Rights organization urges Algerian government to halt mass deportation of migrants

The Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) has called on the government to halt the mass deportation of migrants from sub-Saharan countries.

While making the call in a report published on Saturday, the League demanded that the government establish a “legal framework and mechanisms for receiving and accommodating migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, in line with the international human rights standards and in implementation of Algeria’s international commitments on asylum and refugee protection.”

“Authorities are called upon to halt the campaigns of mass deportations of migrants.”

LADDH also criticized “forced deportations,” stressing that such moves violate the laws and Algeria’s hospitality and good neighborliness.

“The deportation of migrants shall be done individually, with each case examined separately, with full respect for the right to asylum for those who request it.”

The report added that combating human trafficking under the pretext of preserving national security must be carried out in line with respecting the rights and migrants’ dignity.

It affirmed that over 1,528 Algerian clandestine migrants were expelled from France in 2018.

French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin visited Algeria in November and discussed with senior officials the deportation of Algerians who reside illegally in France or are extremist suspects.

This matter was discussed in light of the beheading of a French teacher in October by a Chechen national.

According to a 2019 data by the International Organization for Migration, there are 294,000 clandestine migrants in Algeria.

Non-governmental organizations confirm that there are almost 500,000 migrants, most of whom work in construction projects and are from neighboring Mali and Niger.

Human rights activists have stressed that the authorities have deported 16,000 Nigerians in 2020.

Algeria’s official news agency quoted on Saturday an expert in migration affairs as saying that Algiers had previously been a transit country for migrants.

He stated that it is now in the process of becoming a host country over the difficulty facing migrants in reaching European Union countries that closed their borders, a matter of serious concern for Algerian national security.

Between early 2020 and September 6, 85 Algerian migrants went missing at sea, according to LADDH’s report.

It pointed out that almost 5,500 migrants were also arrested on the Spanish coast.

About 31,000 Algerian migrants live in Europe without residence permits, 2019 EU data showed.