Algeria: New initiative to document colonial environmental crimes

The Minister of Environment and Quality of Life, Kaouter Krikou, has launched a national effort to create a documented scientific and historical record of environmental abuses committed during the colonial era. During the second session of the joint ministerial committee on environmental memory, the minister emphasized the goal of gathering evidence regarding the impact of nuclear tests, chemical weapons, landmines, and scorched-earth policies on local ecosystems. Krikou noted that laboratory analyses are being conducted at affected sites, particularly those impacted by napalm, to scientifically verify the damage and assert the responsibility of the colonizer in accordance with international environmental agreements.