On 29 August 2008, Alkarama wrote a letter to the High Commissioner for Human Rights to protest against the candidacy of Senator Lazhari Bouzid, and to express its concern about his possible election.
According to the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Committee, three conditions are required for the eligibility of independent experts: morality, competence and independence. In the case of Senator Lazhari Bouzid, these criteria do not appear to be met.
Indeed, Mr Lazhari Bouzid, a non-elected Senator, appointed and paid by the Executive as part of the "presidential quota" is a dynamic political activist within the ruling party, the FLN, and is tasked with chairing the Commission for the Review of the Constitution, in order to allow the current president of the republic, from the same party, to serve a third term.
He is also a member of the Algerian Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee and therefore plays an active diplomatic role. His public position on the issue of respect for human rights in Algeria has been to systematically deny the massive violations of human rights in the country.
His role on the official political scene and the functions he holds within his party, supporting the initiatives of the executive branch, sometimes in contradiction with the principles enshrined in the Covenant, call into question the independence of the candidate nominated by Algeria, a quality that is central to assuming the burden of being an independent expert on the Committee.
Alkarama therefore expresses it concerns based on the strategy of some states in the region, particularly of Algeria, undertaken in order to weaken United Nations mechanisms for the protection of human rights. The leading role played by the Algerian delegation in restricting the scope of mandate-holders of special procedures through the Code of Conduct bears witness to this.
Alkarama is concerned that the candidature of Mr. Lazhari Bouzid follows the same restrictive line. It strongly protests this decision, and underlines that the credibility of the supervisory organ of the Treaty depends to a large extent on its composition.