The war broke out after Algerian military authorities suspended the country's first democratic national elections in the early nineties, to prevent an Islamist electoral victory.
The Charter, which follows on the 1999 law on "civil concord" and subsequent amnesty measures, proposed the following steps: President Bouteflika described the referendum as an effort to end bloodshed in the country.
The Charter left to the President's discretion detailed implementation of matters such as indemnities to victims of terrorism and their families, compensation for material damages, the future of rural militias raised by the military, the possible reintegration of those dismissed from work on political grounds, and the extent to which insurgent leaders who escaped abroad will be pardoned.
The Charter has been criticized by human rights groups who argue that it institutionalises impunity and impedes any legal action against the security services, including the DRS, while proposing penalties for anyone who dares accuse those amnestied of crimes.
[1] Furthermore, the families of victims and their organizations continue to demand information on the fate of the missing and to insist that "justice" must precede reconciliation.