Algeria - Solidar

C O N C L U S I O N
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new associations law is the latest example of the gap between domestic regulations and
the rights of Algerian NGOs as prescribed in the international treaties ratified by Algeria,
even though the latter, as stated in the country’s very constitution, have precedence
over domestic legislation.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network and its Algerian members have for
many years published reports and statements that highlighted these deviations and
abusive practices used by the authorities to interfere in the activities of NGOs. They have
made recommended steps aimed at improving the outcomes, but it is obvious that
these recommendations have not been followed: on the contrary, the new legislation
actually gives these abusive practices and administrative obstacles a legal status they
did not have previously.
An active and diversified civil society plays a central role in democratic life and is a sign
of its vitality. Since the brief democratic opening of 1989-90, Algerian civil society has
developed further and become more diversified. From the Kabylian Black Spring of
2001 to the formation of groups devoted to protecting the rights of the unemployed
of the National Coordination for Democratic Change in 2011, including the emergence
of NGOs fighting impunity and the multiplication of independent labour unions, the
unaffiliated organisations of civil society have been demanding the establishment of
the rule of law and have contributed to the advancement of the democratic spirit and
human rights.
For the rule of law to be established, it is imperative that the Algerian government
undertake an in-depth process of opening and reform, and in particular that it encourage
a genuine dialogue between the authorities and NGOs for the purpose of developing
and implementing policies geared towards the public interest.
It is in the hope of providing elements that could support the needed reforms that we
present a set of recommendations below.