On September 13, a 25-year-old man in the town of Boucherka died after visiting a police station. The man, known only by the initials “AK,” entered a local police station to inquire about a fine he received. He departed the station with severe head injuries and was taken to the hospital, where he died hours later. News of the incident sparked demonstrations throughout the town and the neighboring city of Jijel. Residents called the incident “suspicious.” The national police conducted an investigation, but the results had not been made public by year’s end.

Security services confronted terrorists affiliated with several groups including AQIM, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), and Those Who Sign in Blood. Media reports indicated that security services killed approximately 150 suspected terrorists in the course of firefights and raids during the year.

Reported disappearances were generally instances of individuals apprehended by security forces and held for several days before their families were notified or they were released. In all cases during the year, security services indicated that the individuals were suspected of terrorism or terrorist collusion.

On March 22, the UN Human Rights Committee found that Algeria violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in the cases of two disappeared individuals: Farid Mechani, arrested in 1993 by plain-clothed police officers in Algiers and later tried in absentia on terrorism-related charges by an Algiers court; and Djamel Saadoun, arrested in 1996 by gendarmerie officials on the charge of failure to comply with a conscription notice after he disappeared from a military training camp. The committee instructed the government to provide effective remedies to the remaining family members of Mechani and Saadoun. At year’s end these remedies had not been met.

Armed individuals conducted abuses against civilians, including kidnappings, false checkpoints, and extortion, particularly in areas east of Algiers and in the southern portion of the country. Security services reported that approximately 15 persons were kidnapped from the area in 2013, some for ransom. Figures on total ransom payments were unavailable.

According to Abderahmane Arrar, president of Algeria’s National Association for the Defense of Children (NADA), 1,300 cases of child abduction and disappearance were reported during the year, including 50 in the city of Algiers.

The law prohibits torture, but nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local human rights activists alleged that government officials sometimes employed torture and abusive treatment to obtain confessions. Government agents can face prison sentences of between 10 and 20 years for committing such acts, and some individuals were tried and convicted. There were no reported cases of prosecution of security service officials during the year. The government maintains internal lists of prosecutions and convictions of security officials. Local and international NGOs asserted that impunity was a problem.

Amnesty International (AI) maintained that security forces operated “unrecognized detention centers where detainees were at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.” Geneva-based NGO Alkarama reported plain clothed officers often inflicted abusive treatment upon those arrested on “security grounds.”

Physical Conditions: Prison conditions generally did not meet international standards, and the government did not permit visits by independent human rights observers to military, high-security, Intelligence and Security Department (DRS), or standard prison facilities or to detention centers.

In May the government reported the approximate total number of prisoners and detainees in prisons and detention facilities at 65,000, of which approximately 600 were women and 420 juveniles. The total number of prison beds was 75,000 in 131 facilities. Official government statistics published in August 2012 indicated that pretrial detainees moved from pretrial detention facilities to prisons to alleviate overcrowding accounted for approximately 10 percent of this total, but observers disputed that percentage. Some observers, including government-appointed human rights officials, attributed overcrowding in pretrial detention facilities to “excessive use” of pretrial detention.

Officials generally held male and female prisoners separately, with conditions reportedly better for women than for men. Officials held juveniles separately from adults. Pretrial detainees were generally kept in separate detention facilities co-located with police stations, but were occasionally moved to prisons due to overcrowding. Individuals detained as terrorism suspects were held at facilities administered by the DRS. Some individuals previously detained at these facilities claimed abuse by security service officers.

On July 22, the Laghouat branch of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) released a communique alleging that conditions at Laghouat detention facility were substandard. The communique alleged that inmates were provided access to the outdoors only during the hottest afternoon hours of the day, that some inmates suffered from malnutrition, and that the facility was unhygienic.

Administration: Recordkeeping on inmates and detainees was substandard. The penal code permits the substitution of community service for imprisonment for nonviolent, first-time offenders whose crimes carry a maximum prison sentence of three years or less. No ombudsman exists to serve on behalf of prisoners or detainees. Prisoners can submit uncensored complaints to penitentiary administration and those in standard facilities are permitted weekly visits by family members, who are authorized to provide detainees with food and clothing. All Muslim holy days are observed within all prisons, and authorities permit prisoners to participate in religious events and provide them with prayer space.

Independent Monitoring: While the government allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and local human rights observers to inspect low-security prisons and detention centers, it refused access to military and high-security prison and detention facilities. The ICRC conducted 142 visits in 2012 to 50 facilities and 5,443 detainees. On July 23, Minister of Justice Mohamed Charfi announced that since 2009, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) gave 537 authorizations to media outlets to visit prisons, resulting in more than 1,000 media visits to prisons in the same time period. The same day the MOJ announced the dismissal of the director of Serkadj prison in Algiers and his assistant after Algerian television station Echourouk broadcast an interview with a detainee filmed with a hidden camera in violation of prison regulations.

AI reiterated concerns about the possibility of torture and abuse in uninspected, “unrecognized” detention facilities operated by intelligence and security services. Families of repatriated detainees were reportedly permitted to visit detainees held in temporary custody in these facilities.

Improvements: In March the Ministry of the Interior’s General Directorate for Prison Administration and Resettlement (DGAPR) concluded a five-year prison reform project undertaken in collaboration with the British government and the International Center for Prison Studies (ICPS). The project resulted in the DGAPR’s adoption of the ICPS “A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management” handbook and the establishment of five pilot prisons conforming to ICPS recommendations. The handbook was used as a primary training manual for prison management personnel at every level. On July 5, President Bouteflika pardoned 5,000 detainees convicted of misdemeanor-level crimes.

Overuse of pretrial detention was a systemic problem, although there has been improvement in this area since the 2011 repeal of the country’s emergency law. The government-appointed head of the National Consultative Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (CNCPPDH), Farouk Ksentini, noted that authorities saw pretrial detention as an “implicit sign” of guilt. CNCPPDH expressed concern that judges refused 90 percent of detainees’ applications for “judicial control,” a type of pretrial liberty utilized in lieu of a bail system. Individuals detained as terrorism suspects are held at facilities administered by the DRS. Some individuals previously detained at these facilities claimed abuse by security service officers, but there was no evidence that physical conditions at these facilities were markedly worse than those at standard prison facilities.

While the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, the president exercises supreme judicial authority, and the executive branch limited judicial independence. The judiciary was not impartial and was often subject to influence and corruption. The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial, but authorities did not always respect legal provisions regarding defendants’ rights. The High Judicial Council is responsible for judicial discipline and the appointment of all judges. President Bouteflika serves as the president of the council.

The constitution prohibits such actions, although government authorities infringed on citizens’ privacy rights. According to human rights activists, the government monitored the communications of political opponents, journalists, human rights groups, and suspected terrorists. Security officials reportedly searched homes without a warrant. Security forces conducted unannounced home visits.

Killings: Government efforts continued to eliminate elements of AQIM, MUJAO, and Those Who Sign in Blood in Algeria. Reports from human rights and other groups indicated that security service officials killed approximately 150 individuals suspected of affiliation with and action on behalf of AQIM during the course of raids on strongholds and firefights.

Although the constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, the government restricted these rights through accusations of defamation and informal pressure on publishers, editors, and journalists.

Freedom of Speech: Individuals were not able to criticize the government publicly. Citizens were arrested and detained for doing so, or practiced self-restraint in voicing public criticism. The law criminalizing speech about the conduct of the security forces during the internal conflict of the 1990s remained in force, although there were no cases of arrest or prosecution under the law during the year. The penal code provides for up to three years’ imprisonment for tracts, bulletins, or flyers that “may harm the national interest” or up to one year for defaming or insulting the president, the parliament, the army, or state institutions.

Press Freedoms: The government imposed a complete information blackout during the January terrorist attack at the gas plant in the In Amenas. Media representatives harshly criticized the decision.

Many political parties, including legal Islamist parties, had access to the independent press and used it to express their views. Opposition parties also disseminated information via the Internet and published communiques. Journalists expressed frustration over the near-impossibility of receiving information from public officials. Print media outlets relied on the government for physical printing materials and operations. The government maintained a monopoly on broadcast media despite a decree permitting the operation of independent broadcast media outlets. There were no cases of government interference in book publication during the year.

On May 19, the chief prosecutor in Algiers announced that criminal charges related to threats to national security, unity, and stability had been filed against Hichem Aboud, editor of Algerian newspapers Djaridati and Mon Journal, following publication of articles in both papers alleging that President Bouteflika was in a “comatose” state. On June 26, authorities detained Aboud Houari Boumediene at the International Airport in Algiers while he attempted to board a flight to Tunis. He appeared before a judge in Algiers the following day and was advised that he was subject to movement restrictions under the law in light of the charges against him. On September 9, Aboud filed a complaint with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, accusing government authorities of violating his right to free expression. Aboud remained at liberty within the country pending trial.

On September 11, protestors gathered outside of the historic Algiers post office, a common location for demonstrations, to demonstrate against Western military action in Syria. Police dispersed the demonstration and arrested several participants and organizers, among them two journalists from Algiers daily El Watan. The journalists were taken to a police station on Avenue Didouche Mourad where they were held for approximately three hours before being released without charge.

Violence and Harassment: There were no reports of violence or harassment of members of the media, but the government did not take any specific steps to ensure the safety of journalists and the independence of the media.

Censorship or Content Restrictions: Major news outlets faced direct and indirect retaliation for criticism of the government. On May 18, the government ordered its printing house, which prints all Algiers newspapers, to cease printing Hichem Aboud’s newspapers (Mon Journal and Djaridati) to avoid dissemination of an article on President Bouteflika’s health. The law permits the government to censor imported books, but there were no cases in which the government exercised this authority during the year.

Libel Laws/National Security: NGOs and observers criticized the law on defamation as vaguely drafted and the definitions therein as failing to comport to internationally recognized norms. The law defines defamation as “any allegation or imputation of a fact offending the honor or consideration of a person, or of the body to which the fact is imputed.” The law does not require that the fact alleged or imputed be false or that the statement within which it is contained be made with malicious intent to damage another individual’s reputation. Defamation is not a crime, but carries high civil penalties ranging from DZD 100,000 to 500,000 ($1,250 to $6,250).

Publishing Restrictions: Individuals who wish to initiate regular publications must obtain authorization from the government. The law requires the director of the publication to hold Algerian citizenship. The law additionally prohibits periodicals from receiving direct or indirect material support from foreign sources.

Actions to Expand Press Freedom: The government ended its monopoly on broadcast media in September 2011, passing a law to permit private media companies access to radio and television airwaves. In July the Ministry of Communication approved three private television channels (Ennahar, el-Chourouk, and el-Djazairia) to open offices in Algiers. All three channels previously maintained offices abroad.

Although the constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association, the government severely restricted the exercise of these rights.

See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.

The constitution provides for freedom of movement, but the government restricted the exercise of this right.

The government generally cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.

In-Country Movement: The government maintained restrictions for security reasons on travel into the southern locales of El-Oued and Illizi, near hydrocarbon industry installations and the Libyan border, respectively. The government also prevented overland tourist travel between the southern cities of Djanet and Tamanrasset, citing the threat of terrorism. In the Aboud case, the government hindered the movement of a journalist. The government did not permit young men eligible for the draft who had not yet completed their military service to leave the country without special authorization, although the government granted such authorization to students and persons with special family circumstances, notably those individuals with family members residing in Western Sahara.

Foreign Travel: The family code does not permit those under age 18 to travel abroad without a guardian’s permission. Married women under 18 years of age may not travel abroad without permission from their husbands, but married women over age 18 may do so.

The constitution mandates presidential elections every five years and there are no presidential term limits.

Recent Elections: Dozens of new parties took part in legislative elections held in May 2012. Foreign observers characterized the elections as largely peaceful, but pointed to low voter turnout and a high rate of ballot invalidity. Five hundred international observers (from the European Union, Arab League, National Democratic Institute, and Carter Center, among others) monitored voting and appraised the process as generally favorable, although they criticized the government’s refusal to grant access to voter registration lists. Opposition groups claimed widespread fraud. The National Liberation Front (FLN) won the largest number of seats, nearly doubling its share; the National Rally for Democracy (RND) maintained its previous level of representation, thereby leaving the balance of power the same after the elections. Smaller parties (such as the Socialist Workers Party) criticized provisions of the election law that awarded seats only to those parties that won at least 5 percent of the vote and apportioned seats won by parties that received less than that amount to larger, more successful parties. In December elections for the Senate, the upper house of parliament, the RND won the majority of seats. The previously dominant FLN lost seats. Under the law the president is entitled to appoint one-third of the Senate seats, and at year’s end he had filled the seats with several former cabinet ministers.

The government officially estimated turnout of the May 2012 parliamentary election at 43 percent, a figure that opposition parties and experts argued was grossly inflated. The Algerian Press Service reported early turnout estimates of 15 percent.

Political Parties: There were no cases during the year of government violence against members of the political opposition. The Ministry of Interior must approve political parties before they can operate legally. On February 19, the ministry notified an Islamist group, the Free Awakening Front, that its license to operate as a political party had been rejected but provided no explanation. Religious Affairs Minister Bouabdallah noted that the Interior Ministry would not license religion-based parties pursuant to the law.

Pursuant to the constitution, all parties must have a “national base.” A party must have received 4 percent of the vote or at least 2,000 votes in 25 provinces in one of the last three legislative elections to participate in national elections, making it very difficult to create new political parties. It is illegal for parties to be based upon religion, ethnicity, gender, language, or region.

The law does not place significant restrictions on voter registration, but implementation of voter registration and identification laws proved inconsistent and confusing during elections held during the year. In its report on the May legislative elections, the National Democratic Institute highlighted confusion over identification requirements.

Membership in the Islamic Salvation Front, a political party banned since 1992, remained illegal. The law also bans political party ties to nonpolitical associations and regulates party financing and reporting requirements. According to the law, political parties cannot receive direct or indirect financial or material support from any foreign parties. The law also stipulates that resources are collected from contributions of the party’s members, donations, and revenue from its activities, in addition to possible state funding.

Participation of Women and Minorities: The law requires that the government promote political rights for women by encouraging increased female representation within elected assemblies. The law mandates that 30 percent of all candidates on electoral tickets be women. In accordance with this amendment, of the 462 candidates elected to parliament in May 2012, 147 were women, increasing their rate of representation from 8 percent in 2007 to 31 percent in 2012.

Three women held seats in the cabinet, a woman led the Workers Party, and three major political parties – the FLN, National Rally for Democracy, and RCD – had women’s divisions headed by women. Only four of Algeria’s 1,514 mayors were women.

The ethnic Amazigh (Berber) population of approximately 10 million participated freely and actively in the political process and represented one-third of the government.

Rape and Domestic Violence: Rape, both spousal and nonspousal, occurred. The law criminalizes nonspousal rape but does not address spousal rape. Prison sentences for nonspousal rape range from one to five years, and authorities generally enforced the law. Claims filed by women for rape and sexual abuse continued to face judicial obstacles, and many women did not report incidents of rape because of societal pressures and bureaucratic problems in securing convictions. On November 21, news outlets reported statistics provided by the director of the judicial police Office for the Protection of Childhood, Juvenile Delinquency, and the Protection of Women Victims of Violence. The director indicated that in the first nine months of the year, 266 women were victims of rape, sexual harassment, and incest, and that cases were reported in each of Algeria’s 48 provinces. She further indicated that she believed the actual incidence of these crimes was more widespread than the figure suggested because reporting rape and other sexual violence remained “taboo” in Algerian culture. She added that women “prefer to suffer the pain in silence” rather than face possible rejection by their families and societies, particularly in those cases where sexual violence resulted in pregnancy.

Domestic violence was widespread. The penal code states that a person must be “incapacitated” for 15 days and a woman claiming domestic abuse must visit a “forensic physician” for an examination to document injuries. The physician then provides the survivor with a “certificate of incapacity” attesting to the injuries. The survivor then presents the certificate to authorities as the basis of the criminal complaint.

In March the gendarmerie reported that 6,039 women were the victims of domestic violence in 2012.

Harmful Traditional Practices: There was one alleged honor killing during the year. According to media reports, a man was arrested on June 5 for killing five people to “cleanse his family’s honor” after his niece eloped with her boyfriend to avoid an arranged marriage. There were no human rights organizations in the country that focused on honor crimes, but international organizations gathered information about the practice. The law provides a “crime of passion” defense to both men and women who discover their spouses engaged in the act of adultery, which lessens the punishment of the perpetrator. The provisions of the law limit the defense to lawfully married spouses.

Sexual Harassment: The punishment for sexual harassment is one to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of DZD 50,000 to DZD 100,000 ($625 to $1250). The punishment is doubled for a second offense. The majority of reported cases of harassment occurred in the workplace. In January an appellate court affirmed the conviction of former television station director Said Lamrani for sexual harassment and increased the damages assessed by the court of first instance from DZD 30,000 to DZD 300,000 ($375 to $3,750) per victim plus an additional fine of DZD 300,000 ($3,750).

Reproductive Rights: The government did not impose restrictions on the right of couples and individuals to decide the number, timing, and spacing of their children. Married and unmarried women alike had access to contraceptives. According to a study conducted in 2009 by the health ministry, 62 percent of women, most of them married, reported regular use of contraceptives. Women encountered social and family pressure that restricted them from making independent decisions about their health and reproductive rights.

Discrimination: Although the constitution provides for gender equality, many aspects of the law and traditional social practices discriminate against women. In addition religious extremists advocated practices that led to restrictions on women’s behavior, including freedom of movement. In some rural regions women faced extreme social pressure to veil as a precondition for freedom of movement and employment. The family code contains traditional elements of Islamic law. The family code prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims, although authorities did not always enforce this regulation. Muslim men may marry non-Muslim women. A woman may marry a foreigner and transmit citizenship and nationality to both her children and spouse.

Women can seek divorce for irreconcilable differences and violation of a prenuptial agreement. In a divorce the law provides for the wife to retain the family’s home until children reach 18 years of age. Custody of children normally is awarded to the mother, but she may not make decisions about education or take the children out of the country without the father’s authorization. Women were more likely to retain the family’s home if they had custody of the children.

The family code affirms the religiously based practice of allowing a man to marry as many as four wives. According to the family code, polygyny is only permitted upon the permission of the first wife and the determination of a judge as to the husband’s financial ability to support an additional wife. Polygyny occurred in 1 to 2 percent of marriages. It was unclear whether authorities followed the law in all cases.

Amendments to the family code supersede the religiously based requirement that a male sponsor consent to the marriage of a woman. The sponsor represents the woman during the religious or civil ceremony. Although this requirement has been formally retained and the sponsor continues to contract the marriage, the woman may choose any man that she wishes to be her sponsor. Some families subjected women to virginity tests before marriage.

Women suffered from discrimination in inheritance claims and were entitled to a smaller portion of an estate than male children or a deceased husband’s brothers. Women did not often have exclusive control over assets that they brought to a marriage or that they earned. Married women may take out business loans and use their own financial resources. Women enjoy rights equal to those of men in regard to property ownership, and women landowners’ names are listed on property titles.

Women faced discrimination in employment. Leaders of women’s organizations reported that discrimination was common and women were less likely to receive equal pay for equal work or receive promotions. In urban areas there was social encouragement for women to pursue higher education and/or a career. Girls graduated from high school more frequently than boys.

According to 2010 statistics, women represented 55 percent of the medical profession, 60 percent of the media profession, 30 percent of the upper levels of the legal profession, and more than 60 percent of the education profession. In addition 36 percent of judges were women. Women served at all levels in the judicial system, and female police officers were added to some precincts to assist women with abuse claims. Of nine million workers nationally, two million were female. Women may own businesses, enter into contracts, and pursue careers similar to those of men. Nevertheless, women faced challenges with regard to access to credit and businesses.

Birth registration: Citizenship and nationality are transmitted from the mother or father. Under the law children born to a Muslim father are Muslim, regardless of the mother’s religion.

Education: Education was free, compulsory, and universal through the secondary level to age 17. Treatment and attendance of girls and boys was equal throughout the education system.

Child Abuse: Child abuse is illegal but continued to be a problem. Experts assumed that many cases went unreported because of family reticence. According to NADA, 1,300 cases of child abduction and disappearance were reported during the year. Organized crime was responsible, as well as family conflict that resulted in parental abduction. Kidnapping for any reason is a crime. Laws prohibiting parental abduction do not penalize mothers and fathers differently.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: The criminal code prohibits solicitation for prostitution and stipulates prison sentences of between 10 and 20 years when the offense is committed against a minor under the age of 18 years. According to the law, the age for consensual sex is 16 years. The law stipulates a prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years for rape when the victim is a minor. Authorities rarely carried out this sentence. The law prohibits pornography and establishes prison sentences of between two months and two years as well as fines up to DZD 2,000 ($25).

International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The country’s Jewish population numbered fewer than 1,000 persons, and local Jewish community leaders estimated the number to be in the low hundreds. There were no functioning synagogues. No derogatory political cartoons or articles directed at the Jewish community were published during the year. In July television stations across the Arab world, including Algerian satellite station Atlas TV, aired an historical mini-series for Ramadan called “Khayber.” The Anti-Defamation League criticized the mini-series as being anti-Semitic. The government did not promote anti-bias education, and there is no hate crime legislation.

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip/.

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other state services, although the government did not effectively enforce these provisions. Persons with disabilities faced widespread social discrimination. Few government buildings were accessible to persons with disabilities. Public enterprises that downsized generally ignored a requirement that they reserve 1 percent of jobs for persons with disabilities. Social security provided payments for orthopedic equipment. The Ministry of National Solidarity (MNS) provided some financial support to health-care-oriented NGOs, but for many NGOs such financial support represented approximately 2 percent of their budgets.

The MNS maintained that there were two million individuals with disabilities in the country, of whom the largest percentages were classified as “chronically ill” or “other” (38 and 30 percent, respectively). According to the Algerian Federation of Wheelchair Associations, however, there were three million persons with disabilities living in the country. The government estimated that approximately 44 percent of citizens with disabilities had some form of motor disability, 32 percent had communication difficulties, and 24 percent suffered from a visual disability. The government classified approximately 193,000 individuals as “fully disabled” and claimed during the year to have appropriated DZD 9.54 billion ($123 million) for their welfare.

The penal code criminalizes public consensual same-sex sexual relations for men and women, and there is no specific legal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. The law stipulates penalties that include imprisonment of two months to two years and fines of DZD 500 to DZD 2,000 ($6 to $25). If a minor is involved, the adult may face up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of DZD 10,000 ($125). There were no known prosecutions for same-sex relations during the year.

Existing laws on associations may be used to refuse full legal standing to LGBT associations. LGBT persons faced societal discrimination. Some LGBT individuals received violent threats and felt compelled to flee the country. While some LGBT persons lived openly, the vast majority did not, and most feared reprisal from their families or harassment from authorities. In September 31an LGBT activist using the pseudonym Zak Ostmane told Parisian daily Le Monde that after publishing a “manifesto for homosexuality” on his Facebook page, which Algiers news website Algerie Focus subsequently reprinted, he rarely left his house for fear of reprisals.

Abu Nawas, an Algiers-based LGBT advocacy group, continued cyber-activism on behalf of the LGBT community. Oran-based LGBT association Alouen began a series of LGBT-themed podcasts in July published on the association’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Both organizations reported that members of the Algerian LGBT community declined to report cases of homophobic abuse and rape for fear of reprisal by authorities. Both organizations also reported that access to health services could be difficult because medical personnel often treated LGBT patients “unprofessionally.”

On May 4, Algiers daily El Khabar reported that two homosexual men had been arrested and placed in pretrial detention in Oran on charges of indecent conduct and incitement to immorality after both changed their Facebook relationship status to “married.” They were released on May 7 after a preliminary hearing and were awaiting trial.

HIV/AIDS was widely considered a shameful disease in the country. Since 1998 the government has offered free antiretroviral treatment to all persons who were eligible. New HIV infections among children have been virtually eliminated. There were 61 centers offering free testing services to detect HIV/AIDS. Only 51 percent of women, single and married, noted use of condoms to prevent infection.

According to Ministry of Health statistics, as of August approximately 7,300 persons were either HIV-positive or living with AIDS. In 2011 the NGO National Foundation for Health Promotion and Research Development released a study indicating 12,000 citizens were infected with AIDS.

On August 11, LADDH issued a communique denouncing the government’s failure to include traditional Berber names among those authorized to be included on birth certificates. The following week the Ministry of Interior released a list of 300 approved Berber names, but in Arabic script. LADDH requested the intervention of the UN special rapporteur for Racism, Racial Intolerance, Xenophobia, and Intolerance, the special rapporteur for Human Rights, and the special rapporteur for Cultural Rights.

The constitution provides workers with the right to join and form unions of their choice provided they are citizens. The country ratified the International Labor Organization’s (ILO’s) conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining but failed to enact legislation needed to fully implement these conventions.

The law requires that workers obtain government approval to form a union, and the Ministry of Labor must approve or disapprove a union application within 30 days. The law also provides for the creation of independent unions, although the union’s membership must account for at least 20 percent of an enterprise’s workforce. Although unions have the right to form and join federations or confederations, the government only recognized the General Union of Algerian Workers, which represented a majority of public sector workers. Unions may recruit members at the workplace. The law prohibits discrimination by employers against union members and organizers and provides mechanisms for resolving trade union complaints of antiunion practices by employers.

The law permits unions to affiliate with international labor bodies and to develop relations with foreign labor groups. For example, the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Nevertheless, 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 government may invalidate a union’s legal status if its objectives are perceived by authorities as contrary to the established institutional system, public order, good morals, or the laws or regulations in force.

The law provides for collective bargaining for all unions, and the government permitted the exercise of this right for authorized unions. Nevertheless, the UGTA remained the only union authorized to negotiate collective bargaining agreements.

The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised this right, subject to conditions. Striking requires a secret ballot of the whole workforce. The government can restrict strikes on a number of grounds, including economic crisis, obstruction of public services, or possibility of subversive actions. Furthermore, due to the emergency law in force, all public demonstrations, including protests and strikes, must receive prior government authorization. According to the law, workers may strike only after 14 days of mandatory conciliation or mediation. On occasion the government offered to mediate disputes. The law states that decisions reached in mediation are binding on both parties. If no agreement is reached in mediation, the workers may strike legally after they vote by secret ballot to do so. The law requires that a minimum level of essential public services must be maintained during public-sector service strikes. The ILO noted that the list of essential services was broad and included services such as banking, radio, and television. The ILO expressed concern regarding what it deemed excessive penalties ranging from eight days to two months’ imprisonment imposed by the government on workers participating in peaceful strikes.

No new independent unions formed during the year, although unions representing secondary school teachers and gas workers were invited to resolve unspecified discrepancies in their applications. Many trade unions were not recognized, as the government interfered with their attempts to register. Attempts by new unions to form federations or confederations also were obstructed by administrative maneuvers in which processing registration requests were delayed. Since 1996 the Autonomous Unions Confederation (SNAPAP), which functions without official status, repeatedly attempted to organize independent unions, without success. The government did not allow SNAPAP to register as a national confederation, thus preventing it from establishing an independent multi-sector confederation that would include private sector employees. SNAPAP and other independent unions faced government interference throughout the year, including official obstruction of general assembly meetings and police harassment during sit-in protests. Furthermore, unions in multinational companies, specifically in oil and gas production, were virtually nonexistent due to antiunion practices and threats and harassment by employers. The government also sought to weaken independent unions by forming union clones to discredit the actual organizations.

Antiunion intimidation was commonplace, and there were several strikes launched in reaction to the government’s refusal to extend official recognition to fledgling new unions and its practice of only engaging with the UGTA.

The national union of health workers conducted a series of planned, announced strikes throughout the summer months to protest low salaries and prohibitions on “moonlighting.” The union specifically denounced disciplinary measures taken against doctors who worked in private clinics outside of their hours at government hospitals. Officials accused the moonlighting doctors of stealing supplies from public hospitals for use at private clinics.

In August the national union of postal workers conducted a five-day strike to demand a 30 percent salary increase. The strike impacted all sectors of society, largely based on the central role of post offices in retail banking.

The constitution prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, but there were reports from the Ministry of Labor and NGOs that such practices occurred. Forced labor conditions existed for migrant workers, who were not fully protected by labor law. Construction workers and female domestic workers were reportedly vulnerable.

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip/.

The law prohibits participation by minors in dangerous, unhealthy, or harmful work or in work that is considered inappropriate because of social and religious considerations. The minimum legal age for employment is 16 years, but children that are younger may work as apprentices with permission from their parents or legal guardian. The law prohibits minors from working in dangerous or harmful work, but it does not establish a list of hazardous occupations prohibited to minors, nor does it cover work in the informal sector which, according to official estimates, more than doubled in size to nearly four million workers. Approximately half of those working in the informal sector were under age 30.

Although specific data was unavailable, child labor reportedly occurred primarily in the agriculture and construction sectors, as well as in the informal sector, where children worked as domestic servants.

The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor laws. Authorities enforced the law in a limited way. The ministry conducted and in some cases investigated companies suspected of hiring underage workers. Monitoring and enforcement practices for child labor were not consistent and were hampered by an insufficient number of inspectors.

A tripartite social pact among business, government, and the official union established the national minimum wage of DZD 15,000 ($188) per month in 2009. This did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Families making only DZD 8,000 ($100) per month were considered to be living in poverty.

The standard workweek was 40 hours, including one hour for lunch per day. Employees who worked longer than the standard workweek received premium pay on a sliding scale from time-and-a-half to double-time, depending on whether the overtime occurred on a normal workday, a weekend, or a holiday.

The law contains occupational health and safety standards, which were not fully enforced. There were no known reports of workers being dismissed for removing themselves from hazardous working conditions. If workers face such conditions, they reserve the right to renegotiate their contract or, failing that, resort to the courts. While this legal mechanism exists, the high demand for employment in the country gave an advantage to employers seeking to exploit employees. Economic migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere working in the country without legal immigration status were not protected by the country’s labor standards, making them vulnerable to exploitation. The labor law does not adequately cover migrant workers who are primarily employed in construction and as domestic workers.

In general the Ministry of Labor enforced labor standards, including ensuring compliance with the minimum wage regulation and safety standards. Nevertheless, broad enforcement remained ineffective and insufficient