has been abandoned. There are
only a few smaller churches and other places of worship; non-Muslims
usually congregate in private homes for religious services.
Because Islam is the state religion, the country's
education system is structured to benefit Muslims. Education is free
to all citizens below the age of 16, and the study of Islam is a strict
requirement in the public schools, which are regulated by the Ministry of
Education and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Private primary and
secondary schools are not permitted to operate.
The Government appoints preachers to mosques and gives
general guidance on sermons. The Government monitors activities in
mosques for possible security-related offenses, and bars their use as
public meeting places outside of regular prayer hours. The Ministry
of religious affairs provides some financial support to mosques and has
limited control over the training of imams.
Conversions from Islam to other religions are
rare. Because of safety concerns and potential legal and social
problems, Muslim converts practice their new faith clandestinely. The
Family Code, which is based on Shari'a (Islamic law), prohibits Muslim
women from marrying non-Muslims, although this regulation is not always
enforced. The code does not restrict Muslim men from marrying
non-Muslim women.
Non-Islamic proselytizing is illegal, and the Government
restricts the importation of non-Islamic literature for widespread
distribution. Personal copies of the major works of other religions,
such as the Bible, may be brought into the country. Non-Islamic
religious texts and music and video selections no longer are difficult to
locate for purchase. The Government prohibits the dissemination of
any literature that portrays violence as a legitimate precept of Islam.
Under both Shari'a and the law, children born to a
Muslim father are Muslim, regardless of the mother's religion. Islam
does not allow conversion to other faiths at any age. In 1994 the
Armed Islamic Group (GIA) declared its intention to eliminate Jews,
Christians, and polytheists from Algeria. The GIA has not yet
retracted that declaration and, as a result, the mainly foreign Christian
community tends to curtail its public activities.
The country's 9-year civil conflict has pitted
self-proclaimed radical Muslims against the general Islamic
population. Approximately 100,000 civilians, terrorists, and security
forces have been killed during the past 9 years. Extremist
self-proclaimed "Islamists" have issued public threats against
all "infidels" in the country, both foreigners and citizens, and
have killed both Muslims and non-Muslims, including missionaries. The
majority of the country's terrorist groups do not, as a rule, differentiate
between religious and political killings. During the year, terrorists
continued attacks against the Government and civilians (see Sections 1.a.
and 1.g.).
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel,
Emigration and Repatriation
The law provides for freedom of domestic and foreign
travel, and freedom to emigrate; however, the Government at times restricts
these rights. In the spring of 1999, the Government allowed travel
abroad by representatives of organizations pursuing information on
relatives who allegedly "disappeared" due to the actions of the
security forces. These organizations, which were hosted by human
rights NGO's, held public discussions on those who had disappeared.
The Government does not allow foreign travel by senior
officials from the banned FIS. FIS president Abassi Madani, who was
released from prison in 1997, remains under house arrest (see Section
1.d.). The Government also does not permit young men who are eligible
for the draft and who have not yet completed their military service to
leave the country if they do not have special authorization; such
authorization may be granted to students and to those individuals with
special family circumstances. The Family Code does not permit married
females under 19 years of age to travel abroad without their husband's
permission, although this provision generally is not followed in practice.
Under the state of emergency, the Interior Minister and
the provincial governors may deny residency in certain districts to persons
regarded as threats to public order. The Government also restricts
travel into four southern provinces, where much of the hydrocarbon industry
and many foreign workers are located, in order to enhance security in those
areas.
The police and the communal guards operate checkpoints
throughout the country. They routinely stop vehicles to inspect
identification papers and to search for evidence of terrorist
activity. They sometimes detain persons at these checkpoints.
Armed groups intercept citizens at roadblocks, using
stolen police uniforms and equipment in various regions to rob them of
their cash and vehicles. According to press reports, armed groups
sometimes killed groups of civilian passengers at these roadblocks (see
Section 1.a.).
The Constitution provides for the right of political
asylum, and the Government occasionally grants asylum. The Government
cooperates with the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees. For
example, it cooperates with the UNHCR on programs to help refugee Sahrawis,
former residents of the Western Sahara who left that territory after
Morocco took control of it in the 1970's. The Government also has
worked with international organizations that help the Tuaregs, a nomadic
people of southern Algeria and neighboring countries. There were no
reports of the forced return of persons to a country where they feared
persecution.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right
of Citizens to Change Their Government
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to
change their government; however, there are significant limitations to this
right in practice. The strong prerogatives of the executive branch,
supported by the entrenched power of the military and the bureaucracy,
prevent citizens from exercising this right. The withdrawal of six
presidential candidates in 1999 amidst credible charges of fraud, and the
election of President Bouteflika highlighted the continued dominance of the
military elite in the process of selecting the country's political
leadership.
President Bouteflika was elected in an April 15, 1999 presidential election
that was seriously flawed by the withdrawal 1 day before of all other
candidates, who charged that the military already had begun to implement
plans to produce a fraudulent Bouteflika victory. Until those
allegations surfaced, the campaign had been conducted fairly, with all
candidates widely covered in both state-owned and private media. The
conduct of the campaign--although regulated as to the use of languages
other than Arabic, and as to the timing, location and duration of
meetings--was free, and all candidates traveled extensively throughout the
country. One potential candidate was denied the ability to run
because the electoral commission determined that he could not prove that he
had participated in Algeria's war of independence against France, a legal
requirement for candidates for President born before July 1942. With
the withdrawal of the other candidates and the absence of foreign
observers, it was impossible to make an accurate determination of turnout
for the election, although it apparently was as low as 30 percent; the
Government claimed a 60 percent turnout.
Under the Constitution, the President has the authority
to rule by decree in special circumstances. The President
subsequently must submit to the Parliament for approval decrees issued
while the Parliament was not in session. The President did not
exercise such authority during the year. The Parliament has a
popularly elected lower chamber, the National Popular Assembly (APN), and
an upper chamber, the National Council, two-thirds of whose members are
elected by municipal and provincial councils. The President appoints
the remaining one-third of the National Council's members.
Legislation must have the approval of three-quarters of both the upper and
lower chambers' members. Laws must originate in the lower chamber.
In June 1997, Algeria held its first elections to the
APN since elections were canceled in January 1992, and elected the first
multiparty parliament in the country's history. Candidates
representing 39 political parties participated, along with several
independent candidates. Under a system of proportional
representation, the government-supported party, the National Democratic
Rally, won a plurality of 154 seats out of a total of 371. In their
final report, neutral observers stated that, of 1,258 (of the country's
35,000) voting stations that they assessed, 1,169 were satisfactory, 95
were problematic, and 11 were unsatisfactory. In November 1997, the
provincial election commissions announced the results of their adjudication
of the appeals filed by various political parties. The RND lost some
seats but remained the overall victor in the Assembly elections.
In 1997 the appointed previous legislature, the National
Transition Council (CNT), changed the law that regulates political
parties. Under the controversial law, potential parties require
official approval from the Interior Ministry before they may be
established. To obtain approval, a party must have 25 founders from
across the country whose names must be registered with the Interior
Ministry. A party headed by one of the six presidential candidates
who withdrew from the April elections registered in September 1999.
Two parties failed to receive registration. In January the Government
refused to approve the Wafa party because of its perceived ties to the FIS
(see Section 2.b.). The Front Democratique, which is headed by former
Prime Minster Sid Ahmed Ghozali, applied for registration but received no
response within the time period specified by law for governmental decision
on such cases. No party may use religion, Amazigh heritage, or Arab
heritage as a basis of organizing for political purposes. The law
also bans political party ties to nonpolitical associations and regulates
party financing and reporting requirements.
The more than 30 existing political parties represent a
wide spectrum of viewpoints and engage in activities that range from
holding rallies to printing newspapers. The Government continues to
ban the FIS as a political party (see Section 2.b.). With the
exception of the leading progovernment party, the RND, and the Front de
Liberation National (FLN), political parties sometimes encounter
difficulties when dealing with local officials, who hinder their
organizational efforts. The Government monitors private telephone
communications, and sometimes disconnects telephone service to political
opponents for extended periods (see Section 1.f.). Opposition parties
have very limited access to state-controlled television and radio, although
the independent press publicizes their views.
Women are underrepresented in government and
politics. The new cabinet, named in August, has no female
members. Eleven of the 380 members of the lower house of Parliament
are women. In September 1999, President Bouteflika appointed the
first-ever female provincial governor. A woman heads a workers'
party, and all the major political parties except one had women's divisions
headed by women.
The Amazighs, an ethnic minority centered in the Kabylie
region, participate freely and actively in the political process. Two
major opposition parties originated in the Amazigh-populated region of the
country: The Socialist Forces Front and the Rally for Culture and
Democracy. These two parties represent Amazigh political and cultural
concerns in the Parliament and the media. The two Amazigh-based
parties were required to conform with the 1997 changes to the Electoral Law
that stipulate that political parties must have 25 founders from across the
country.
The Tuaregs, a people of Amazigh origin, do not play an
important role in politics, due to their small numbers, estimated in the
tens of thousands, and their nomadic existence.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International
and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The most active independent human rights group is the
Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH), an independent
organization that has members throughout the country. The LADDH is
not allowed access to the authorities or to prisons beyond the normal
consultations allowed between a lawyer and a client. The less-active
Algerian League for Human Rights (LADH) is an independent organization
based in Constantine. The LADH has members throughout the country who
follow individual cases. Human rights groups report occasional
harassment by government authorities in the form of obvious surveillance
and cutting off of telephone service.
Unlike in previous years when such visits were banned,
delegations from Amnesty International, the ICRC, Human Rights Watch,
Freedom House, the FIDH, and Reporters Without Borders visited the country
at the Government's invitation. Amnesty International visited in May
and again in October, and, after its May visit, claimed that during the
visit its delegation was "able to move around the country freely and
no restrictions were imposed" on its activities. However,
Amnesty International did not seek meetings with members of the FIS in
prison or under house arrest. The organization stated that there had
been "a significant drop in the level of violence and killings, and
the reports of arbitrary arrests, prolonged incommunicado detention,
torture, disappearances, and unfair trials have also diminished
significantly." However, Amnesty International maintained that
many serious concerns had not been addressed, including resolving past
abuses such as disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Moreover,
during its October visit, Amnesty International claimed that the Government
was not cooperating adequately or providing the organization with quality
information. The organization also claimed that the Government was
staging demonstrations opposing the Amnesty International visit. In
September and October, the ICRC conducted its third visit to the country to
monitor general conditions in the civilian prisons. ICRC president
Jakob Kellenberger commented during the visit on the constructive nature of
the dialog between the ICRC and the Government. A delegation from
Human Rights Watch met with government officials in May. The
delegation stated that it was "allowed to travel freely and meet with
officials, lawyers, nongovernmental organizations, and victims and families
of victims of abuses by the Government and armed groups."
Freedom House visited July 3-10, and again in November, in order to assess
the possibility of establishing programs involving support for the rule of
law, including women's rights, freedom of the press, and judicial
reform.
The National Observatory for Human Rights was
established by the Government in 1992 to report human rights violations to
the authorities. It prepares an annual report with recommendations to
the Government.
The Government has a national ombudsman, who receives
individual complaints and presents an annual report to the President.
Provincial representatives are designated to accept individual grievances
and to make them known to the authorities. Most such complaints
concerned bureaucratic unresponsiveness and lack of jobs and housing (see
Section 5).
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on
birth, race, sex, belief, or any other personal or social condition;
however, women continue to face legal and social discrimination.
Women
Women's rights advocates assert that spousal abuse is
common, but there are no reliable statistics regarding its extent.
Spousal abuse is more frequent in rural than urban areas, especially among
less-educated persons. There are no specific laws against spousal
rape. Rape is illegal, and in principle a spouse could be charged
under the law. However, there are strong societal pressures against a
woman seeking legal redress against her spouse for rape, and there have
been no reports of the law being applied in such cases. Battered
women must obtain medical certification of the physical effects of an
assault before they lodge a complaint with the police. However,
because of societal pressures, women frequently are reluctant to endure
this process. There are very few facilities offering safe haven for
abused women, and many more are needed. Women's rights groups have
experienced difficulty in drawing attention to spousal abuse as an
important social problem, largely due to societal attitudes. There
are several rape crisis centers run by women's groups, but they have few
resources. In August 1998, the Government released figures indicating
that the whereabouts of 319 women remain unknown, and that there were 24
reports by women of rape. Most human rights groups believe that the
actual number is much higher. There is a rape crisis center that
specializes in caring for women who are victims of rape by terrorists.
Some aspects of the law and many traditional social
practices discriminate against women. The 1984 Family Code, which is
based in large part on Shari'a, treats women as minors under the legal
guardianship of a husband or male relative. For example, a woman must
obtain a father's approval to marry. Divorce is difficult for a wife
to obtain except in cases of abandonment or the husband's conviction for a
serious crime. Husbands generally obtain the right to the family's
home in the case of divorce. Custody of the children normally is
awarded to the mother, but she may not enroll them in a particular school
or take them out of the country without the father's authorization.
Only males are able to confer citizenship on their children. Muslim
women are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims; Muslim men may marry
non-Muslim women (see Section 2.c.).
The Family Code also affirms the Islamic practice of
allowing a man to marry up to four wives, although this rarely occurs in
practice. A wife may sue for divorce if her husband does not inform
her of his intent to marry another woman prior to the marriage.
Women suffer from discrimination in inheritance claims;
in accordance with Shari'a, women are entitled to a smaller portion of an
estate than are male children or a deceased husband's brothers.
According to Shari'a, such a distinction is justified because other
provisions require that the husband's income and assets are to be used to
support the family, while the wife's remain, in principle, her own.
However, in practice women do not always have exclusive control over assets
that they bring to a marriage or income that they earn themselves.
Females under 19 years of age may not travel abroad without their husbands'
permission (see Section 2.d.). However, women may take out business
loans and are the sole custodians of their dowries. In its 2000
report, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts
noted that the Government has stated that, despite incorporating equality
between men and women into the legislative and regulatory texts governing
the workplace, in practice women still are confronted with discriminations
in employment resulting from stereotypes that exist regarding a woman's
place in society.
While social pressure against women pursuing higher
education or a career exists throughout the country, it is much stronger in
rural areas than in major urban areas. Women constitute only 10
percent of the work force. Nonetheless, women may own businesses,
enter into contracts, and pursue opportunities in government, medicine,
law, education, the media, and the armed forces. About 25 percent of
judges are women, a percentage that has been growing in recent years.
President Bouteflika's changes to the judiciary in August increased the
number of courts headed by women (see Section 1.e).
Although the 1990 Labor Law bans sexual discrimination
in the workplace, the leaders of women's organizations report that
violations are commonplace. Labor Ministry inspectors do little to
enforce the law.
There are numerous small women's rights groups.
Their main goals are to foster women's economic welfare and to amend
aspects of the Family Code.
During the year, extremists sometimes specifically
targeted women. There were numerous incidents of women being killed
and mutilated in massacres. Armed terrorist groups reportedly
kidnaped young women and held them captive for extended periods for the
purposes of rape and servitude (see Sections 1.a., 1.b., 1.c., 6.c., and
6.f.).
Children
The Government is committed in principle to protecting
children's human rights. It provides free education for children 6 to
15 years of age, and free medical care for all citizens--albeit in often
rudimentary facilities. The Ministry of Youth and Sports has programs
for children, but such programs face serious funding problems. Child
abuse is a problem. Hospitals treat numerous child abuse cases every
year, but many cases go unreported. Laws against child abuse have not
led to notable numbers of prosecutions against offenders. Legal
experts maintain that the Penal and Family Codes do not offer children
sufficient protection. NGO's that specialize in care of children cite
an increase in domestic violence aimed at children, which they attribute to
the "culture of violence" developed during the years since 1992
and the social dislocations caused by the movement of rural families to the
cities to escape terrorist violence. Such NGO's have educational
programs aimed at reducing the level of violence, but lack funding.
People with Disabilities
The Government does not mandate accessibility to
buildings or government services for the disabled. Public
enterprises, in downsizing the work force, generally ignore a law that
requires that they reserve 1 percent of their jobs for the disabled.
Social security provides for payments for orthopedic equipment, and some
nongovernmental organizations receive limited government financial
support. The Government also attempts to finance specialized
training, but this initiative remains rudimentary.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The Amazighs are an ethnic minority centered in the
Kabylie region. Amazigh nationalists have sought to maintain their
own cultural and linguistic identity while the Government's Arabization
program continues. The law requires that Arabic be the official
language and requires, under penalty of fines, that all official government
business be conducted in Arabic. The law also requires that Arabic be
used for all broadcasts on national television and radios for dubbing or
subtitling all non-Arabic films, for medical prescriptions (although the
law is not followed in practice), and for communications equipment.
As part of the national charter signed in 1996, the Government and several
major political parties agreed that the Amazigh culture and language were
major political components of the country's identity. In September
1999 President Bouteflika stated that the Amazigh language would never be
an official language.
There are professorships in Amazigh culture at the
University of Tizi Ouzou. The government-owned national television
station broadcasts a brief nightly news program in the Amazigh
language. Amazighs hold influential positions in government, the
army, business, and journalism.
The Tuaregs, a people of Amazigh origin, live an
isolated, nomadic existence and are relatively few in number.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Workers have the right to establish trade unions of
their choice. About two-thirds of the labor force belong to
unions. There is an umbrella labor confederation, the General Union
of Algerian Workers (UGTA) and its affiliated entities, which dates from
the era of a single political party. The UGTA encompasses national
syndicates that are specialized by sector. There are also some
autonomous unions, such as syndicates for Air Algeria pilots (SPLA),
airport technicians (SNTMA), and teachers (CNES).
Workers are required to obtain government approval to
establish a union. The 1990 law on labor unions requires the Labor
Ministry to approve a union application within 30 days. The
Autonomous Syndicates Confederation (CSA) has attempted since early 1996 to
organize the autonomous syndicates, but without success. The
application that the CSA filed with the Labor Ministry still was pending at
year's end, although the CSA continues to function without official
status. The law prohibits unions from associating with political
parties and also prohibits unions from receiving funds from foreign
sources. The courts are empowered to dissolve unions that engage in
illegal activities. The labor union organized by the banned FIS, the
Islamic Syndicate of Workers (SIT), was dissolved in 1992 because it had no
license.
Under the state of emergency, the Government is
empowered to require workers in both the public and private sectors to stay
at their jobs in the event of an unauthorized or illegal strike.
According to the 1990 Law on Industrial Relations, workers may strike only
after 14 days of mandatory conciliation, mediation, or arbitration.
The law states that arbitration decisions are binding on both
parties. If no agreement is reached in arbitration, the workers may
strike legally after they vote by secret ballot to do so. A minimum
level of public services must be maintained during public sector service
strikes.
In February the Agricultural Services Department went on
strike for increased salaries. On March 28 and 29, The National
Customs Union went on strike to demand the implementation of a previously
negotiated agreement on salaries. On April 3, the air traffic
controllers (Syndicat National des Personnels de la Circulation Aerienne)
went on strike as a part of extended salary negotiations. In May
steelworkers went on strike for assurances of job security. In that
same month, the National Teacher's Union (Union National des Personnels de
l'Education et de la Formation--UNPEF) went on strike for increased
salaries and better housing. There also were various taxi strikes
throughout the country during the year. The workers received varying
numbers of concessions to their demands as a result of the strikes.
In October a small number of professors at Bab Izzouar University went on
strike to protest work conditions (see Section 2.a.).
Unions may form and join federations or confederations,
affiliate with international labor bodies, and develop relations with
foreign labor groups. For example, the UGTA has contacts with French
unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law provides for collective bargaining for all
unions, and the Government permits this right in practice. The law
prohibits discrimination by employers against union members and organizers,
and provides mechanisms for resolving trade union complaints of antiunion
practices by employers. It also permits unions to recruit members at
the workplace.
The Government has established an export processing zone
in Jijel.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is incompatible with the
Constitution's provisions on individual rights, and the Penal Code
prohibits compulsory labor, including by children; however, while the
Government generally enforces the ban effectively, armed terrorist groups
reportedly kidnap young women and hold them captive for weeks at a time,
during which group members rape them and force them into servitude (see
Sections 1.a., 1.b., 1.c., 5, and 6.f.).
In its 2000 report, the ILO's Committee of Experts noted
that the law that requires persons who have completed a course of higher
education or training to perform a period of service of between 2 and 4
years in order to obtain employment or work in an occupation, is not
compatible with relevant ILO conventions dealing with forced
labor.
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for
Employment
The minimum age for employment is 16 years.
Inspectors from the Ministry of labor enforce the minimum employment age by
making periodic or unannounced inspection visits to public sector
enterprises. They do not enforce the law effectively in the
agricultural or private sectors. Economic necessity compels many
children to resort to informal employment, such as street vending.
The Government prohibits forced and bonded labor by children and generally
enforces this prohibition (see Section 6.c.).
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The law defines the overall framework for acceptable
conditions of work but leaves specific agreements on wages, hours, and
conditions of employment to the discretion of employers in consultation
with employees. The Government fixes by decree a monthly minimum wage
for all sectors; however, this is not sufficient to provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. The minimum wage is
approximately $105 (8,000 dinars) per month. Ministry of Labor
inspectors are responsible for ensuring compliance with the minimum wage
regulation; however, their enforcement is inconsistent.
The standard workweek is 40 hours. There are
well-developed occupation and health regulations codified in a 1991 decree,
but government inspectors do not enforce these regulations
effectively. There were no reports of workers being dismissed for
removing themselves from hazardous working conditions. Because
employment generally is based on very detailed contracts, workers rarely
are subjected to conditions in the workplace that they were not informed of
beforehand. If workers are subjected to such conditions, they first
may attempt to renegotiate the employment contract and, that failing,
resort to the courts.
f. Trafficking in Persons
The law does not prohibit specifically trafficking in
persons. Armed terrorist groups frequently kidnaped young women and
held them captive for weeks at a time, during which group members raped
them and forced them into servitude (see Sections 1.a., 1.b., 1.c., 5, and
6.c.). There is a rape crisis center in Algiers that specializes in
caring for women who are victims of rape by terrorists.
Source: The
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, U.S. State Department,
February 2000.
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