The human rights situation in Algeria has again been pilloried, at the same time by Algerian human rights defenders and UN bodies. A reproof reiterated at the occasion of the visit to Algeria by a delegation from the international committee in charge of human rights national institutions reporting to the UN HCR. Rosslyn Noonan, leading the UN delegation for a visit still going on till 16 September, has declared that “there is a lot of work to be done” to improve the human rights situation in Algeria. A declaration which is a clear condemnation of the authorities. This happens at the time when the Algerian human rights league accused an “authority which continues through its violation of human rights of Algerian citizens”.
The latter continue demonstrating regularly, asking for the respect of civil freedom and authorization for public meetings which are still being put down despite of the lifting of the state of emergency. In April 2011, the Human Rights Watch Organization was indignant that “the authorities continue flouting basic human rights of Algerians”. Many citizens, regrouped within the group of missing people’s families and the SOS association of missing people have demonstrated on the occasion of the delegation visit.

They ask for the truth about the destiny of their relatives, missing since the decade of the civil war 1992 – 2001 and the years following it. Apart from dozens of thousands of dead persons who have been killed during this terrible civil war, thousands others are still considered among the missing people. Many voices accuse the authorities, in particular the DRS, the dreadful Algerian military intelligence services, of hiding the location of many graves.