WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2447/98 by Angela SIERRA GONZÁLEZ to the Commission. Rights of Berbers in Africa
Date: 1998-07-30
Institutions: European Parliament, SIERRA GONZALEZ
Subjects: Algeria, European Commission, UNO, association agreement (EU), diplomatic relations, ethnic group, human rights, linguistic group, official language













EUR-Lex - 91998E2447 - EN






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91998E2447

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2447/98 by Angela SIERRA GONZÁLEZ to the Commission. Rights of Berbers in Africa  


Official Journal C 118 , 29/04/1999 P. 0079 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2447/98by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) to the Commission(30 July 1998)Subject: Rights of Berbers in AfricaThe law on the general use of Arabic entered into force in Algeria on 5 July 1998. Its imposition will affect the Algerian population as a whole, but the Berber peoples from all over the Maghreb, a large proportion of whom are settled in Algeria, will be particularly affected.This fact, combined with the murder of the folk singer Lounès Matoub on 25 June 1998, has provoked a revolt by the Berber population who, united by the Tamazight language and possessing their own cultural identity, are suffering under a policy of compulsory "Arabisation" imposed by the states in which they live.Effective diplomatic activity is evidently needed in order to guarantee the rights of the Berbers as a people.What initiatives has the Commission taken or will it take in response to the above developments?Does the Commission consider it necessary to contact the Algerian government to request effective protection for the rights of Berber communities in that country?Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission(21 September 1998)The immediate implementation of the Arabisation law announced on 4 July 1992 could well have adverse implications for the Berber people, as pointed out by the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations at its sixty-second session in July 1998.Under the rules laid down in the Treaty on European Union, diplomatic action as proposed by the Honourable Member is a matter not only for the Commission but also for the Member States.The Commission is endeavouring to ensure that the Association Agreement between the Community and Algeria is adopted without delay; this would give the Community a framework and proper scope to assert its human rights position with its Algerian partners. In the meantime, the Commission will not hesitate to raise the matter referred to by the Honourable Member in the regular diplomatic discussions it holds with the Algerian authorities, jointly with the Member States.It should be pointed out that since 1995 the Community has been committed to a political dialogue with its Southern and Eastern Mediterranean partners, including Algeria, which embraces human rights issues, including minority rights. This has given rise to several multilateral exchanges of views between senior officials in the 27 partner countries and a review of the ratification of international human rights instruments. However, the bilateral dialogue between the Community and Algeria is not yet operational, as the Association Agreement intended to provide an institutional framework for it is still under negotiation.