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In
crafting an agenda for what they term “national reconciliation,” Algerian
authorities should:
- Ensure
that any measures of amnesty are crafted to exclude those who perpetrated
or bear command responsibility for serious human rights abuses, whether
they are agents of the state or members of armed groups. The definition
of grave abuses should encompass not only “collective massacres, rape and
bomb attacks on public places,” — the crimes specifically cited in the
Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation — but also extrajudicial
executions, torture, and forced disappearances. Any measures of
grace benefiting such perpetrators should be granted only after they have
been tried in court, and should ensure that the punishment received
remains proportional to the gravity of the crimes for which they have been
convicted.
- Disclose
the decisions rendered by the Probation Committees that were established
by the 1999 Civil Harmony Law and tasked with examining applications for
amnesty from surrendering militants. Such disclosure will enable the
public to evaluate the record of these committees in identifying and
excluding from amnesty the perpetrators of grave human rights violations,
and contribute to an informed debate on how to ensure an effective vetting
process for future amnesty-seekers.
- Ensure
that any plan to definitively address the issue of “disappearances”
respects the right of victims and their families to truth and
justice. The internationally recognized human rights of victims must
not be compromised, even by a plan that has been adopted through a
democratic process. The government can fulfill the right to know through
various means, including by the establishment of a truth commission whose
powers, resources, mandate and independence conform to international
standards for effective truth commissions.
- Ensure
that any global effort to assist victims of political violence pays
particular attention to the special social and psychological needs of
women who were raped.
- End, and
avoid enacting new, abusive restrictions on the right of Algerians to form
political parties. The criteria for banning of a political party, or the
banning of an individual from political life, must be clear and
legitimate, such as the practice of or incitement to violence.
Prohibitions must be subject to a meaningful review by an impartial body,
such as an independent court.
- Encourage
a free and informed debate of the Charter for Peace and National
Reconciliation by allowing critics of the plan to express themselves
freely on national television and radio, by easing political pressure on
the print media, and by allowing all public meetings called to discuss the
Charter. The President should encourage the debate by ceasing verbal
attacks on those who would question his proposed Charter. He should
ensure that a referendum take place only after Algerians have had the
opportunity to engage in a free and informed deliberation on the Charter,
one in which victims of human rights abuses have had the opportunity to be
heard.
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