On 9/10 October, the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on the Euro-Mediterranean
Association Agreement with Algeria. In giving its assent, the European Parliament will be expressing
its expectation that the government of Algeria will meet its commitment under Article 2 of the
Agreement to treat democratic principles and fundamental rights as essential elements of the
Agreement.
To approve the Agreement without specifying concrete steps that need to be taken will risk reducing
Article 2 to a mere piety at a time when grave human rights abuses continue to be committed with
impunity in Algeria.
The undersigned human rights organizations therefore call on the European Parliament to adopt the
draft resolution that was approved by its Foreign Affairs Committee, B 5-0000/2002, which spells out
specific steps the government of Algeria should take to meet its human rights commitments, as well as
mechanisms to periodically evaluate compliance with Article 2. To reinforce this resolution on
human rights, we recommend that it be cited within the resolution assenting to the Association
Agreement.
The undersigned organization wish to underscore the importance of the following points contained in
the Foreign Affairs Committee draft resolution:
1) Specify mechanisms for evaluation (Article 22 of the draft resolution)
We applaud the resolution’s call for mechanisms designed to ensure regular monitoring of the
implementation of Article 2. We recommend that the European Parliament contribute to this process
by committing to convene annual hearings, together with the Council and the Commission, prior to
the meeting of the Association Councils.
2) Support human rights, civil society and the struggle against impunity
The draft resolution rightly insists that the Algerian government must pursue its efforts to improve its
procedures for defending and protecting human rights and to allow the flourishing of independent
civil society. It also recognizes that impunity remains a major obstacle to restoring the rule of law. We
encourage you to support Articles of the draft resolution echoing this notion, including Articles 6,16,
and 22.
3) Access for the UN thematic mechanisms and for international NGOs
We fully support Article 5 of the draft resolution calling for access to Algeria for the UN thematic
mechanisms and international human rights NGOs.
In light of statements made by Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem before the Foreign
Affairs Committee on 9 September that Algeria had always answered positively
to requests from UN human rights mechanisms and received international NGOs in 2000,2001 and
2002, we would like to remind you that: