Click here to read in Arabic
On September 12, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association was scheduled to visit Algeria and meet with civil society organizations, independent trade unionists and other human rights activists. The IUF recently briefed the Special Rapporteur and provided extensive documentation on the ongoing repression of independent trade unions. The Algerian government has now “postponed” his visit to 2023, the eighth postponement since 2011. The IUF condemns the Algerian government’s decision and will continue working to increase international scrutiny of its appalling human rights record.
- The IUF has been actively supporting its affiliates in Algeria and closely monitoring the intensifying attack on basic democratic rights and freedom of association in Algeria, which has become increasingly brutal since the emergence of the mass democracy movement (Hirak), in 2019; the escalating repression has been extensively documented by the ILO, United Nations human rights bodies and NGOs.
- The dangers facing our independent affiliates include the arrest and relentless harassment of union members and leaders, the closure of union offices and the establishment of fake union organizations by the security services; trade unionists and democratic activists now face prosecution under loosely defined “terrorism” charges
- To draw attention and raise consciousness around the situation in Algeria, the IUF has published a new report on the escalating repression of independent trade unions and democratic activists available in English and French
IUF General Secretary Sue Longley stated, “Despite the best efforts of the Algerian government to hide their intensifying crackdown on trade union rights and human rights more broadly, we will continue, together with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, to shine a light on this repressive regime.”
