CCPR/C/130/D/2843/2016
of Sadek Rsiwi constitutes a violation of article 16 of the Covenant attributable to the State
party.
3.7
Recalling that article 23 (1) of the Covenant provides for the right to protection of the
family, the author argues that the disappearance of Sadek Rsiwi deprived their family of a
father and a husband and thus constitutes a violation of that article.
3.8
The author recalls that article 2 (3) of the Covenant guarantees access to effective
remedies for any person claiming a violation of any of the rights protected by the Covenant.
Sadek Rsiwi, as a victim of enforced disappearance, is de facto unable to exercise any remedy.
Drawing on the jurisprudence of the Committee, the author recalls the obligation of the State
party to conduct inquiries into alleged violations of human rights and to prosecute and punish
the perpetrators, and considers that the lack of response on the part of the Algerian authorities
to her requests, as the victim’s wife, constitutes a breach of the State party’s obligations under
article 2 of the Covenant. Ordinance No. 06-01, specifically its article 45, constitutes a breach
of the State party’s obligation to ensure an effective remedy. Accordingly, the author asks
the Committee to find a violation of article 2 (3), read alone and in conjunction with articles
6, 7, 9, 10 and 16 of the Covenant.
3.9
Lastly, Ordinance No. 06-01 constitutes a non-fulfilment of the general obligation
enshrined in article 2 (2) of the Covenant, read in conjunction with articles 2 (3) and 19. In
adopting the Ordinance, in particular article 45, the State party has taken a legislative measure
that deprives of effect the right to an effective remedy against human rights violations, in
breach of article 2 (3) of the Covenant, and, furthermore, in article 46 of the Ordinance, has
criminalized all peaceful expression of complaints and all public discussion of the alleged
events, in violation of the author’s right to freedom of expression, as enshrined in article 19
of the Covenant. The author considers that it is also because of the existence of the Ordinance
– specifically the above-mentioned articles, whose incompatibility with the Covenant has
been underlined by the Committee on numerous occasions – that the Committee’s findings
in all decisions regarding cases of enforced disappearance falling within the scope of the
Ordinance have not been implemented by the State party.
3.10 The author requests that the Committee find, firstly, a violation of articles 2 (3), 6 (1),
7, 9 (1–4), 10 (1), 16 and 23 (1) of the Covenant, in respect of Sadek Rsiwi; secondly, she
requests that the Committee find a violation of articles 2 (3), 7 and 23 (1) of the Covenant,
in respect of herself; and, thirdly, she requests that it find that Ordinance No. 06-01, in
particular articles 45 and 46, constitutes a violation of the general obligation under article 2
(2), read in conjunction with articles 2 (3) and 19 of the Covenant. The author also asks that
the Committee request the State party: (a) to release Sadek Rsiwi if he is still alive; (b) to
provide her with an effective remedy in the form of a comprehensive and thorough
investigation into the enforced disappearance of her husband and to inform her of the results
of the investigation; (c) to prosecute, try and punish the persons responsible for the
disappearance of Sadek Rsiwi, in conformity with the State party’s international
commitments; and (d) to provide adequate compensation to the author and the dependants of
Sadek Rsiwi for the violations suffered. Lastly, she asks the Committee to urge the Algerian
authorities to repeal the above-mentioned articles of Ordinance No. 06-01.
State party’s observations
4.1
On 3 April 2017, the State party invited the Committee to refer to the background
memorandum of the Government of Algeria on handling the issue of disappearances in the
light of the implementation of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation by way of
comment on the merits of the allegations.
4.2
The State party is of the view that these communications, which implicate agents of
the State or other persons acting on behalf of public authorities in cases of enforced
disappearance during the period from 1993 to 1998, should be examined using a
comprehensive approach. The State party considers that such communications should be
placed in the broader context of the sociopolitical situation and security conditions that
prevailed in the country during a period when the Government was struggling to combat a
form of terrorism aimed at provoking the collapse of the Republican State. It was in this
context, and in conformity with articles 87 and 91 of the Constitution, that the Government
GE.21-03102
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