The Indigenous World 2025: Algeria

Written on 25 April 2025. Posted in Algeria

The Amazigh are the Indigenous people of Algeria and other countries of North Africa. However, the Algerian government does not recognize the Indigenous status of the Amazigh and refuses to publish statistics on their population. Because of this, there is no official data on the number of Amazigh in Algeria. On the basis of demographic data drawn from the territories in which Tamazight-speaking populations live, associations defending and promoting the rights of Amazigh people estimate the Tamazight-speaking population to be around 12 million people, a third of Algeria’s total population.

The Amazigh of Algeria are concentrated in five territories: Kabylia in the north-east (Kabyls represent around 50% of Algeria’s Amazigh population), Aurès in the east, Chenoua, a mountainous region on the Mediterranean coast to the west of Algiers, M'zab in the south (Taghardayt), and Tuareg territory in the Sahara (Tamanrasset, Adrar, Djanet). Many small Amazigh communities also exist in the south-west (Tlemcen, Bechar, etc.) and in other places scattered throughout the country. It is also important to note that large cities such as Algiers, Oran, Constantine, etc., are home to several hundred thousand people who are historically and culturally Amazigh but who have been partly Arabized over the years, succumbing to a gradual process of acculturation and assimilation.

The Indigenous populations can primarily be distinguished from Arab inhabitants by their language (Tamazight) but also by their way of life and their culture (clothes, food, songs and dances, beliefs, etc.). After decades of demands and popular struggles, the Amazigh language was finally recognized as a “national and official language” in Algeria’s Constitution in 2016. In reality, however, the Amazigh identity continues to be marginalized and folklorized by state institutions. Officially, Algeria is still presented as an “Arab country” and “land of Islam”, and anti-Amazigh laws are still in force (such as the 1992 Law of Arabization).

Internationally, Algeria has ratified the main international standards, and it voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. However, these texts remain unknown to the vast majority of citizens, and thus not applied, which has led to the UN treaty-monitoring bodies making numerous observations and recommendations to Algeria urging it to meet its international commitments.

This article is part of the 39^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous activist Funa-ay Claver, a Bontok Igorot, standing alongside Indigenous youth activists and others. They are protesting against the repressive laws and human rights violations suffered through the actions and projects of the Government of the Philippines and other actors against Indigenous Peoples at President Marcos Jr’s national address on 22 July 2024 in Quezon City, Philippines. The photo was taken by Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2025 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2025 in full here

Presidential elections without Amazigh participation 

Algeria held presidential elections on 7 September 2024. Incumbent President Abdelmajid Tebboune was easily re-elected with 84% of the vote, albeit on the lowest turnout in Algeria's history: 46% according to the government and only 24% according to analysts.^[1] The Kabyl population boycotted the presidential elections, resulting in a turnout in Kabylia that was less than 1%. This is the fourth time in the last five years that Kabylia has refused to take part in Algerian elections. Faced with repressive policies and attacks on their rights and freedoms, the Kabyl Amazigh are stating their rejection of the Algerian political and institutional system by refusing to take part in national elections.

By means of Presidential Decree No. 24-218 of 27 June 2024, published in the Official Journal of 8 July 2024^[2], the Algerian government now allows army officers to run public companies and administrations. For many observers, this reflects a worrying strengthening of military power over society.

Law No. 24-06 of 28 April 2024, amending and supplementing Ordinance No. 66-156 of 8 June 1966 on the Penal Code, has been passed. It is clear that the changes made do not go in the direction of better protection of individual and collective rights, and that the Algerian legislators failed to take into account the numerous concerns and recommendations of the UN human rights mechanisms, particularly with regard to bringing Algeria's anti-terrorist legislation into line with international law^[3]. According to the NGO, MENA Rights Group, “the provisions of Law No. 24-06 are incompatible with articles 19, 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”^[4].

Violations of human rights continue to give cause for serious concern

The year 2024 was marked by a continuation of the same repressive policy and attacks on freedoms. Amnesty International notes that: “[...] the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association by civil society organizations, activists and other people has remained curtailed through arbitrary arrests and detention. Authorities have continued to use vaguely worded and baseless terrorism charges to crack down on peaceful dissent. Amendments to legislation on the financing of terrorism have further reinforced the overly broad nature of counterterrorism legislation in the country and the risk of its misuse.”^[5] Amnesty International has called on the Algerian government to respect its international human rights obligations, notably under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Algeria is a party.

Mira Moknache, university lecturer and Kabyl human rights activist, has been subjected to police and judicial harassment for several years. Due to her raising questions about the origin of the deadly fires in Kabylia in 2023, she was prosecuted for “spreading false news” and “undermining national unity”. On 14 March 2024, the Vgayet (Béjaia) Court of Appeal upheld the six-month prison sentence handed down to her by the court of first instance. She was arrested once more on 8 July 2024 in Vgayet along with some 15 other activists and citizens and taken into custody at the town's central police station. On 18 July 2024, Mira Moknache and the entire group were brought before the Sidi Mhamed (or M’hamed) Court in Algiers. The examining magistrate decided to remand Mira Moknache in custody, along with activists Rafik Belayel, Khoudir Bouchelaghem, Mohand Tahar Achiche, Salem Bouaza, Lounes Ghegad, Ghiles Benkerrou, and Nadir Ferhatene. Six other activists were released under court supervision. They were Yuva Menguellat, Mouloud Menguellat, Malek Boudjemaa, Ferhatene Boudjema and Mustapha Akkouche. The examining magistrate brought criminal charges relating to “terrorism” under article 87bis of the penal code.

Sofiane Ouali is one of Algeria's lawyers working for prisoners of conscience. Following his participation in a sit-in on 9 July 2024 in front of the Vgayet court to protest the detention of human rights activist, Mira Moknache, he was arrested along with others by Algerian police on the night of 10 July 2024. The police informed neither the lawyers nor the families of those arrested, in violation of articles 51 and 51bis of the Algerian Code of Criminal Procedure, which states that the judicial police officer is required to provide all necessary means to the accused at the time of the decision to place him or her in police custody, and to contact his or her family and lawyer to inform them of where they are being held, as well as the date and court where they will be brought before the examining magistrate. On 13 July 2024, police raided Mr Ouali's family home in Vgayet. He was held incommunicado until 18 July 2024 when he was brought before the examining magistrate of the Sidi-Mhamed (or M’hamed) Court in Algiers. He is being prosecuted under article 87bis of the Algerian penal code, for “the crime of advocating and encouraging terrorist acts”, “the crime of using the media and communication technologies to support the actions and activities of terrorist organizations” and “receiving illegal funds”. After his hearing, the examining magistrate decided to release Sofiane Ouali on bail.

On 28 March 2024, the Algerian Supreme Court overturned the 7 July 2023 ruling of the Algiers Court of Appeal, which had sentenced Kamira Nait Sid, co-president of the Amazigh World Congress (CMA), to three years in prison. Despite this Supreme Court decision, Kamira Nait Sid, who had been in detention since 24 August 2021, was not released until 1 September 2024, after more than three years in prison. Kamira Nait Sid was summoned to appear in a new trial on 25 November 2024 by the Sidi-Mhamed (or M’hamed) Court in Algiers. The trial was postponed to 9 December 2024 and then postponed again to 10 February 2025. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared in April 2022 that Kamira Nait Sid was being arbitrarily detained in Algeria and requested her release, to no avail.^[6]

On 1 September 2024, Slimane Bouhafs, human rights defender and president of the Coordination des chrétiens de Saint-Augustin en Algérie [St. Augustine Coordination of Christians in Algeria] was released after three years in prison. He had been convicted of “belonging to a terrorist organization”, “receiving funds from abroad for political propaganda purposes”, “hate speech and discrimination”, and “using technology to spread false information”. Slimane Bouhafs has always denied and rejected all these accusations, calling them “far-fetched”. He had been kidnapped in Tunisia, where he enjoyed refugee status, and illegally transferred to Algeria in August 2021.

Boualem Sansal, a writer from Boumerdès in Kabylia, was abducted on 16 November 2024 as he arrived at Algiers airport from France, where he had been taking part in a number of conferences. He was held incommunicado until he was brought before the examining magistrate on 21 November, when he was remanded in custody. The writer, who is highly critical of the Algerian government, is accused of undermining the integrity of the national territory and is being prosecuted under article 87bis of the Algerian penal code. Boualem Sansal faces the death penalty. The French Foreign Minister described the writer's detention as “unacceptable” and “unfounded”.^{[7], [8]} Following a debate on the arrest and imprisonment of Boualem Sansal and freedom of expression in Algeria, on 27 November 2024 the European Parliament called for the “immediate and unconditional release of Boualem Sansal, and an end to the repression of freedom of expression in Algeria”.^[9] In response, the Algerian Council of the Nation (Senate) stated on 4 December 2024 “its firm condemnation, indignation and total rejection of any flagrant interference in Algeria's internal affairs”.^[10]

Algeria currently has several hundred political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, most of them Kabyls, 39 of whom were sentenced to death in 2023. In addition, an unspecified number have been banned from leaving the country in connection with the exercise of their right to freedom of expression and opinion. Defenders of Amazigh rights, students, writers, citizens, including released former political prisoners, are constantly summoned by the police or the courts, often without any explanation of the reason. Many trials against people prosecuted under article 87bis of the Penal Code are often postponed several times without justification. For their lawyers, this is a real method of harassment and a form of judicial control exercised extra-legally.

At the end of her visit to Algeria in December 2023, Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, called on the Algerian government to "release all human rights defenders imprisoned for the exercise of their freedom of expression, opinion and association” and to “amend Articles in the Penal Code which relate to terrorism and undermining national unity (including articles 79, 87bis, 95bis, 96) to ensure they conform with international standards”.^[11] This request was completely ignored by the Algerian authorities.

Infringements of rights and freedoms and discrimination against Amazigh

Rich and dynamic socio-cultural expression in all its forms (poetry, song, theatre, cinema, literature, festivities, collective works of general interest, community solidarity and mutual aid actions, etc.) is a tradition among the Amazigh but it is also considered and used as a tool and an act of resistance to their forced assimilation. To counter this autonomous movement, the Algerian government and Arab-Islamic lobbies are imposing multiple bans and obstacles to stifle Amazigh expression.

On 29 June 2024, during the launch of her book “La Kabylie en partage” [Sharing Kabylia] (Koukou Éditions) in the Gouraya bookshop in Vgayet, Kabylia, French writer Dominique Martre was arrested by Algerian police and immediately deported to France. In her book, Ms Martre recounts her memories of a Kabyl village where she lived in the 1970s.^[12]

This year once more, like last year, Koukou Éditions, a small, young book publishing house that publishes numerous books by Amazigh authors and on the Amazigh question, founded and run by Kabyl journalist Arezki Ait-Larbi, was excluded from the Salon International du Livre d'Alger [Algiers International Book Fair] (Sila), held from 6-16 November 2024. Koukou Éditions was also excluded from the Djurdjura Book Fair, scheduled from 11-16 December 2024 at the Maison de la Culture in Tizi-Wezzu, Kabylia.^[13] The director of Koukou Éditions has denounced the “harassment” suffered by his cultural enterprise.

Following an administrative decision, the Algerian police closed the Chikh bookshop in Tizi-Wezzu, Kabylia, on 17 November 2024. Officially, the bookseller is accused of organizing book signing sales when this is not listed on his trade register. However, the bookseller explains that “this does not appear in the criteria of the Centre National du Registre de Commerce [National Centre for Commercial Register/CNRC] and no other bookshop in Algeria has to list this in order to organize book signing sessions”.^[14] In fact, the Algerian authorities are accusing the bookseller of having organized a book signing sale of Hédia Bensahli's book “L'Algérie juive” [Jewish Algeria] on 24 October 2024. The Algerian authorities do not allow any history to be evoked other than the official Arab-Islamic history of Algeria.

The At-Wassif Amazigh Book Fair, scheduled to take place from 3-6 October 2024 in At-Wassif, Kabylia, was not authorized by the Censorship Commission of the Algerian Ministry of Culture. The Boudjima and Tigzirt book fairs, literary cafés and the Racont'Arts festival, different spaces for expression and promotion of Amazigh culture in Kabylia, have all been banned in recent years.^[15]

In the Amazigh region of Aurès, in eastern Algeria, a statue of Amazigh King Aksel (Koceila in Arabic) was installed on 4 December 2024 in the centre of the village of Bouhmama (Wilaya of Khenchela). It was dismantled the very same day by the Algerian authorities. Aksel is known for fighting the Arab-Muslim invasion in the 7^th century. This act, which illustrates the denial of the country's Amazigh history, aroused incomprehension and anger among the Chawi and, indeed, all Amazigh.

Like the previous year, the celebration of Tafsut Imazighen, the Amazigh spring, which traditionally takes place on 20 April, did not take place in 2024. It was banned and, on that day, the streets of the main Amazigh towns, particularly in Kabylia, where many commemorative activities are usually held, were invaded by heavily armed police and gendarmes. This is a serious violation of the Amazigh people's right to keep their history alive and honour their traditions.

Indigenous youth, an uncertain future

Young people make up the majority of the Amazigh population in Algeria. They dream of freedom and well-being but they are pessimistic because they live in a society they find closed and worrying. Algeria's political context is stressful and economic opportunities are limited, particularly in the Amazigh regions, which suffer from marginalization. Insecurity and administrative barriers have a major impact on cultural, social and economic activities, particularly tourism. The cultural dynamic has been reduced to almost zero, impoverishing young people's individual and collective creative capacities. Under these conditions, it is hard for young people to feel fulfilled or to plan for their future. As a result, the vast majority of young Amazigh have no prospects. In the meantime, they rely on traditional family and community solidarity and try to cope with the challenges of everyday life by creating their own jobs, including in the informal economy, which has grown substantially.

The experience of Tifrat, a young Kabyl Amazigh woman, shows how the Algerian administration can be an insurmountable wall to young people's initiatives.

With five other friends, we had a project to create an association of ‘Kabyl women for cultural and natural heritage’. We were very enthusiastic. When we went to the Wilaya of Tizi-Wezzu to submit our application for approval, the official in the associations department told us that we needed 21 founding members to create our association. He also informed us that we would all be summoned individually by the police or gendarmerie to check our identities and make inquiries about us, our families and our motives. He also asked us to remove the word ‘Kabyl’ from our association's title, otherwise our association would not be accredited. Of course, we immediately abandoned our project.^[16]

Belkacem Lounes is a doctor of Economics, university teacher (Grenoble Alpes University), former expert member of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (2016-2021), former member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2018-2020), author of numerous reports and articles on Amazigh and Indigenous rights.

This article is part of the 39^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous activist Funa-ay Claver, a Bontok Igorot, standing alongside Indigenous youth activists and others. They are protesting against the repressive laws and human rights violations suffered through the actions and projects of the Government of the Philippines and other actors against Indigenous Peoples at President Marcos Jr’s national address on 22 July 2024 in Quezon City, Philippines. The photo was taken by Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2025 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2025 in full here

Notes and references

^[1] Oumansour, Brahim. “Algerian presidential election: change will wait.” IRIS, 12 September 2024.  https://www.iris-france.org/188454-presidentielle-en-algerie-le-changement-attendra/

^[2] Presidential Decree No. 24-218 of 27 June 2024, setting the terms and conditions for placing career military personnel and contract personnel on secondment to public civilian administrations. Official Journal of the Republic of Algeria No. 46, 8 July 2024.  https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/jo-francais/2024/F2024046.pdf

^[3] Law No. 24-06 of 28 April 2024 amending and supplementing Ordinance No. 66-156 of 08 June 1966 on the Penal Code. Official Journal of the Algerian Republic No. 30, 30 April 2024. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/jo-francais/2024/F2024030.pdf

^[4] MENA Rights Group, “Revision of the Algerian Penal Code: what consequences for fundamental rights?” 2 September 2024. https://menarights.org/en/articles/modifications-du-code-penal-en-algerie-quelles-consequences-pour-les-libertes

^[5] Amnesty International. “Algeria: Repression of Civic Space ahead of Presidential Elections.” 2 September 2024.  https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde28/8462/2024/en/

^[6] Front Line Defenders. “Human rights defenders Kamira Nait Sid and Slimane Bouhafs released from prison.” 8 September 2024.  https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/human-rights-defenders-kamira-nait-sid-and-slimane-bouhafs-released-prison-0

^[7] Kessous, Mustapha. “Writer Boualem Sansal detained in Algeria and accused of ‘attacking the integrity of the national territory’.”Le Monde, 26 November 2024. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2024/11/26/boualem-sansal-place-en-detention-en-algerie-et-accuse-d-atteinte-a-l-integrite-du-territoire-national_6415811_3210.html

^[8] Le Monde. “Algeria: Boualem Sansal still detained, appeals his detention.” 27 November 2024. https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/11/27/algerie-boualem-sansal-toujours-detenu-fait-appel-de-sa-detention

^[9] "The arrest of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal and the call for his immediate and unconditional release, and the repression of freedom of speech in Algeria (debate).” European Parliament, Strasbourg, 27 November 2024. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/PV-10-2024-11-27-ITM-016_EN.html

^[10] Le Matin D’Algerie. “The Council of the Nation attacks the European Parliament.” 5 December 2024. https://lematindalgerie.com/le-conseil-de-la-nation-sen-prend-au-parlement-europeen/

^[11] Lawlor, Mary. “End of mission statement – Official country visit to Algeria.” UN Human Rights Special Procedures, 25 November - 5 December 2023. https://www.srdefenders.org/end-of-mission-statement-official-country-visit-to-algeria

^[12] Masset, Antoine. “Writer Dominique Martre arrested by police in Algeria.” Livres Hebdo, 1 July 2024, https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/lecrivaine-dominique-martre-interpellee-par-la-police-en-algerie

^[13]Ait-Larbi, Arezki. “Thought militia in action.” Koukou Editions, 13 November 2024. https://www.koukou-editions.com/post/les-miliciens-de-la-pensée-en-action

^[14] A, Lynda. “Shock in Tizi-Ouzou: Authorities decide to close the Cheikh Multilivres bookstore.” Algerie 360, 10 December 2024.  https://www.algerie360.com/stupeur-a-tizi-ouzou-les-autorites-decident-de-fermer-la-librairie-cheikh-multilivres/

^[15] “Censorship at the Amazigh Book Fair in Ath Ouacif.” Arezki Aït-Larbi, Facebook, October 2024.  https://www.acbparis.org/salon-du-livre-amazigh-dath-ouacif-censure/

^[16] Comments recorded by a CMA member.

Tags: Land rights, Youth, Human rights, Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders