Topic:
Country: Algeria
Delegate Name: Adrian Vasicek
Death Penalty
The country of Algeria currently has a moratorium put in place for the death penalty, while Algeria still gives out the death penalty; no one has been killed since 1993. Algeria has also been a co-sponsor of the UN moratorium on the death penalty since 2012. Algeria is “Abolitionist in practice,” for the death penalty and many people given the death penalty have been pardoned. However, Algeria does still believe that there are unforgivable offenses, such as terrorism.
Algeria believes that all countries should have a moratorium for carrying out the death penalty, though there shouldn’t be an outright ban to account for instances where a violation of human rights is present. A moratorium would not be appropriate in an instance where war is happening and war crimes are committed. Complete abolition is never the answer as there will always be a case when it is the right option.
In this committee, Algeria poses the questions: is the humility of the death penalty enough to put an outright ban on it? What are the exceptions to the death penalty that would be appropriate? And, to what extent is the death penalty inhumane and unnecessarily violent?
While Algeria is a country with a high Sunni Muslim population, punishments are not given as the Qur’an suggests. The constitution declares “All citizens are equal before the law,” the religious beliefs of an individual are not taken into account when sentencing an individual. As mentioned before, terrorism is an unforgivable offense in Algeria and the religion of a person does not affect this. It is important to the Algerian government to separate religion and law, as without the separation all citizens would have to follow the Qur’an.
In all, Algeria currently believes that carrying out the death penalty is unacceptable. Alternatively, Algeria suggests life in imprisonment as a more humane but equally punishing course of action. Algeria urges all countries to have a moratorium on the death penalty. Algeria also calls upon countries to pardon current individuals under the death sentence to the extent that they can. Algeria hopes to work with other countries in order to create a UN-wide moratorium on the death penalty.
Work Cited
“Algeria: Mass Death Sentences Marred by Unfair Trials, Torture Claims.” Amnesty International, 9 Jan. 2023, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/01/algeria-mass-death-sentences-marred-by-unfair-trials-torture-claims/. Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.
“Algeria.” The World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/algeria/. Accessed 15 Nov. 2023.
“Capital Punishment in Algeria.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Nov. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Algeria#:~:text=The%20death%20penalty%20is%20a,military%20equipment%20resulting%20in%20death%3B. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
“United Nations Moratorium on the Death Penalty.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Apr. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_moratorium_on_the_death_penalty. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
