January 2008: During its period of operation there had consistently been criticisms of the Ad Hoc Commission’s work, and in particular its limited investigative powers and the government’s limited engagement with issues of accountability.

On August 15, 2005, the government published its “Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation" (in French), which included proposals for an amnesty for rebels, as well as possible compensation for families of the disappeared. The Charter was accepted by the majority of Algerians in a referendum held on September 29, 2005 .

In February 2006, the Decree Implementing the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation was approved, which allows for a blanket amnesty to security forces and widens previous amnesty provisions contained in the 1999 Civil Harmony Law.

To date, 2640 families have received compensation totalling $37m, but compensation was only awarded with the presentation of a death certificate which many are reluctant to obtain while they remain in the dark over the fate of their loved ones. Therefore many of the victims argue that it is not enough, and that the government is simply trying to bribe them into giving up their quest for information and prosecution of those responsible. Farouk Ksentini, president of the state's National Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, has claimed that, since "the period during which the disappearances happened was a period of complete anarchy", "we have no archives, no witness accounts, we have nothing", but this argument fails to convince both the victims' families and international human rights organisations. [Algeria Watch]

The Charter has been criticised for its specificity in its proposals as well as its promotion of impunity. [see ICTJ] 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 the rural militias formed by the military, the possible reintegration of those dismissed from work on political grounds, and the extent to which insurgents who escaped abroad would be pardoned.

The six-month period of amnesty, during which time perpetrators could apply for full amnesty for more minor crimes, and the reduction of sentences for those who committed murder, rape or public bombings, on the condition that they give up arms, has now come to an end. Commentators say that although the amnesty has diminished the threat of an Islamist coup, the terrorist threat remains.