Human trafficking in Algeria

Algeria ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in March 2004.^[1]

Algeria is a transit and, to a lesser extent, destination country for men and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Most commonly, sub-Saharan African men and women enter Algeria voluntarily but illegally, often with the assistance of smugglers, for the purpose of traveling to Europe. Some become victims of trafficking: men may be forced into unskilled labor and women into prostitution to repay smuggling debts. Criminal networks of sub-Saharan nationals in southern Algeria facilitate this irregular migration by arranging transportation, forged documents, and promises of employment. Reliable statistics on the number of potential victims are not available from the government or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). One NGO estimates that the populations most vulnerable to trafficking include between 10,000 and 15,000 illegal sub-Saharan African migrants.^[2][3]

In 2010 the government helped formulate a training program for police, judges, and prosecutors on its counter-trafficking law. Despite these efforts, the government did not show overall progress in punishing trafficking crimes and protecting trafficking victims and continued to lack adequate prevention and protection measures.^[2] Although the Government of Algeria has made efforts to fix the issue, they have not been significant.^[4]

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in the "Tier 2 Watchlist" in 2017.^[5] Algeria remained at Tier 3 in 2023.^[6]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave the country a score of 4 out of 10 for human trafficking, noting increased numbers of investigations and prosecutions.^[7]