Five UN rapporteurs write to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune 

Five UN rapporteurs write to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune 

In the context of discussing human rights issues in Algeria, the letter addressed to the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, which was issued by the UN rapporteurs on September 12, 2024, sparked widespread controversy in the country, especially after the repression to which he was subjected was highlighted. President of the Confederation of Productive Forces, Brother Raouf Malal Which prompted him to seek asylum in Switzerland.

Raouf Mellal, an expert in labor law and union rights, is one of Algeria's most prominent union figures. For years, he has faced accusations of conspiring against the Algerian authorities and filing complaints with international bodies, most notably the International Labor Organization (ILO), reflecting increasing restrictions on freedoms in the country.

 This topic of human rights lawyers, environmental defenders and unionists was the focus of the letter issued by: Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, andWorking Group on Arbitrary Detention, andSpecial Rapporteur on the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, andSpecial Rapporteur on the rights to peaceful assembly and to freedom of association, andSpecial Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

  In their letter, they argued that Algeria had failed to fulfill its international human rights obligations, particularly with regard to the right to unionize, freedom of expression, and the rights of environmental defenders and civil society.

In their observations on the human rights situation in Algeria, the UN rapporteurs noted the plight of many activists like Mellal, who face similar charges and arrests due to their peaceful political stances. Despite the Algerian government's escalating defense of its positions in international forums, UN reports, including the visit of the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, have revealed growing concern about judicial pressure and repressive practices against dissidents and activists.

On the other hand, the Algerian government responded to the collective letter of the UN rapporteurs on November 14, 2024, but the text of the response has not yet appeared on the website. 

For her part, she announced Confederation of Productive Forces Trade Unions It will continue to escalate this issue, stressing that it will send another memorandum to the UN rapporteurs as soon as the government's response is received. It hopes that the Algerian government will change its political discourse with international organizations and open up to dialogue with all Algerian organizations whose members are subjected to repression and who complain about the deteriorating human rights situation in Algeria, with the aim of addressing and resolving the problems within a dialogue framework. The Confederation will also send an open letter to the President of the Republic as soon as it receives the government's response.

For more details on this topic, the full rapporteur's letter can be found at this link. 

You can also view the Algerian government's response as soon as it appears on the website via this link. here.

We will return to this topic in our next articles.

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Open letter to the President of the Algerian Republic