CCPR/C/130/D/2843/2016 ineffective, are thus now totally unavailable. The Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation provides that “no one, whether in Algeria or abroad, has the right to use or make use of the wounds caused by the national tragedy to undermine the institutions of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, weaken the State, impugn the integrity of all the agents who have served it with dignity, or tarnish the image of Algeria abroad” and rejects “all allegations holding the State responsible for deliberate disappearances”. The Charter further provides that “reprehensible acts on the part of agents of the State, which have been punished by law whenever they have been proved, cannot be used as a pretext to discredit the security forces as a whole, who were doing their duty for their country with the support of its citizens”. 2.8 According to the author, since Ordinance No. 06-01 prohibits the opening of legal proceedings, on pain of criminal prosecution, the victims are relieved of any obligation to exhaust domestic remedies. Article 45 of the Ordinance prohibits any complaint related to disappearance or other offences by providing that “no individual or class action may be taken against members of any branch of the defence and security forces of the Republic for actions carried out to protect persons and property, safeguard the nation and preserve the institutions of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria”. By virtue of this provision, any allegation or complaint must be declared inadmissible by the competent judicial authority. Furthermore, article 46 of the Ordinance establishes that: “Anyone who, through his or her spoken or written statements or any other act, uses or makes use of the wounds caused by the national tragedy to undermine the institutions of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, weaken the State, impugn the integrity of its agents who have served it with dignity, or tarnish the image of Algeria abroad, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of 3 to 5 years and a fine of 250,000 to 500,000 Algerian dinars. Criminal proceedings shall be automatically initiated by the public prosecutor’s office. The penalty shall be doubled for repeat offences.” 2.9 The author adds that the effect of this law is to grant amnesty for crimes committed in the past decade, including the most serious crimes, such as enforced disappearance. Moreover, the law prohibits, on pain of imprisonment, the use of the justice system to establish the fate of victims.6 The Algerian authorities, including the judicial authorities, are manifestly refusing to establish the responsibility of the security services, officers of which are allegedly responsible for the enforced disappearance of Sadek Rsiwi. This refusal impedes the effectiveness of the remedies sought by his family. The complaint 3.1 The author claims that her husband is the victim of an enforced disappearance resulting from actions by agents of the Algerian security forces and thus attributable to the State party, in accordance with the definition of enforced disappearance set forth in article 7 (2) (i) of the Statute of the International Criminal Court and article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The author argues that, although no provision of the Covenant expressly mentions enforced disappearance, the practice involves violations of the right to life, the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the right to liberty and security of person. In the present case, the author is claiming that the State party has violated articles 6 (1), 7, 9 (1–4), 10 (1), 16 and 23 (1), as well as article 2 (2), read in conjunction with articles 2 (3) and 19 of the Covenant. 3.2 The author recalls the paramount nature of the right to life and the obligation of the State party not only to refrain from arbitrarily depriving an individual of the right to life, but also to prevent and punish any act involving a violation of article 6 of the Covenant, including when the perpetrator or perpetrators of such acts are agents of the State. She further points out the obligation of the State party to protect the lives of persons in detention and to investigate any cases of disappearance, as the absence of an inquiry may in itself constitute a breach of article 6, including in cases where the disappearance is not the result of actions by agents of the State. The author argues that her husband was arrested in March 1996 and taken by agents of the security forces to the Ghardaïa military centre. His disappearance followed his refusal to join the Algerian militias operating under State control. Sadek Rsiwi’s 6 GE.21-03102 CCPR/C/DZA/CO/3, paras. 7–8. 3