Country: Algeria

Group: Sub-Saharan Migrants

Date Finalized: 

Team: Hannah Goldman (lead) Rayna Castillo, Johanna McCombs

Content Warning: racism, abuse

Approximate Time Period: 2016-present

The data quality is a 3 of 3 because there is reliable and consistent evidence that shows sub-saharan migrants in Algeria have been forced away.

Beginning in 2016 and continuing still, the Algerian government has expelled thousands of sub-Saharan migrants. The total number is unknown (Human Rights Watch, 2016: Human Rights Watch, 2018). The government defends its actions by claiming the migrants have caused poor economic conditions and introduced disease into the country (North African Post, 2017). The government and political leaders are using that rationalization as an excuse to justify the “racial cleansing” they have embarked on under the guise of combatting illegal immigration. It is estimated that in 2020 alone, the Algerian government expelled 16,000 people, half of them Nigerian (Human Rights Watch, 2020). The sub-Saharan migrants being expelled include pregnant women, children separated from their families, sick and injured, are all expelled and many report accounts of abuse during roundup or dentition (Algeria: Migrants, Asylum Seekers Forced Out, 2020). An Algerian law says they have the right to expel those who have entered illegally or those whose visas have expired.  There is a procedure that is supposed to be followed in which the person is notified given time to challenge the decision, but reports say that the process is not being followed and people are being forced to leave (Human rights watch, 2018). This is a case of forced away because the people are being forcibly removed from Algeria regardless of their status.

The data quality for this case of forced away is rated a 3 because the evidence is available from credible and abundant sources.

Sources

  1. Human Rights Watch. (2016, December 9). Algeria: Halt Summary Deportations. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/09/algeria-halt-summary-deportations
  2. Human Rights Watch. (2018, June 28). Algeria: Inhumane Treatment of Migrants. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/06/28/algeria-inhumane-treatment-migrants.
  3. Human Rights Watch. (2020, October 9). Algeria: Migrants, asylum Seekers forced out. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/09/algeria-migrants-asylum-seekers-forced-out
  4. North Africa Post. (2017, September 18). The plight of minorities in Algeria. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://northafricapost.com/19857-plight-minorities-algeria.html