Question 24095 — foreign policy

Summary

Ms. Valérie Boyer draws the attention of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs to the increase in church closures in Algeria. The NGO Open Doors recently warned about the current situation of Christians in Algeria. The country is in 22nd place in its global index of persecution of Christians for the year 2019, while it occupied 42nd place in 2018. A worrying persecution on the rise and which is mainly visible in private, family and ecclesial life. The Algerian government describes its population as “Algerian, Muslim and Arab”. Within its constitution, Islam is defined as the state religion (article 2). And if the constitution recognizes freedoms of conscience and opinion (article 36), freedoms of worship and religion are not mentioned. In addition, Ordinance No. 06-03 of February 28, 2006 sets the conditions and the rules for practicing religions other than Muslims. Through this order, the government limits freedom of expression and the conditions for exercising Christian worship (chapter II) and prohibits Muslims from leaving their initial religion for another (article 11), in this case Christianity. Also, apostates from Islam are the most persecuted, both by their own families and by society. However, Christianity although a minority, has been established in Algeria since the 2nd century. Today, there are approximately 125,000 Christians in Algeria, for a total population of 42 million, representing 0.3% of the Algerian population. The majority of Christians are affiliated with the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) and live in Kabylia. The EPA is a Protestant church in Algeria founded in 1974 following the union of several Reformed churches and present in Algeria. It claims 46 places of worship in more than 12 regions of the country and has around ten thousand followers. It has been recognized as a religious association since 1974 and by the government since 2011. However, it has to face unjustified relentlessness from the authorities but also “misinformation” and disinformation campaigns aimed at isolating and discrediting it. It is in this context that the situation of Christians has deteriorated over the past 5 years with recurrent church closures combined with community pressure for Christians or Muslims converting to Christianity. In recent months, Algeria has been affected by a new wave of administrative closures of churches under the pretext of security or health problems. Last week alone, three churches were closed by the authorities Algerian churches including the church of Makouda, the church of Tafat and the Full Gospel Church of Tizi-Ouzou, one of the largest in the country. In total, since 2018, no less than 12 churches have been closed. These closures echo a wave of administrative closures that began in November 2017 when 25 of the 45 EPA churches officially recognized in Algeria were concerned by the authorities. At the same time, many churches have received notifications of closures but have not yet been officially sealed, which suggests future closures. A relentlessness which seriously harms freedom of religion in the country. With these arbitrary closures, the Algerian authorities and government are sending very negative signals regarding the state of democracy and human rights in the country. Indeed, a good number of Christians find themselves prevented in the practice of their worship. However, according to the EPA, “the only reason given by the authorities to justify these abusive closures of its places of worship, namely “exercise of worship without authorization”, has no basis” (EPA press release of October 15, 2019). Indeed, the EPA has been legally constituted for 45 years, its approval is still valid and in compliance with legislative and regulatory texts. It is why she would like to obtain more information on these administrative closures in order to shed light on the degraded and worrying situation of Christians in Algeria. Added to these closures, pressure against political leaders - who are regularly summoned and condemned - and a refusal to recognize the EPA accused of propaganda and proselytism. Freedom of worship for Algerian Christians continues therefore to be threatened and mistreated. On October 17, 2019, 17 Christians were arrested following a sit-in organized in Béjaïa against these church closures. The video, widely relayed on social networks, attests to the violence faced by Christians in Algeria. Freedom of religion is essential to the proper functioning of democracy and respect for human rights, which is why she would like to know the Government position on these church closures. Given the special ties between France and Algeria, France cannot abandon people who wish to express their freedom of conscience, as is the case with Christians persecuted for their faith on the other side of the Mediterranean.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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