22 منظمة دولية ومحلية بينها الكوزيفوب ترافع ضد القمع المتصاعد بحق المهاجرين واللاجئين من إفريقيا جنوب الصحراء في الجزائر

Amid official silence and media complicity, Algeria today faces mounting accusations from international human rights organizations of using hate speech, mass expulsion policies, and arbitrary detention against migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa. In response to this escalation, 22 international human rights organizations have launched a broad advocacy campaign demanding that the Algerian authorities immediately cease these violations and fully comply with their international obligations.

Systematic violations in the absence of accountability

Since 2022, with the escalation of tensions between Algeria and its African neighbors, particularly Mali and Niger, sub-Saharan African migrants have become the scapegoat for incitement campaigns in the official media and on social media. These campaigns, which include racist rhetoric and public incitement to hatred, have been accompanied by more repressive practices on the ground: neighborhood raids, mass arrests, and forced expulsions without due process, including the return of migrants to Niger under inhumane conditions.

Between April 1 and 21, 2025 alone, more than 4,900 people, including hundreds of minors and women, were expelled. Some were transported in “official convoys,” while others were left at the desert border at what is known as “Point Zero,” without water or food.

Law 20-05 on the prevention and combating of discrimination and hate speech is a weapon in the hands of the authorities. But against whom do you use it?

Despite Algeria's adoption in 2020 of a law combating discrimination and hate speech (Law 20-05), this provision has not been used to protect actual victims of racism. Rather, it has been selectively employed to punish activists and human rights defenders who have expressed solidarity with migrants, exposed practices of discrimination, detention, and forced expulsion, or expressed their opinions and criticized the actions of the authorities.

Appeal to regional and international bodies

International and local organizations also called on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Labour Organization Committee of Experts, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants to:

Monitoring the legal status of migrants and refugees in Algeria
Identifying official responsibilities in forced expulsions and mass violations
Issuing clear and public recommendations obligating the Algerian authorities to adjust their policies in accordance with international standards.

No to state discrimination... Yes to human dignity

At a time of escalating systematic repression, the voice of the international human rights community stands out as a moral and political bulwark against abuses. Human dignity is indivisible, and the rights of migrants and refugees are not a privilege but a legal and moral obligation that the Algerian state must respect.

The continued official silence and lack of internal accountability impose a dual role on the international community: exposing violations and pressuring for the protection of those who are voiceless within its borders.