Algeria Urges Implementation of Gaza Ceasefire, Advocates for Sahrawi People’s Right to Self-Determination
GENEVA — Algeria reiterated on Tuesday in Geneva its call for continued international support for the Gaza ceasefire agreement, reaffirming its unwavering support for the brotherly Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and to end the occupation of their territories.
The Secretary General (SG) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs, Lounès Magramane, made this statement in a speech at the High-Level Segment of the 58th Human Rights Council session.
On this occasion, he commended the efforts of High Commissioner Volker Türk in promoting and protecting human rights worldwide, assuring Algeria’s unwavering support for the success of his noble missions.
At the beginning of his speech, Magramane addressed the backdrop against which the 58th session of the Human Rights Council is taking place, “a complex and challenging climate that requires us to reactivate and reform international multilateral action mechanisms, free from any politicization, selectivity or double standards.”
Algeria considers this a “firm conviction that it strives to uphold in all international fora, especially since its accession to the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member and to the Human Rights Council.”
The same official voiced “Algeria’s deep concern regarding the ongoing worsening of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, resulting from the genocidal war conducted by the barbaric Zionist occupation since October 2023, and the severe humanitarian crisis it has caused, whose consequences persist despite international mediation efforts that have led to a ceasefire agreement.”
In this respect, Algeria reiterated its call for continued international support for the Gaza ceasefire agreement, expressing its “categorical rejection of deportation plans aimed at emptying Gaza of its indigenous inhabitants, as part of a broader plan to undermine the Palestinian national project.”
Regarding the occupied Western Sahara, Magramane condemned “the systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the territory of Western Sahara by the Moroccan occupation.”
He called on the Human Rights Council, through all its mechanisms, to “document these violations and reactivate the technical missions of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to Western Sahara.”
In this regard, Algeria underscored “its steadfast support for the right of the brotherly Sahrawi people to self-determination and to end the occupation of their territories,” urging the UN to “ramp up its efforts through the Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, to enable the parties to the conflict to resume direct negotiations to reach a mutually acceptable political solution as part of international legality.”
At the national level, the speaker noted that “Algeria considers the promotion and protection of human rights a top priority, which explains its commitment since independence to bolster institutions and mechanisms that ensure respect for rights and fundamental freedoms for all its citizens.”
He stressed that this area “has seen considerable development since Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s election to the country’s highest office, realized through numerous programs and reform workshops initiated across various fields and at all levels.”
As part of its commitment and support for human rights and to strengthen bilateral cooperation relations with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Algeria has decided to “double its financial contribution to the Commissioner’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year to meet its needs and support its efforts in carrying out its assigned missions.”
Magramane said that as part of its approach to consolidate cooperation with human rights mechanisms, Algeria welcomed in 2023 the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Peaceful Assembly and Association, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor.
In this regard, he noted that “Algeria is closely following the report that Mary Lawlor will present during this session, taking pride in being the only country in the region that has facilitated Lawlor’s visit.”
On this occasion, Algeria once again extended an invitation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to make a working visit to Algeria.
Concluding his speech, Magramane reiterated “Algeria’s commitment to maintaining its constructive cooperation with the Human Rights Council and its various mechanisms to promote and uphold human rights at both national and international levels, without bias or omission of any right.”
