Dear President Chirac,

Human Rights Watch is writing to you about your trip to Algeria, planned for March 2 to 4, the first state visit by a French president since Algeria's independence. It is our hope that you will use the occasion to speak candidly with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika about the urgent need for progress on human rights, notably on the dossier of enforced disappearances.

In a lengthy study that we are releasing February 27, Human Rights Watch has concluded that Algerian state forces are responsible for making "disappear" at least 7,000 persons during the 1990s, and that officials have not addressed this issue in the serious manner they promised. None of those "disappeared" by state agents has have been found, none of their families has received credible and verifiable information, and no one has been held accountable.

Our report also examines the plight of the perhaps thousands of persons kidnapped by armed groups that call themselves Islamist fighting the government. Their families feel abandoned by the state, and often voice frustration with the lack of effort to investigate these abductions or identify the remains of persons found in mass graves. In our view, the "disappearances" carried out by state agents and by members of armed groups constitute crimes against humanity.

France, under your leadership, has played a commendable leadership role in drafting new internationally binding standards to curb enforced "disappearances." With respect to Algeria, France has, both bilaterally and as part of the European Union, expressed concerns about "disappearances" to Algerian authorities in general terms and also with respect to individual cases. Algeria has never provided any concrete and credible information in response, according to our information. The dialogue on this issue, however laudable its intentions, has yielded no fruit.

Given the lack of progress on "disappearances" in Algeria, we believe that France should now make specific recommendations that, if carried out, will help Algerian authorities honor their commitment to address the issue in a serious fashion. In particular, we urge you during your state visit to urge your Algerian counterparts to:

provide specific and verifiable information to the families of the "disappeared";

establish a commission to investigate "disappearances" that has the independence, authority and integrity to obtain information in the possession of state agencies,
including the security forces, about the "disappeared" - their whereabouts, their status, and who bears responsibility for their fate;

order all state agencies to cooperate with the commission, and state that officials that obstruct or fail to cooperate with the commission will face penalties;

approve pending requests for in-country visits by the U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Special Rapporteur on Torture and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and

grant long-denied legal status to nongovernmental organizations that work on the plight of the "disappeared."

In a separate communication sent today, we have requested a meeting with appropriate members of your staff for the last week of February to discuss the findings of our report on "disappearances" and to explore ways that France can use this historic opportunity to advance the cause of human rights in Algeria. We thank you for your consideration and wish you a productive visit to Algeria.

Yours sincerely,