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Unions Defending the Rights and Dignity of Sub-Saharan Migrants and Refugees in Algeria

Nov 14, 2025

At the 14th African and Arab Countries Regional Conference, PSI affiliates adopted a resolution condemning Algeria’s xenophobic treatment of Sub-Saharan migrants and refugees, including arbitrary arrests, expulsions, and discrimination. They called for a national asylum law aligned with international standards. It urges protection for trade unionists and human rights defenders, and calls on the African Union, UNHCR, ILO, and PSI affiliates to provide solidarity, monitoring, and humanitarian support.

RESOLUTION #9: PROTECTING THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF SUB-SAHARAN MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN ALGERIA 

The 14th Africa and the Arab Countries Region Conference (AFRECON) Meeting in Accra, Ghana, 11-14 November 2025 

RECALLING Algeria’s ratification of the 1951 Geneva Convention and 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, all of which require the protection of refugees and the elimination of discrimination; 

DEEPLY CONCERNED about the increasing acts of xenophobia, hate speech, mass expulsions and arbitrary arrests against migrants and refugees from Sub-Saharan Africa in Algeria since 2017 that worsened after a diplomatic crisis with Mali in 2025; 

ALARMED about the ongoing legislative vacuum on asylum procedures and the lack of a national protection framework in Algeria, continued repression against trade unions and human rights defenders aiding migrants; 

ACKNOWLEDGING the recommendations of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), which urge Algeria to ensure equal treatment, access to justice and effective protection for migrant workers; 

OBSERVING, unfortunately, that Algeria’s main migration law (Ordinance No. 08-11 of 25 June 2008) focuses on control and repression without providing for refugee protection, thereby breaching the country's international obligations. 

RESOLVES to: 

  1. Condemn the racist, xenophobic and discriminatory treatment of Sub-Saharan migrants and refugees in Algeria and call on the Algerian authorities to put a stop to hate speech, arbitrary detentions and collective expulsions. 

  2. Appeal to the Algerian authorities to adopt and enforce a national law on asylum and refugee protection, in accordance with international standards, which makes it possible for refugees to access housing, work, healthcare and education. 

  3. Call for protection of trade unionists, human rights defenders and civil society actors working with migrants in line with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. 

  4. Demand for a return to the previous dissolved trade unions and human rights bodies, such as SNATEGS and the LADDH. 

CALLS ON the African Union, UNHCR, ILO and other international bodies to intervene with the Algerian government to bring them into compliance with human rights treaties and labour standards. 

CALLS ON PSI affiliates and partners to amplify solidarity campaigns, monitor violations, and provide humanitarian assistance to affected migrants and refugees. 

Submitted by: Syndicat National Autonome du personnel de l'Administration Publique (SNAPAP) and Syndicat National Autonome des Travailleurs de l'Electricité et du Gaz (SNATEG), Algeria 




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