Algeria’s Council of the Nation (Senate) ratified on Sunday the landmark law criminalizing French colonialism, following the approval of a joint parliamentary committee’s report that resolved outstanding disputes between the two chambers of parliament.
The vote was held in a public session presided over by Senate President Azouz Nasri, in the presence of Minister of Moudjahidine and Rights Holders, Abdelmalek Tachrift, and Minister of Relations with Parliament, Nadjiba Djilali.
Speaking following the ratification, Minister Tachrift described the law as “the supreme response of the Algerian people, through their representatives, to yesterday’s colonizer and its zealots, whose ancestors committed crimes against our land and our people — crimes that repulse human memory and shall remain a historical curse that forever haunts the occupiers.”
Reaffirming that “the right to memory does not expire,” the minister stressed that “victorious Algeria guarantees the restoration of rights through the solidity of legislation and the enforcement of the rule of law.”
He also commended the joint committee’s efforts in “strengthening the drafting of this legislative text so that it becomes a powerful legal edifice and an unassailable fortress of national memory, immune to any interpretation.”
The joint committee, formed to resolve disputed provisions between the two parliamentary chambers, focused its report on “refining terminology, eliminating any potential ambiguity, and achieving consistency across various articles in line with Algeria’s sovereign stance on the memory file” — noting that this law embodies “the transition of the demand for official recognition of colonial crimes from a moral or symbolic obligation into a clear legal and institutional framework.”
The committee also worked on “framing historical and legal responsibilities in a manner that reflects the gravity of violations committed during the colonial era, establishing a sound legal approach grounded in truth, justice, and the preservation of rights, consistent with the state’s firm official position on the memory file.”
Senate President Nasri, speaking at the close of the session, underscored the profound importance of the law, stating that it “was not a political spectacle, but a national necessity,” and described its ratification as “victorious Algeria’s tribute to the sacrifices and heroism of its martyrs and freedom fighters.”
Prior to the vote, the Senate President, alongside the Minister of Moudjahidine and the Minister of Relations with Parliament, visited an exhibition held in the Senate hall documenting France’s colonial crimes against the Algerian people.
