It is widely known that migrants in Algeria are exposed to discrimination, arrest, detention, and waves of expulsions such as those in September and October 2017. However, despite both this and the UN Committee on Migrant Workers’ 2010 recommendation that “the detention of migrant workers in an irregular situation is considered only as a last resort,” Algeria fails to refer to immigration detention laws and practices in its second Periodic Report to the committee. In a submission to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers, the GDP, together with Le Collectif Loujna Tounkaranké, has highlighted some of the conditions migrant workers face in the country, while also calling on Algeria to provide greater transparency regarding its treatment of migrants. Particular questions were raised regarding the nature of immigration detention – such as who manages detention facilities, the conditions in which detainees are kept, the length for which detainees are held, and the safeguards to which detainees have access. In the context of mass expulsions, the GDP and Le Collectif Loujna Tounkaranké also called for Algeria to release more information regarding the expulsion decision-process, and the rights afforded to those subject to expulsion. Read the submission (French) here.
