§ Dr. StarkeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will urge the Algerian Government, bilaterally and through the EU, to co-operate with the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance and to facilitate a visit to the country in order to conduct an independent investigation of disappearance cases. [79014]
§ Mr. FatchettWe will continue to urge the Algerian Government to co-operate with all UN human rights mechanisms, including the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, both in our bilateral dialogue and through the EU.
§ Dr. StarkeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Algerian Government calling on them to release all prisoners held in secret and unacknowledged detention unless they are to be charged with recognisably criminal offences. [79068]
§ Mr. FatchettWe regularly raise with the Algerian Government our concerns about alleged human rights violations, both bilaterally and through the EU. To this end we support the work of the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances and urge the Algerian Government to honour their obligations to co-operate with this and all other UN human rights mechanisms.
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§ Dr. StarkeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press for a resolution on Algeria at the United Nations Commission for Human Rights at Geneva. [79013]
§ Mr. FatchettWe are our EU partners are considering our positions for this year's Commission on Human Rights, which runs until the end of April. Much will depend on the position taken by the Algerian Government to acknowledge their obligations under the UN Charter and agree to allow in UN Special Rapporteurs on Extra-judicial Executions and on Torture, and co-operate with all UN human rights mechanisms.
§ Dr. StarkeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the current human rights situation within Algeria. [79012]
§ Mr. FatchettThe human rights situation in Algeria continues to cause us concern. In its latest report, the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances of the United Nations Economic and Social Council lists 731 cases of disappearances in Algeria since 1991. Only 11 have been addressed by the Algerian government to the Working Group's satisfaction. Over the same period there have also been numerous allegations of extra-judicial executions and torture by the Algerian security forces.
It is fair to say that the number of new disappearances cited by the UN in the last 12 months is well down on previous years. But this is no substitute for independent investigations into all cases. We continue to urge the Algerian Government to allow independent UN Special Rapporteurs free access to the country to investigate all alleged human rights violations, as they are obliged to do under the UN Charter.