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Algeria: Update to DZA23268.E of 26 February 1996 on the age of exemption and whether students or graduates of higher education or advanced technical programmes may be excluded from exemption to military service, or that they will be excluded, no matter what their area of study; whether the army wishes to use the student's skills, or rather that the funding of their education by the state obliges them to serve the state in return; how does Decree No. 89-226 apply to a male over 30 years of age holding a three-year diploma in accounting

No information on how Decree No. 89-226 applies to a male over 30 years of age holding a three year diploma in accounting, and information on whether the army wishes to use the student's skills, or rather that the funding of their education by the state obliges them to serve the state in return could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

The following information was provided during a 5 January 1999 telephone interview with a researcher on Algeria at the Centre d'études et de recherches internationales (CERI), an institution affiliated to the Foundation nationale de sciences politiques (FNSP) de Paris. The CERI researcher, who has recently published a book on the Algerian civil war, has also published articles on Algeria in academic reviews such as Politique internationale and Politique étrangère.

The researcher stated that all students are exempt from military service until the age of 27. Until that age, students only need to provide their student card for the exemption. Past the age of 27, students must pass a medical exam in Algeria in the military barracks of Mayo in Algiers, or in the town of Blida. Although in theory Algerian diplomatic missions cannot issue exemption cards to students over the age of 27, in practice, all Algerian diplomatic missions informally provide these cards. This practice is a response to the increasing number of Algerian students abroad who do not return in Algeria after completing their studies. Also, many Algerian students living in Algeria never report to the call for military service.

The researcher added that exemption cards can be bought in Algeria for a fee of 50,000 Dinars  (or 5,000 French Francs).

For additional information on this subject, please consult the attached document by War Resisters' International entitled Refusing to Bear Arms: A World Survey of Conscription and Conscientious Objection to Military Service (Sept. 1998).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference

Researcher, Centre d'études et de recherches internationales (CERI), Paris, France. 5 January 1999. Telephone interview.

Attachment

War Resisters' International. September 1998. Bart Horeman and Marc Stolwijk. Refusing to Bear Arms: A World Survey of Conscription and Conscientious Objection to Military Service, pp. 22-24.

Topics: Military service,