CCPR/C/121/D/2283/2013 5.2 The State party is of the view that these communications, which incriminate public officials or other persons acting on behalf of public authorities in cases of enforced disappearance during the period in question — from 1993 to 1998 — should be examined taking “a comprehensive approach”. It 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 bringing about the “collapse of the Republican State”. It was in this context, and in conformity with the Constitution (arts. 87 and 91), that the Algerian Government implemented precautionary measures and informed the United Nations Secretariat of its declaration of a state of emergency, in accordance with article 4 (3) of the Covenant. 5.3 The State party emphasizes that, in some areas where there was a proliferation of informal settlements, civilians had trouble distinguishing the actions of terrorist groups from those of the law enforcement forces, to which they often attributed enforced disappearances. According to the State party, many enforced disappearances should have been viewed from this perspective. The concept of disappearance in Algeria during the period in question actually covers six distinct scenarios. The first scenario concerns persons reported missing by their relatives but who in fact had chosen to go into hiding in order to join an armed group and asked their families to report that they had been arrested by the security services as a way of “covering their tracks” and avoiding “harassment” by the police. The second scenario concerns persons who were reported missing after their arrest by the security services but who took advantage of their release to go into hiding. The third scenario concerns persons abducted by armed groups which, because they were not identified or because they had stolen uniforms or identification documents from police officers or soldiers, were mistakenly thought to belong to the armed forces or security services. The fourth scenario concerns persons reported missing who abandoned their families, and sometimes even left the country, to escape from personal problems or family disputes. The fifth scenario concerns persons reported missing by their family but who were in fact wanted terrorists who had been killed and buried in the maquis following factional infighting, doctrinal disputes or arguments over the spoils of war among rival armed groups. The sixth scenario mentioned by the State party concerns persons reported missing who were actually living in Algeria or abroad under a false identity provided by a network of document forgers. 5.4 The State party also maintains that it was in view of the diversity and complexity of the situations covered by the general concept of disappearance that the Algerian legislature, following the referendum on the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, decided to adopt a policy of support for the handling of the tragic problem of disappearances. The issue of missing persons is addressed in a comprehensive framework, which takes account of all persons who disappeared in the context of the “national tragedy”, and under which all victims are offered support in overcoming their ordeal and all victims of disappearance and their beneficiaries are entitled to redress. The State party emphasizes that this is an appropriate response to the situation of the Algerian nation that has been generally supported by the nation. A statistical overview of the implementation of the operative provisions of Ordinance No. 06-01 and subsequent texts related to the issue of disappeared persons in the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation confirms the support of over 85 per cent of relatives of victims or their beneficiaries. 5.5 The State party then turns its attention to the nature, principles and content of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation and its implementing legislation. Far from the stereotypes and harsh judgments that depict the Charter as an impediment to the procedure for establishing truth and justice, it is, rather, an internal national mechanism for finding a way out of the crisis, that has been submitted for public approval and adopted by referendum. The State party first describes the origins and main characteristics of the Algerian crisis in order to assess the impact of implementation of the Charter. The Charter has been introduced against the background of a political and security crisis that has shaken the country, described as the “Great Fitna”, with reference to the historical and religious concept of the deep discord that existed within the community of Islam after the death of the Prophet. The preamble of the Charter suggests that the “Great Fitna”, which attempted to “divert Algeria’s development from its natural course”, constituted “criminal aggression 6 GE.17-21416