KABYLIA (SIWEL) — The 46th ordinary session of the Human Rights Council has just ended after four weeks of debates by videoconference, was an opportunity for several international organisations, including the UN, and human rights activists to denounce these wrongdoing, to pillory their perpetrators and to express their full solidarity with the victims. both in Algerian cities.

Grievances and criticism began in the first days of the session by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who urged the Algerian authorities to immediately release all those arrested for participating in the peaceful protests. Bachelet called, in this regard, for « genuine democratic elections reflecting the will of the people ».

In the meantime, several civil society organisations took turns during this CDH session to denounce the repression in Algeria. The independent organisation « Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies » (CIHRS) for its part condemned the trials opened in 2020 against a thousand people prosecuted for having exercised their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. She also spoke out against the campaign of harassment and persecution targeting human rights defenders and journalists in the performance of their duties, citing the case of the Kabyle student Walid Nekich, victim of physical, sexual and psychological violence. During his 14-month pre-trial detention. Algeria has also been criticized by international organisations before the Human Rights Council for violations of the rights of religious minorities, in particular for the campaign to close Protestant places of worship in Kabylia.

The World Evangelical Alliance, the World Council of Churches and Christian Solidarity Worldwide have expressed « grave concern at the ongoing closure of Protestant churches. » In a similar statement presented to the HRC, the World Baptist Alliance denounced, in turn, « the campaign led by the Algerian authorities against Protestant churches and Protestant Christians in Algeria ». In addition, other organisations have underlined the complicity and responsibility of the Algerian authorities in atrocities, abuses and serious violations of human rights.

SIWEL 251120 MAR 21