Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention (continued)
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS, COMMENTS AND INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION (agenda item 4) (continued)
Tenth periodic report of Algeria (CERD/C/209/Add.4)
1. At the invitation of the Chairman, Mr. Semichi (Algeria) took a place at the Committee table.
2. Mr. SEMICHI (Algeria) said that his country was committed to defending the principles set forth in the Convention, which was at the forefront of action by the United Nations to combat racism and racial discrimination, including its most vile manifestation, apartheid.
3. The Constitution of Algeria adopted by referendum on 23 February 1989 differed from its predecessor in that it contained new provisions on political and trade union pluralism, the strengthening of freedom of assembly and expression and the right to information, the consolidation of the independence of the judiciary and the wider use of universal direct and secret ballots. The Constitution also prohibited racism and all forms of racial discrimination and the legislation and regulations based on it provided for penalties for failure to comply with that important provision.
4. As the supreme source of national legislation, the Constitution was frequently quoted in Algeria's report (CERD/C/209/Add.4), which consisted of two parts. Part One described the legal framework for Algeria's campaign against racial discrimination, the status of the Convention under domestic law and the demographic composition of the population.
5. Part Two dealt with the implementation of articles 2 to 7 of the Convention. With regard to article 2, it was clearly stated that the fundamental law enabled legal protection and control of the action of the authorities to be guaranteed in a society characterized by the rule of law and the all-round development of the individual. Paragraph 55 of the report gave details of the Constitutional Council, which had considerable scope for controlling human rights laws and regulations.
6. The chapter on article 3 of the Convention gave a fairly comprehensive description of action by Algeria to combat racial segregation and apartheid.
7. The chapter dealing with article 4 described the legislative, judicial and administrative measures which had been taken by Algeria to give effect to the provisions of the article, particularly with regard to the exercise of trade union rights, the right to establish political associations and the right of assembly and to hold demonstrations. Paragraph 82 of the report specified the penalties for any defamation committed against one or more persons belonging to an ethnic or philosophical group or to a particular religion.
8. The rights embodied in article 5 of the Convention were protected by article 28 of the Constitution, according to which citizens were equal before the law and no discrimination could be made on grounds of birth, race, sex, opinion or any other condition or personal or social circumstance (para. 83 of the report). Persons whose rights under article 5 had been violated could institute criminal proceedings (paras. 87 and 88 of the report).
9. The chapter relating to article 6 of the Convention dealt with the remedies available to victims of racial discrimination (paras. 175 to 178).
10. The chapter on article 7 referred to the measures taken in connection with education, culture and information to combat prejudices leading to racial discrimination.
11. The difficult situation in Algeria, where the state of emergency had just been lifted, in no way affected its traditional position with regard to action to combat racial discrimination or the determination of the people of Algeria to defend the ideals of freedom, justice and equality.
12. Mr. DIACONU (Country Rapporteur) said that democracy in Algeria seemed to have a solid legislative and constitutional basis, since pluralism and the rule of law were guaranteed by the Constitution. It was gratifying to see that, under the new Constitution, treaties ratified by Algeria ranked higher than the law and could be invoked before the courts. Although the report mentioned many Acts, unfortunately, little information had been provided on their practical implementation by the courts.
13. Although the Penal Code made frequent reference to ethnic, linguistic and religious groups, the Constitution did not mention them at all. Which legal provisions protected those groups and minorities? In particular, the Committee would welcome additional information on the Berber minority, on whether Berber was taught in primary and secondary schools and on whether all religions could be freely practised in Algeria.
14. The report seemed to indicate that Algeria had not adopted legislation prohibiting racial discrimination or taken any specific measures to that end. Did the Government of Algeria intend to rectify such an omission?
15. Paragraph 91 of the report stated that no political association could be established or pursue its activities on the basis of regionalist practices. What were the reasons for such a limitation? Did that mean, for example, that a Berber party could not be established?
16. Lastly, the Committee would like to know whether Algeria permitted dual nationality.
17. Mr. de GOUTTES thanked Mr. Semichi for introducing the report of Algeria, which, through its culture and history, played an important role on the world scene.
18. The major progress with regard to the implementation of the Convention which had been made since the submission of the preceding report in 1987 was to be welcomed. The 1989 Constitution thus provided for the rule of law, the principle of equality for all and the rejection of any form of discrimination. It should also be emphasized that the Convention took precedence over the law and could be invoked before the courts and that Algeria had ratified the two International Covenants on human rights in 1989 and had recognized the competence of the Committee under article 14 of the Convention to consider communications from individuals. It was to be hoped that the declaration of a state of emergency would not, as Mr. Semichi had stated, affect the enjoyment of fundamental rights.
19. The form of the report was coupled with the general guidelines laid down by the Committee, but, unfortunately, its content was too legal. The Committee would have welcomed more information on the actual implementation of the Convention, on the consequences of the state of emergency and the interruption of the electoral process and on Algeria's social, economic and demographic development. The next report should contain some social indicators, particularly with regard to unemployment, delinquency, drug addiction and illiteracy, which were often a good benchmark for measuring the level of integration of certain social groups.
20. The Committee would also have liked further information on the composition of the status of minority communities, including the Berbers, the Jews and the black population from the south of the country.
21. The second part of the report dealing with articles 2 to 7 of the Convention referred to many legislative texts, but did not explain clearly how the Convention was implemented in practice. The Committee would, for example, have liked to know whether discrimination in employment, acts of violence and incitement to violence directed against a race or group were indictable offences and whether racist organizations and propaganda activities had been outlawed.
22. Algeria's next report should contain statistics on the number of convictions for racist acts, since the Committee would then be able to determine the extent to which the Convention was being applied.
23. Mrs. SADIQ ALI said that, according to Berber sources, the Government of Algeria was allegedly trying to stifle the Berber culture, mainly by not allowing the Berber language to be taught in primary and secondary schools. What exactly was the situation?
24. The Committee would also have liked some information on the situation of the Tuaregs, who lived in the south of the country and whose way of life had been completely disrupted by drought. Why had the agreement reached in September 1990 between the Governments of Algeria, Mali, Niger and Libya and Tuareg representatives not succeeded in ending the violence? Why had 53 men from neighbouring Niger been arrested in September 1992? Had they now been released?
25. Had the agreements reached between Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO allowed the refugees who had been living in camps in south-west Algeria to return home?
26. She would also have appreciated information on illiteracy, housing and public services.
27. Mr. van BOVEN noted that the report provided very comprehensive information on legislation, but practically nothing on judicial practice. It had been noted with satisfaction that international conventions could be invoked before the courts and that Algeria had ratified many international human rights instruments. However, he would have liked information on the status of international conventions within the domestic legal system and on whether conventions were effectively invoked before the courts. To what extent were jurists and citizens acquainted with the texts? Generally speaking, although a number of countries had recognized the competence of the Committee under article 14 of the Convention, the Committee had received only three or four communications. Algeria was to be commended on being one of the few countries to have made the declaration under article 14, paragraph 1.
28. With regard to the information on article 4 of the Convention, he noted that, although the many legislative provisions mentioned were interesting, they were not specific measures aimed at eliminating acts of discrimination. The information on article 5 was also very general. The entire range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights contained in the two Covenants had been touched on, but the measures taken to prohibit and eliminate racial discrimination in the exercise of those rights or to guarantee everyone the right to exercise his rights without discrimination based on race, colour or national or ethnic origin had not been highlighted.
29. In connection with the implementation of article 2 of the Convention, he had some misgivings about paragraph 62 of the report, which stated that, since racist practices were alien to Algerian society, no specific measures had been necessary, and about paragraph 63, which stated that the Algerian people was so homogenous that no special measures had been necessary at the national level. In the light of article 1 of the Convention, very few countries could boast of a perfect situation. Furthermore, was it possible to speak of the homogeneity of the Algerian when the Berber culture existed, as referred to in paragraph 46 of the report, and there were some blacks in Algeria? From what he knew of the situation of blacks in Algeria, there was no denying that the State did not practise a discriminatory and racist policy. In fact, however, blacks were disadvantaged in comparison with Arabs and were subjected to exclusion; for example, some students apparently refused to share their room in university residences with a black person. Statistics dating from 1979 showed that, in the Oran region, the school enrolment rate was 85 per cent for Arab children, as opposed to 50 per cent for black children. In view of that situation, where racist practices were attributable not to the State, but to individuals and groups, Algeria must not forget its obligations under article 2, paragraph 1 (d), of the Convention, providing that "Each State Party shall prohibit and bring to an end, by all appropriate means, including legislation as required by circumstances, racial discrimination by any persons, group or organization". When necessary, according to article 1, paragraph 4, and article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention, States parties to the Convention had to take special measures to protect particular racial groups or individuals belonging to such groups.
30. He was fully aware of Algeria's present difficulties and the dilemma its leaders faced. Noting that the report referred frequently to the 1989 Constitution, he wished to know whether it was still in force or whether its implementation had been suspended because of the situation in Algeria.
31. Mr. SHERIFIS, noting that Algeria had always maintained a high standard of dialogue with the Committee, welcomed the fact that the Algerian delegation was headed by a high-level official. Furthermore, Algeria had been at the forefront of the international community's campaign against apartheid.
32. As far as the report was concerned, he was glad to see that, according to paragraph 39, treaties which had been duly ratified ranked second in the hierarchy of legal norms, coming after the Constitution and before the law.
He also welcomed the statements made in paragraphs 47 and 48 of the report, according to which the Christian and Jewish communities had continued to enjoy freedom of religion after independence and any insult levelled against one or more persons belonging to an ethnic or philosophical group or to a particular religion was punishable under the Penal Code.
33. With regard to specific manifestations of Berber culture, he wished to know why the radio station which broadcast in Berber could be received only in the vicinity of the capital. Was that deliberate or were there technical reasons?
34. Like Mr. van Boven, he thought that no country was totally safe from acts of discrimination and he recalled the obligations of States parties under article 4 of the Convention.
35. He took note with satisfaction of the statement in paragraph 178 of the report that anyone who claimed to be the victim of a violation of his rights was entitled to bring a complaint before the competent courts and asked whether there had been any cases of that kind and how many.
36. The information on article 7 of the Convention was entirely satisfactory. In particular, he had noted with interest that the national media, both press, radio and television, regularly reflected the numerous debates, seminars, conferences and exhibitions which had been held on human rights in Algeria. He would like to know whether teaching on the rights protected by the Convention was part of school curricula.
37. He welcomed the fact that Algeria had recognized the competence of the Committee under article 14 of the Convention, something that only a small minority of States parties had had the courage to do. Thus far, the Committee had received no communications from an Algerian national. Were citizens aware of the rights recognized by the Convention? Lastly, although the question was not directly linked to implementation of the Convention, he requested information on the particular difficulties Algeria faced at the present time.
38. Mr. GARVALOV said he found that the report was well presented, but was sorry that information directly relevant to the Committee had not been adequately highlighted. With regard to the demographic composition of the population, he had noted with particular interest that, according to the Constitution, "Algeria is a democratic people's republic; it is one and indivisible" (para. 44), that Islam was the State religion and that Arabic was the national and official language (para. 45), but also that "in addition to its Arabic and Islamic culture, Algeria also recognizes its 'Amazigh' or Berber culture and the fact that it is part of Africa and the Mediterranean" (para. 46). He also noted with satisfaction that the Christian and Jewish communities had continued to enjoy freedom of religion after independence. Even though that was not an issue of direct relevance to the Committee, it reflected an element of ethnic harmony that was to be welcomed.
39. Like other members of the Committee, he thought that no country could safely state that discriminatory practices did not exist in its territory. The report should have given some indication of the jurisprudence of courts with regard to possible offences of racial discrimination. Was the judiciary independent of the executive and free from pressure from political parties and trade unions?
40. Article 5 of Act No. 89-11 of 5 July 1989, which had been promulgated with a view to giving full effect to article 40 of the Constitution, laid down restrictive conditions for the establishment of political associations. Algeria apparently had very good reasons for including such a provision in its Constitution, mainly on the grounds of national security, and its representatives should provide further information on that point.
41. Lastly, he congratulated the high-level delegation representing Algeria before the Committee.
42. Mr. BANTON said that, as the former Country Rapporteur for Algeria, he found that the authors of the latest report submitted to the Committee had been more open-minded than in previous reports. That development was probably the result of the events of 1989.
43. The report quite rightly began with an outline of Algeria's policy. If that policy was considered to be preventive in nature, it could be assumed to have a protective function. If that was the case, who was it designed to protect?
44. With regard to the demographic composition of the population, he was not convinced by the argument contained in paragraph 41 of the report. Although population censuses were in fact never based on ethnic criteria, population statistics could be based on other sources. Paragraph 46 of the report stated that the "Amazigh" (Berber) language was taught at university level, but nowhere was there any mention of it or any other language other than the official language being taught in primary or secondary schools. If non-official languages were being taught at such a level, the Ministry of Education presumably had figures on the number of pupils receiving such instruction. On the basis of those figures, it should be possible to calculate the percentage of the population which could be classified in the different linguistic categories and thus to arrive at more precise demographic statistics. As the General Assembly had invited the Committee to give due attention in its work to the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National, Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, he wished to know which minorities the Government of Algeria recognized as such. Paragraph 46 seemed to indicate that the State recognized the Berbers as a linguistic minority. It might also be possible that the members of that minority had a different perception of what classified them as a minority. From what he had read, it seemed that persons claiming to belong to the Berber minority believed that they had distinctive cultural characteristics. Was there a Berber population in Algeria's neighbouring countries? If so, the question of Berber nationality might arise. If Berbers could be regarded as an ethnic and linguistic minority, could it not also be recognized that they had a cultural identity? Was there a difference of opinion on that issue between the State and the Berber minority? In their statements, representatives of the Berber minority had complained of a number of measures taken by the State allegedly forcing them to assimilate. As such statements had been made before 1989, it would be useful if Algeria could provide clarification in its next report.
45. Mr. YUTZIS noted that the members of the Committee, like those of other human rights treaty monitoring bodies, often found themselves in an ambivalent situation partly as a result of the universal nature of the Convention and partly because of the fact that they were necessarily faced with the particular situation of some States which, following decolonization, were finding it extremely difficult to establish democracy and bring about sustainable development.
46. The concept of "minority" was, however, very difficult to define because it involved linguistic, ethnic, religious and cultural criteria and the peoples which classified themselves as minorities rejected arbitrary definitions.
47. In its report, Algeria emphasized its national homogeneity, a premise which had always given rise to discussions in the Committee, since it presupposed whether consciously or unconsciously, a certain lack of understanding of ethnic, linguistic, religious or national minorities.
48. Article 5 (d) (vii) of the Convention embodied the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. However, article 9 of Act No. 89-28 of 31 December 1989 relating to public meetings and demonstrations stated that "It is forbidden to abuse any of the symbols of the 1 November 1954 revolution or to commit a breach of public order or morals during a meeting or demonstration" (para. 75 of the report). That provision was in keeping with article 9 of the Constitution, which stated that "Institutions shall prohibit ... Practices contrary to Islamic morals and to the values of the November revolution" (para. 77), and article 5 of Act No. 89-11 of 5 July 1989, which provided that no political association could engage in "behaviour contrary to Islamic morals and to the values of the revolution of 1 November 1954" or "be established or pursue its activities on an exclusively religious, linguistic or regionalist basis or on the basis of belonging to a particular sex or race or of having a specific occupational status" (para. 91). Such principles, which might be the basis for the concept of national homogeneity, gave rise to tremendous problems with regard to recognition of religious minorities or denominations which wanted to express themselves freely through their symbols, forms of worship and practices. They might also be said to reflect a restrictive approach to freedom of conscience and religion in a country which claimed to have an official religion. In that regard, it might well be asked what the criteria were for characterizing certain practices as contrary to Islamic morals or the values of the November revolution.
49. The CHAIRMAN, speaking as a member of the Committee, commended Algeria on the quality of its report and welcomed the information that, under article 123 of the Constitution, treaties ratified by the President took precedence over domestic legislation. Algeria had recently ratified four important instruments concerning the protection and defence of human rights. As could be seen from paragraphs 65 and 66 of the report, moreover, Algeria had always doggedly campaigned against apartheid and racism.
50. Noting that, under article 5 of Act No. 89-11, "no political association may be established or pursue its activities" on a "regionalist basis" (para. 91), he said that the aim of the provision was to avoid regionalism, which might reflect certain tendencies designed to undermine national unity. In that regard, the article was not in conformity with article 40 of the Constitution, which recognized the right to create political associations in so far as they did not infringe basic freedoms, national unity, territorial integrity, the independence of the nation and the sovereignty of the people.
51. He requested further information on the Berber population, its characteristics and the conditions under which it was developing.
52. Mr. SEMICHI (Algeria), replying to the questions and comments by the members of the Committee, said that he wanted to provide a basic legal clarification in response to a question by Mr. van Boven, who had asked whether the 1989 Algerian Constitution was still in force or whether it had been suspended. That question had also recently been asked by the International Commission of Jurists. He wished to make it quite clear that the Constitution was still in force and that the measures which had been taken with regard to security and the state of emergency were based on specific articles of the Constitution. The state of emergency had been decreed on the basis of articles 74.6, 86 and 116.1.
53. The ethnic composition of the Algerian people, about which questions had also been asked, was, unfortunately, somewhat uncertain as a result of attempts to spread propaganda or simply failure to understand the true situation in the country. Arabs, Berbers, M'zabites and Tuaregs lived in Algeria. It was a Mediterranean country where, as the other countries of the region, there had been major population movements over the years so that it could make no claims to any kind of ethnic purity or homogeneity. However, it could not be said that there was a Berber minority in Algeria. Berbers lived mainly in three regions: Kabylie, a region near Algiers with some 4 million inhabitants; in the Aurès in the east of the country with some 8 to 9 million inhabitants; and in the south, where there were 1 million inhabitants. Looking at those figures in relation to a total population of 23 million persons, it was difficult to talk of a minority. In addition, the Berbers did not all live in their region of origin; they were scattered throughout Algeria, like the M'zabites. It would therefore be wrong to say that Algeria had areas populated by minorities. He emphasized that, in affirming that the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria was "one and indivisible", article 1 of the Constitution accurately reflected the true situation.
54. There was no discrimination based on languages. The Berber or Amazigh language was widely spoken in regions with a Berber population, in particular in Kabylie, but for the time being, there was no well-structured written language. Even those calling for the development of the Berber language believed that it was still too rudimentary to be taught in primary or secondary schools; it first had to be consolidated through research and university academic work. The teaching of Berber was thus a matter of time.
55. Some members of the Committee had found that the statements in paragraphs 62 and 63 of the report concerning the non-existence of racial discrimination in Algeria were too peremptory. He recognized that, although those statements reflected the generous nature of the Algerian people, they should be toned down in future because, so far, no people had achieved perfection in terms of race relations.
56. In response to a question raised by Mr. Diaconu concerning religious freedom, he referred to his country's history. Before independence, there had been three major religious communities: some 1.5 million Christians, 800,000 Jews and 10 million Muslims. Decolonization had been accompanied by an exodus of Christians and Jews, but it had not been a forced exodus. At present, non-Muslim religious minorities were much smaller, but they could freely practise their religion. There were synagogues and a Jewish consistory which was presided over by a lawyer from Algiers. Jewish religious services were announced in the press. Catholics came under the spiritual guidance of Monsignor Duval, the Archbishop of Algiers, who had become an Algerian citizen and enjoyed all civil and political rights. The Ministry of Religious Affairs was responsible for maintaining places of worship.
57. Mr. Diaconu had also asked about dual nationality. It should be remembered that many Algerians had emigrated, particularly to France. In many cases, the Algerians living in France had taken French nationality. Algeria had no specific texts recognizing dual nationality, but, in practice, persons who had been granted French nationality did not lose their Algerian nationality. Arrangements for such persons had been made at the governmental level, especially with regard to military service: persons with dual nationality could choose to serve in either country.
58. In connection with freedom of association, it had been asked why it was prohibited to establish regionalist parties. Admittedly, that might seem surprising at a time when the trend was, rather, to encourage regionalist associations and movements in order to strengthen people's ties to the place where they lived. However, in Algeria's case, it should be remembered that the Algerian people had been depersonalized by colonization and had achieved independence in difficult conditions. At the time of independence, there had been threats of the dismemberment of Algerian territory and of secession precisely along regionalist lines. It was understandable that a Government which had to deal with such threats had to take precautions. In Algeria, regionalist activities were therefore encouraged at the cultural level, but not when they were used as political platforms.
59. Mr. de Gouttes had noted that Algeria had had the courage to agree, in accordance with article 14 of the Convention, to recognize the Committee's competence to receive communications. That decision proved that Algeria was determined to resist discrimination and reflected the generosity of the Algerian nation in fulfilling its international obligations. Mr. de Gouttes had also requested that Algeria's next periodic reports should include social indicators showing the situation with regard to unemployment, drug addiction, illiteracy, etc. Recommendations to that effect would be made to the competent authorities in Algeria.
60. Having already mentioned the Berbers' position in the Algerian nation, he still wanted to reply to the observations made on possible obstacles to Berber culture. He assured the members of the Committee that the Algerian people saw things differently and that, in Algeria, there were no obstacles in the way of any culture. There were radio stations which broadcast in French, Berber and Arabic. He found that, in Geneva, he could hear broadcasts in Berber more easily than in the other languages. Mrs. Sadiq Ali had said that the Government was promoting all aspects of Arabic life and culture at the expense of the Berber language. He had already shown that that was not true, and also stressed that unity between Berbers and other population groups was promoted by the fact that, in Algeria, there was only one form of Islam, namely, Sunni Islam, and it was the same for Arabs, Berbers and M'zabites. Mr. Sherifis had also referred to complaints of alleged discrimination against the Berber culture. He confirmed that there was a large Berber population in Kabylie, but it did not suffer any discrimination and had not made any particular claims with regard to its position in the mass media.
61. Turning to the role of the Minister of Human Rights, he said that the Minister had been appointed 18 months previously and had been in office for 8 or 9 months. He had now been replaced by a "national human rights observatory" in accordance with the wishes expressed in the General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights resolutions encouraging the establishment of national institutions to monitor the human rights situation in a particular country. The national observatory included representatives from the non-governmental human rights organizations and institutions such as the Ministries of Justice and Education, as well as the bar. Its main objective was to further human rights education among the population and in institutions.
62. A question had also been asked about the nomads in the south of the country. They traditionally practised transhumance and trading between the south and north of the Sahara. At present, the nomad population in Algerian territory was fully integrated and often stayed in one place. However, the nomads in the north of Mali and Niger, which had maintained the same ancestral practices of transhumance and trading, had had problems with the Governments of those countries that had ended up in guerrilla activity. The good offices of the Government of Algeria had been sought to help solve those problems. An agreement had been reached in Tamanrasset with the factions from Mali and then with those from Niger. The refugees in southern Algeria were not Algerians and they were not persecuted. A solution to the problem was in sight thanks to Algeria's good offices. The nomad population of Algerian nationality was certainly not subjected to repression.
63. Mrs. Sadiq Ali had mentioned the 53 persons from Niger arrested in September 1992. The incident had taken place following armed attacks on the Government of Niger. As a result of the agreements reached between Niger and the armed factions through Algeria's good offices, Algeria had refused to continue being used as a strategic operational base. However, there had been no repression or interference in the affairs of another State.
64. With regard to the conflict between Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO, the Committee was aware that a settlement had still not been reached. The Saharan refugees in Algeria had still not returned home. As to the Security Council resolution calling for the implementation of the settlement plan for the Western Sahara, he stressed that the referendum to be held on the basis of the settlement plan was being delayed by organizational difficulties and disagreement between Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO. However, political agreement between the two parties was a prerequisite for progress. Until such an agreement had been reached, it was impossible to repatriate the refugees, although the means to do so existed and funds had been provided by the international community. The operation would take between three and four weeks.
65. He had been surprised by the reference that had been made to an incident involving five black students at the University of Oran. He emphasized that since independence, the University of Oran, like the Universities of Algiers and Constantine, admitted many African students. Many ambassadors from Guinea, Mali and Niger had studied in Algeria. The black community in Algeria was very small, had lived there for a very long time and had not been subjected to discrimination, especially at the university level. It had also been noted that there were no black actors in the films by the director Lakhdar Hamina. It was, however, difficult to ask a film director to comply with quotas for actors.
66. It had also been asked whether courses on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination were given in schools. Such courses were an ideal which was not immediately attainable in a country such as Algeria and many others which first had to deal with enormous problems of providing the population with schooling.
67. Lastly, he said that he was ready to reply to the best of his ability to the other questions the members of the Committee might wish to ask.
68. The CHAIRMAN suggested that the Algerian delegation should continue its replies to the questions and observations made by the Committee at the following meeting.