Algeria – Report of UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women on Mission to Algeria

Press Release

Professor Yakin Ertürk, the
Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Violence
against Women, its Causes and Consequences, delivered the following
statement on 31 January 2007 in Algiers:

“From 21 to 31 January 2007, I conducted a fact-finding mission
to Algeria, during which I spoke with Ministers and other authorities, the
President of the Advisory Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations
Country Team, non-governmental organisations and individual victims of
violence against women. I would like to thank the Government of Algeria
for its invitation and excellent support throughout the conduct of my
mission.

I will present a full report to
the United Nations Human Rights Council on my findings regarding violence
against women in Algeria, including its causes and consequences, within
the next six months. At this point, I would like to share some preliminary
observations with you.

The Algerian
Constitution provides for non-discrimination between men and women and
requires the state to actively ensure equality of rights and duties of all
citizens, men and women alike.

Algeria has
distinguished itself by realizing the equal access of boys and girls to
all levels of education in little more than one generation. Today, girls
are numerically overrepresented in secondary schools, colleges and
universities. This is most commendable and it will help to eventually
eliminate the high levels of female illiteracy inherited from colonial
rule

Educated urban women have also
achieved impressive levels of representation in key areas of the public
sector, especially among judges, medical doctors and teachers. Overall,
however, women are particularly underrepresented among decision-makers in
the private sector, the administration and politics. Women’s equal access
to paid work remains a problem, especially for rural and less educated
women. Furthermore, in a resource-rich country like Algeria, poverty is
all too visible and it has a distinct female face. Poor women, who are
single mothers, deserted or divorced women or girls born out-of-wedlock
are particularly burdened and they need more support and protection from
the State.

A presidential decree from 2005,
confirmed by both chambers of Parliament, has successfully established the
equality of men and women under the Nationality Code. Significant reforms
of the Family Code of 1984 have also been enacted into law. However, in
family matters and access to property women still face discrimination.
While the reform has removed some of the critical areas of inequality for
women, it falls short of responding to the needs and aspirations of
Algerian women. Women’s unequal access to inheritance creates particular
vulnerabilities for them. In the event of a divorce, only women with
children are entitled to the marital home or equivalent accommodation,
which they often lose along with the custody of their children, should
they remarry.
The Family Law stipulates the
strict separation of property between husband and wife. In case of
divorce, however, the major assets acquired during marriage are typically
assumed to belong only to the husband leaving divorced women in
destitution. These are some major areas of concern that discriminate
against women and seem not in line with the Algerian Constitution and they
violate Algeria’s international legal obligations. Reforms must continue
to ensure women’s autonomy and equal access to housing and sources of
livelihood.

Recent surveys reveal that
violence against women is a major concern in Algeria in both the home and
the public space. However, this serious human rights concern remains
largely invisible. The social taboos around violence in the society and
the lack of a sufficient institutional response and support for victims of
violence silence the victims and perpetuate the violence. During my
mission, I also spoke with a number of girls and women, who had
experienced violence from their husbands or other family members and had
been ejected from their homes. Having to live in the streets, these women
encounter multiple forms of violence.

In
the work place, women experience sexual harassment by superiors and
colleagues. The Government has recently criminalized certain forms of
sexual harassment, which is a positive first step towards addressing this
problem.

I would like to welcome the
National Strategy to Combat Violence against Women, which has been
prepared by the Minister-Delegate for Family and the Status of Women in
consultation with other stakeholders. Provided that this promising
initiative is adopted by the Cabinet, it will mark a first step of a long
process that requires close partnership between relevant Ministries, the
United Nations and non-governmental associations for women’s rights.
Ultimately, the Government will have to be measured against the concrete
measures it takes to combat violence and gender inequality it is embedded
in.

Women also still suffer from the
legacy of the Black Decade of violence, which has seen systematic and
widespread rape and sexual enslavement of women. In September 2005,
Algeria adopted by way of public referendum a National Charter on Peace
and Reconciliation. The National Charter foresees penal and civil amnesty
for crimes committed during the decade of violence, including grave human
rights violations such as acts of torture and enforced disappearances.

It is positive to note that according to
the National Charter, all persons implicated in rape, collective massacres
and bombings in public places – serious crimes that affected women
disproportionately – have been specifically exempted from enjoying
amnesty. At this stage, however, it remains most unclear to what extent
the exemption clause has been applied to individual cases.

Moreover, I am also concerned about a
provision in the Decree implementing the National Charter, which
criminalizes the use or exploitation of the wounds of the national tragedy
to harm the state, its institutions, agents or international image.
Although it seems that no one has yet been prosecuted under this
provision, this ambiguous norm may pose a severe obstacle to the enjoyment
of the right to freedom of expression.

Persons with divergent views on how to achieve national
reconciliation, including human rights defenders, victims of terrorist
violence and families of disappeared persons, must be able to express
themselves freely and not be subjected to harassment and
threats.

I also
applaud that the National Charter makes provision for compensation.
However, wives and mothers of disappeared, who have suffered emotional
violence during years of uncertainty about the fate of close family
members, still report bureaucratic obstacles and delays in attaining such
compensation. Questions also remain as to whether and how victims of rape
and sexual enslavement during the Black Decade are to receive
compensation.

Algerian women have played
key roles in the most crucial stages of the history of the Democratic
People’s Republic. Women took an active role in the war of liberation from
French colonial domination. During the Black Decade, many Algerian women
displayed acts of civil courage by defying terrorist intimidation and
risking terrorist violence day after day. I would also like to acknowledge
the invaluable work undertaken by women today – individually and as
members of voluntary associations – for the promotion and protection of
women’s rights. Algeria’s women deserve the country’s full support in
their struggle to fully achieve their equality and human rights.

I thank you for your
attention.”

Prof. Yakin Ertürk has been
serving as the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights
Council on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences since 2003.
She is mandated to seek and receive information on violence against women,
its causes and consequences from governmental, international and
non-governmental sources and to respond effectively to such information,
including through recommendations at the national, regional and
international levels.

Ms. Ertürk’s visit
to Algeria marks her twelfth official mission. Prior to this visit, she
carried out official missions in El Salvador, Guatemala, the Occupied
Palestinian Territories, Darfur (Sudan), Russia, Iran, Mexico,
Afghanistan, Turkey, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Ms. Ertürk is a Professor of Sociology at Middle East Technical
University in Ankara, Turkey. As an Independent Expert appointed by the
United Nations, she does not receive any remuneration for her services to
the United
Nations