Dr. Patrice Richard, Co-President of AMFPGN–IPPNW France.
SHOAA for Human Rights, in partnership with the International Peace Bureau (IPB), convened a webinar titled “Breaking the Silence: Restoring the Memory of French Nuclear Testing and Amplifying the Voices of Its Victims in Algeria.” The webinar addressed one of the most enduring yet overlooked legacies of colonial violence: the French nuclear tests carried out in the Algerian Sahara between 1960 and 1966, and their lasting human, environmental, and political consequences, but with a focus on the victims’ perspective.
The discussion was moderated by Aigerim Seitenova, Founder of the Qazaq Nuclear Frontline Coalition, and featured interventions from Amel El Mejri, PhD in International Law and nuclear disarmament activist, Jean-Marie Collin, Director of ICAN France, and Dr. Patrice Richard, Co-President of AMFPGN–IPPNW France. Together, the panel brought legal, historical, medical, and advocacy perspectives to a conversation that placed the victims of nuclear testing at its centre.
Dr. Patrice Richard provided a detailed historical overview of the French nuclear tests in Algeria. His intervention addressed the conditions under which the tests were conducted, the evacuation policies implemented by French authorities, and the specific impacts on populations living near the test sites. He also examined the role of civil-society organisations, the actions taken by former French Defence Minister Hervé Morin, and the responses of the Algerian authorities. In discussing claims for compensation and the persistent refusal of France to fully acknowledge responsibility, he observed:
“Progress for Algerians exposed to radiation from the 1960–1966 nuclear tests requires renewed diplomatic engagement between France and Algeria. More than sixty years on, contaminated land remains unmapped and affected populations insufficiently supported, making a joint commission and stronger victim-support mechanisms urgently necessary.”