human rights defenders, members of civil society organisations and victims of human rights violations

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2024-022-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2024
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 28.033886

Longitude: 1.659626

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Algeria
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
Dates of prior UN action
3 December 2023
Type of record
Unnamed individual/group/organization
Individual's/organization's activity
  1. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders conducted an official country visit to Algeria from 25 November to 3 December 2023. At the end of her visit, she noted that some human rights defenders she had planned to meet with refused or cancelled for fear of reprisals. The Special Rapporteur also noted that several human rights defenders, members of civil society organisations and victims of human rights violations reported being prevented by the police from reaching Tizi Ouzou while she was there. 10
Type of rights defended
  • Unclear in SG Report
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal
  1. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders conducted an official country visit to Algeria from 25 November to 3 December 2023. At the end of her visit, she noted that some human rights defenders she had planned to meet with refused or cancelled for fear of reprisals. The Special Rapporteur also noted that several human rights defenders, members of civil society organisations and victims of human rights violations reported being prevented by the police from reaching Tizi Ouzou while she was there. 10
Engagement with UN body
  • UN Special Procedures: thematic
Dates of engagement
November/December 2023
Type of attempted engagement
  • Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
Dates of mentioned reprisals
November/December 2023
Location of mentioned reprisals
Algeria
Reprisal information
  1. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders conducted an official country visit to Algeria from 25 November to 3 December 2023. At the end of her visit, she noted that some human rights defenders she had planned to meet with refused or cancelled for fear of reprisals. The Special Rapporteur also noted that several human rights defenders, members of civil society organisations and victims of human rights violations reported being prevented by the police from reaching Tizi Ouzou while she was there.
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Access denied to UN expert/representative
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Government response dates
17 July 2024
Government response content

On 17 July the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report noting that the allegations that the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders had not been able to meet with some activists during her official visit to the country due to their fear of reprisals were vague, unjustified, and not substantiated. The Government considered that such allegations also contradicted the fact that the two mandate holders who conducted an official visit to Algeria in 2023 had been able to meet freely with civil society activists and opposition members and the public authorities had not taken any measures against them.

Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
Yes