At UN, Algeria's complaint against NGO Alkarama draws U.S. request for delay

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At UN, Algeria's complaint against NGO Alkarama draws U.S. request for delay

UNITED NATIONS, January 19, 2009 -- A non-government group critical of the human rights record of several Arab countries came under fire Monday before the ECOSOC committee on NGOs. It began with a speech by the chairman, Sudan's Deputy Permanent Representative, emphasizing the irresponsible behavior of some NGOs which may, he said, need suspension or withdrawal of accreditation. On the agenda was a complaint by Algeria against an NGO. No one wanted to name the complained-of NGO, but it seems clear it is Alkarama.

The U.S. argued for delay, emphasizing the Martin Luther King holiday and the next day's inauguration of Barack Obama as President. Pakistan spoke and said, let's hear from the member state, Algeria. The United Kingdom proposed a "gentleman's agreement," to hear the complaint but not reach a decision today. The U.S. spoke again, modifying the UK proposal to say, no decision until at earliest on Thursday.

Sudan then gave the floor to "the observer state of Algeria," without ruling on or even discussion of the UK's proposed "gentleman's agreement." Algeria started its complaint, in French, against "use of the consultative status by certain NGOs... The NGO which is the subject of our complaint... associated with an armed terrorist group... the details are spelled out in our note verbal." Still no one had named the complained-of group. But delegates confirmed to Inner City Press that it is Alkarama. We will have more on this.

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At UN, Algeria seeks ouster of "terrorist" NGO, secret complaint withheld by UN

UNITED NATIONS, January 25, 2009 -- A secret complaint was lodged at the UN by Algeria on January 19 against the non-governmental organization the Arab Commission for Human Rights.

While the complaint, set to be ruled on in a closed-down meeting on January 26 has yet to be publicly released, it appears to allege that the group allowed its spot before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on June 11, 2008 to be taken by another NGO, Alkarama, which is critical of Algeria's and others' records with regard to political prisoners, freedom of the press and related issues.

The complaint gets more explosive with the statement that NGO representative, Mr. Rachid Mesli, has been charged in and by Algeria with terrorism, and is on the UN Security Council's Resolution 1267 terrorism list.

While invocation of terrorism has become the ultimate trump card in such debates, the UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions has previously had to consider whether "Rachid Mesli is a prisoner of conscience, who was detained solely because of his activities as a human rights advocate." See, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2000/4/Add.1 at 82, available here.

Neither Algeria nor the UN Committee have been willing for the past week to release to the press any of the documents or evidence that make up the case.

But Mesli's prepared remarks for June 11, 2008 remain online on Alkarama's web site, here, and state of Algeria that

"nothing should justify maintaining the state of emergency and the exorbitant powers granted to military intelligence services (DRS). This is the situation which resulted from the cancelling of the electoral process of 1992, causing 200,000 deaths and more than 10,000 disappearances. The mechanism of UPR should not be a false door to reality and be consistent with the findings of Treaty monitoring bodies and special procedures. This is not just for the Human Rights Council's credibility but also for the entire system of protection of human rights in the United Nations."

Algeria's complaint was discussed on January 19 and January 23 in the NGO Committee of the Economic and Social Council, with a decision on whether to suspend or withdraw the group's UN accreditation now scheduled for Monday, January 26, in closed-down "informal" consultations. Inner City Press, which first reported the controversy, then asked the chief of the UN's NGO Section, Hanifa Mezoui, for a copy of the written complaint that Algeria filed.

Ms. Mezoui answered, "Not yet, because we are not even dealing with the case. You will have all the paper you need on Friday."

Inner City Press reiterated that it would like to see the complaint, if only to prepare to report further on it on Friday. Again Ms. Mezoui said no, "because today it will be only confusing, scaring people."

Thanking Ms. Mezoui for her advice on how to report, Inner City Press reminded her that when a country files a letter with the Security Council, for example, it becomes a public document available to the press, whether or not it might be frightening or confusing.

Ms. Mezoui said, "we're not going to give you the document now, because you heard what happened. It is still under review with no decision. Whatever you write would be...". Her voice trailed off.

This is why the UN needs a Freedom of Information rule, to require the release of documents.

Inner City Press asked the Algerian representative for a copy, but none was given. She did, however, provide Inner City Press with an explanation on the night of January 23 during a reception commemorating Sudan taking over the Group of 77 and China. Notably, Sudan also chairs the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs, and its Deputy Permanent Representative pushed Algeria's complaint, Agenda Item 8, forward throughout the week. His boss, the Permanent Representative, on January 23 told Inner City Press with some mirth that the two NGOs will be thrown out. We'll see.

Some wonder if the complaint, and some other countries' support for the complaint, doesn't spring from human rights testimony delivered by the groups. Cuba spoke in favor of the complaint, noting that it too has faced NGOs who try only to undermine the nation. [Twice last week the U.S. representative on the Committee refused to provide the press with a copy of the Complaint, saying both times that he doesn't have "instructions" yet from Washington. The UK representative suggested the Monday proceeding, which will be closed to the press. It should be noted that both the US and UK governments deploy the terrorism moniker to their advantage.]

The UN is run and owned by member states, a number of speakers on January 23 argued, and these governments should not be subject in the UN to critiques that are "unsubstantiated." But what if they are substantiated?

The Algerian representative told Inner City Press that Mr. Mesli has been charged with "providing communications equipment" to a terrorist group, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Mesli is identified as a member an organization which seeks the overthrow of Algerian President Bouteflika, Rachad, along with Mourad Dhina, who after "the dissolution of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) [the main Algerian Islamist party] in 1992, fled to Saint Genis Pouilly [in France nearby the Swiss border and who] admits that he has 'almost constant' contacts with Abbas Madani, the historical FIS leader and Madani’s right hand Ali Belhadj. Both were jailed in Algeria for 12 years, both always refused to condemn the terrorist acts of the GSPC (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat) now called Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb."

The Algerian representative twice asked Inner City Press if it has an interest in the group, Alkarama. There were no other media organizations seated in the ECOSOC Committee on NGO meetings on January 19 and January 23.

There is the question of whether or not Mr. Mesli is a terrorist, although Algeria is sure to claim that since their courts say so, it is so. There is the question of whether it is in fact without precedent for accredited NGOs to allow others to speak. But there is also the question of why the UN feels it can without basic documents like this complaint, and then seek to deliberate and rule on it in secret.

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At UN, Algeria's NGO complaint processed in secret, vote set for Wednesday

UNITED NATIONS, January 26, 2009 -- As the UN moved closer to suspending its accreditation of the Arab Commission for Human Rights, Algeria's complaint against the group was still being withheld, and all discussions done in secret. At Monday's UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked why the complaint was being withheld. The answer later came, that "the Committee has chosen not to make that document public. We have been informed that a decision on the complaint will take place during a public meeting, to be held within the coming days."

This ECOSOC Committee on NGOs held "informal consultations" behind closed doors on Monday. Inner City Press' sources inside the meeting describe interventions by Turkey, Egypt and Cuba urging a fast vote to suspend the group. Strikingly, no member state or even NGO has step forward to oppose the accusation.

If one were a human rights advocate in Algeria, is it unheard of that one might speak with even groups accused of terrorism, in order to gauge the legitimacy of the government's crackdown on them? Who should a human rights advocate in Algeria speak with?

The silence stands in contrast to 2004, when Vietnam's complaint about the Montagnard-defending Transnational Radical Party was opposed by a number of U.S.-based NGOs. On Monday the U.S. representative explained only that the U.S. wants more information from Algeria as well, it is said, from Switzerland in connection with an application for refugee status. The U.S. is not defending Mesli or the NGOs, but appears concerned with precedent. In 2006, the U.S. moved to disaccredit the Sudan-based Islamic African Relief Agency. In this case, Cuba said no more information should be needed. The UK finally proposed that the vote be held off until Wednesday. It is currently scheduled for 10 a.m. on that day.

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L’Algérie a déposé plainte contre elle pour ses liens avec le GSPC :
Une ONG arabe suspendue

Dimanche 1 Février 2009 -- Le Comité des droits de l’homme de l’ONU a décidé de sanctionner la Commission arabe pour les droits de l’homme (CADH) pour avoir violé la résolution 1996/31 de l’ECOSOC. La délégation de l’Algérie avait en effet formulé une plainte à l’encontre de la CADH qui est dotée du statut consultatif spécial auprès de l’ECOSOC, le 21 janvier dernier, lui reprochant de s’être fait représenter à une réunion du Conseil des droits de l’homme, le 10 juin 2008, par un de ses membres, Rachid Mesli, qui était aussi membre du GSPC, une organisation figurant sur la liste 1267 du Conseil de sécurité et qui contient les noms d’organisations ayant des activités terroristes. Le délégué de l’Algérie, Driss Djazaïry, a indiqué que la personne qui avait pris la parole au nom de l’ONG dotée du statut consultatif spécial avait un lourd casier judiciaire, ayant commis des actes criminels jugés comme tels par les autorités algériennes. Après un long débat et un vote nominal, le comité a décidé, par 18 voix pour et une abstention (Etats-Unis), de «suspendre le statut consultatif spécial de cette organisation pour une durée d’un an». Le représentant de cette dernière, Rachid Mesli, est membre également d’une organisation figurant sur la liste 1267 du Conseil de sécurité qui contient les noms d’organisations ayant des activités terroristes. Alors que l’organisation reconnaît que Mesli était son représentant en 2007 et en 2008, ce dernier n’a pas fait mention de cette qualité lors de son intervention au Conseil des droits de l’homme, mais a associé le nom de son ONG Alkarama, non dotée du statut consultatif, au nom de la CADH. Driss Djazaïry a noté que l’ONG reconnaît que Rachid Mesli fait l’objet d’un mandat d’arrêt international d’Interpol. Appuyé par Cuba, le Qatar, la Guinée, le Soudan, la Turquie, la Chine, la République dominicaine, le Pakistan, l’Angola et la Fédération de Russie, le représentant de l’Algérie a demandé que le Comité prenne des mesures contre l’usage abusif de ce statut consultatif spécial et empêche ainsi l’ONG de s’en prévaloir pendant trois ans.

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À la demande de l’Algérie, une ONG arabe des droits de l'homme pourrait être exclue de l'ONU

Mardi 3 Février 2009 -- L'Algérie a demandé et obtenu la suspension par l'ONU du statut consultatif de la Commission arabe des droits humains (CADH). La cause ? Selon le représentant de l'Algérie à l'ONU, l'un des membres de cette ONG, l'avocat algérien Rachid Mesli, appartiendrait au Groupe salafiste pour la prédication et le combat (GSPC, devenu Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique). Cette organisation qui continue de perpétrer des attentats en Algérie est inscrite sur la liste du Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU pour activités terroristes et celle des Etats-Unis établie en 2002. Selon le quotidien suisse Le Temps, l'affaire fait grand bruit dans l'enceinte du Palais des Nations à Genève.

La décision de suspendre la CADH a été votée vendredi à New York par Comité des organisations non gouvernementales, un organe du Conseil économique et social des Nations unies (Ecosoc) chargé d'étudier les demandes d'accréditations des ONG auprès de l'ONU.

« Les 19 pays membres ont voté à une très large majorité (avec une seule abstention des Etats-Unis) la suspension pour une année de la Commission arabe des droits humains (CADH). Cette décision devra être validée à la prochaine réunion de l'Ecosoc en juillet à Genève », affirme Le Temps.

Cette suspension a été dénoncée par le représentant permanent de l'ONG à Genève, le Tunisien Abdel Wahab Hani. «Cette décision démesurée crée un précédent grave au sein de l'ONU», s'insurge t-il. La CADH, accréditée à l'ONU depuis 2004, suit de près les travaux du Conseil des droits de l'homme.

L'affaire remonte au 10 juin 2008 à Genève lors de l'examen périodique universel de la situation des droits de l'Homme en Algérie. Dans le cadre de cet examen, l'avocat algérien Rachid Mesli, réfugié en Suisse depuis 2000, dresse, au nom de la CADH, le sombre tableau des abus du gouvernement algérien: torture, arrestations arbitraires, disparitions forcées. Au lieu d'encaisser comme cela a été le cas ces dernières années lorsqu'elle était attaquée sur les questions liées aux droits de l'Homme, l'Algérie avait de décider de riposter, le 22 août 2008, par la voix d'Idriss Jazaïri, ambassadeur algérien auprès de l'ONU.

En séance plénière, M. Jazaïri, a déploré qu'un membre d'une ONG «faisant l'objet d'un mandat d'arrêt international pour appartenance à un groupe terroriste armé» puisse prendre la parole devant le Conseil des droits de l'homme. Le diplomate algérien a fait référence au GSPC. Une plainte est formulée le 18 janvier dernier auprès de l'Ecosoc à New York. L'Algérie y demande l'exclusion de la CADH. «Ces allégations sont ridicules et infondées, réagit Rachid Mesli. Les autorités algériennes ont même par le passé accusé Amnesty International de terrorisme!», toujours selon Le Temps.

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Une ONG sanctionnée sur demande de l'Algérie

Lundi 27 Juillet 2009 -- Le Conseil économique et social de l'ONU (Ecosoc) a suspendu lundi pour un an le statut consultatif de la Commission arabe des droits de l'Homme (CADH) sur demande de l'Algérie qui accuse l'ONG d'avoir choisi comme porte-parole un homme recherché pour terrorisme. L'Algérie avait obtenu du Comité des ONG de l'ONU de recommander la suspension de la CADH. Cette recommandation a été entérinée lundi par consensus et sans débat par l'Ecosoc réuni à Genève.

Les autorités algériennes s'étaient indignées que l'ONG ait choisi de se faire représenter par Rachid Mesli, un ancien avocat qui, dans les années 90, avait défendu les leaders du Front islamique du salut (FIS) Abbassi Madani et Ali Belhadj. L'ancien avocat avait été condamné en 1997 à trois ans de prison pour soutien au terrorisme à l'issue d'un procès qualifié d'inéquitable par Amnesty International.

Jouissant depuis 2000 du statut de réfugié en Suisse, M. Mesli avait présenté en juin 2008 les observations de la CADH lors du débat sur la situation des droits de l'Homme en Algérie dans le cadre de la procédure d'Examen périodique universel du Conseil des droits de l'Homme de l'ONU. Le représentant permanent à Genève de la CADH, Abdel Wahab Hani, a accusé les Etats occidentaux de "lâcheté" pour avoir consenti à cette sanction. Il a dénoncé notamment l'absence de motivation écrite de la sanction prononcée.

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Arab human rights group barred for year by UN

GENEVA, July 27, 2009 (Reuters) - The United Nations decided on Monday to bar an Arab human rights group for a year after Algeria argued that it brought in a "known terrorist" to speak on its behalf at a meeting in Geneva. The decision was taken without a vote, despite reservations voiced by Western countries, at the 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in what an official of the barred grouping said was a move to silence its voice. The action against the Paris-based Arab Commission for Human Rights - which has been fiercely critical of Israel but also of what it argues is growing oppression in Arab countries - deprives it of the right to speak in U.N. bodies. "This was a move taken to silence us," the body's Geneva representative Abdel Wahab Hani told reporters. "We upset everybody, including the Europeans and Americans by criticising them too, so there was no one to stand up for us." The suspension of recognition - formally known as "consultative status" - was recommended in January by the U.N.'s 19-nation Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in New York.

Western countries say the Committee has increasingly acted in recent years to keep out genuine NGOs. The Arab Commission, founded in 1998 and run by 15 human rights lawyers who mainly live in Arab countries although some are based in Western Europe, will now be barred from the Human Rights Council, its main U.N. focus. In a complaint to the NGO Committee, Algeria said the group violated rules last year by putting up as a speaker Swiss-based lawyer Rachid Mesli, against whom Algiers has issued an arrest warrant as a member of an "armed terrorist group". Hani said Mesli was a lawyer who fled Algeria after being prosecuted for defending members of the now defunct Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) which fought the state in the 1990s. U.S. and European Union delegates said on Monday that states on the Committee, which recommends to ECOSOC which NGOs should be admitted, or expelled, appeared to be acting to keep out NGO's who criticised them or with whom they disagreed.