Algeria Fact
Department of State Washington File: Fact Sheet: G8 Nations Establish Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative
According to a White House fact sheet released June 9, the initiative establishes a "Forum for the Future" through which G8 and regional leaders, including representatives from business and civil society, will meet to discuss reform. The first meeting is scheduled for fall 2004. ... (begin fact sheet) ... (end fact sheet) ... [Read More]
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
-- July 1 fact sheet on G8 and Broader Middle East and North African countries. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Fact Sheet: Biological Weapons Convention Parties, Signatories
Fact Sheet ... (begin fact sheet) ... (end fact sheet) ... [Read More]
Fact Sheet: Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative
Fact Sheet: Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative ... Fact Sheet ... [Read More]
Algeria
There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report. Islam is the only state-sanctioned religion, and the law limits the practice of other faiths, including prohibiting public assembly for purposes of practicing a faith other than Islam; however, the Government follows a de facto policy of tolerance by allowing, in limited instances, the conduct of religious services by non-Muslim faiths in the capital, which were open to the public. Self-proclaimed Muslim terrorists continue to justify their killing of security force members and civilians by referring to interpretations of religious texts; however, the level of violence perpetrated by terrorists continued to decline during the period covered by this report. ... [Read More]
Remarks After Meeting With Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
We spoke about the upcoming elections, and I was reassured by the President’s commitment to insure that the elections are full, free, fair, and completely transparent. I welcome the fact that Algeria will be joining the Security Council at the beginning of next year and playing an even more important role on the international stage. And in that light, we had a full discussion of regional and international issues. We talked about the prospect of peace in the Sudan. We talked about the Western Sahara, as you might be certain to expect. We talked about Iraq and the Middle East situation, and we also talked about Iran and Syria, among other issues. ... [Read More]
Algeria
The Constitution declares Islam to be the state religion and prohibits discrimination by providing various individual liberties. Though the Constitution does not specifically prohibit discrimination based on religious belief, the Government generally respects religious freedom in practice; however, there were some restrictions. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report. Islam is the only state-sanctioned religion, and the law limits the practice of other faiths, including prohibiting public assembly for purposes of practicing a faith other than Islam. However, the Government follows a de facto policy of tolerance by allowing, in limited instances, the conduct of religious services by registered, non-Muslim faiths in the capital, which are open to the public. The Government continues to require religious organizations to register; ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Burundi is a source country for children trafficked for the purpose of forced child soldiering. The country is emerging from a 12-year civil war in which government and rebel forces used approximately 3,200 children in a variety of capacities, including as cooks, porters, spies, sex slaves, and combatants. There are reports that the government army and two former rebel groups — the CNDDFDD (Nkurunziza) and the CNDD (Nyangoma) — still have a small number of children in their ranks. While there were unconfirmed reports that these two rebel groups recruited boys in 2004, there were no reports that the army recruited child soldiers. The one rebel faction that remains outside the peace process, the PALOPEHUTU-FNL, continued to recruit and use child soldiers. The Government of Burundi does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, ... [Read More]
Consular Information Sheets
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ... [Read More]
Press Briefing With Algerian Foreign Minister Belkhadem
FOREIGN MINISTER BELKHADEM: (in French) Thank you very much. I would like to welcome you this evening to this conference. Indeed, after our meeting in New York, I had the opportunity to invite Secretary Powell to visit us in Algeria. This is indeed his first visit to Algeria, and during our conversations we had an opportunity to discuss bilateral issues. Our political relations are at the best that they have ever been. We talked about economic cooperation, technical cooperation between the United States and Algeria. We talked about the upcoming Open Skies Agreement that we will be signing with the United States. We talked about our various investment agreements. We talked about the recent experiences of Algeria, the fact that the United States is supporting Algeria’s accession to the WTO. We talked about various issues in the region, among which the fact that Algeria will soon occupy a seat on the Se ... [Read More]
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