Shams, an association that campaigns for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Tunisia, announced on its Facebook page that the marriage of a French man and Tunisian man in France had been recognized by the Tunisian government. The marriage was recorded on the Tunisian spouse’s birth certificate. Upon the announcement, several English-language media outlets relayed the information, tentatively qualifying Tunisia as “the first Arab country to recognize gay marriage”.
Numerous are the reports of arbitrary law enforcement and abuse of power since the confinement was first imposed in Tunisia. Certain members of security forces have used unwarranted verbal and physical violence against citizens. Not even activists collecting medication for hospitals have been spared this harassment.
Sub-Saharan Africans in Tunisia number 4,200 asylum seekers and 7,000 students, according to the National Observatory of Migration. Since the beginning of the confinement period, many of these migrants, both declared and irregular, are living in extreme precarity. Some of their stories have circulated on social media alerting the public to the vulnerability of those unable to afford rent and meet their most basic needs.
Under the bilateral repatriation agreement signed between Italy and Tunisia in April 2011, the hopes and aspirations of thousands of Tunisian youths have been shattered. This film tells the story and journey of five Tunisian migrants deported from Italy. From the “gouna” to Lampedusa and from Palermo to Ennfidha airport, they testify about the reasons that led them to leave, the conditions of their journey and their disappointments.
Before aspiring to a potential future as first lady, Saloua Smaoui, the wife of presidential candidate Nabil Karoui, was an industrial engineer and, more notably, a leading officer at Microsoft. In this article, we take a glimpse at the lucrative deals made with the hangmen of cyber-dissidents.
In 2011 and 2017, two shipwrecks off the Tunisian coast involved units of the Tunisian navy. On both occasions, vessels carrying migrants to Italy were sunk. The first following a collision, the second having capsized at the end of a chase.
On March 21, 2019, the Medenine refugee shelter closed its doors. Tunisia Red Crescent’s regional committee called for the closure two weeks after the protest movement carried out by a group of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers on March 7. Protesters had left the center and set out on foot towards the Libyan border, calling attention to catastrophic conditions at the center, a facility which houses 210 occupants in spite of a 100-person capacity. It was here where, on March 11, a 15 year-old asylum seeker attempted suicide by cutting his wrists. Nawaat met with some of its residents to uncover the truth about this shelter.
Human Rights Watch has recently criticized the inaction of Tunisian authorities in the attempt to bring home the children of Tunisian ISIS fighters. The NGO says that 200 Tunisian children are currently being held in prisons and camps in Libya, Syria and Iraq. In an interview with Amna Guellali, Human Rights Watch director for Tunisia, we touch on an HRW study concerning the situation of these children today.
On January 11th, Al Bawsala, I Watch and the editor-in-chief of Nawaat filed an appeal for abuse of power along with a request to suspend the execution against the special presidential pardon granted on December 10th, 2018 2018 by President Béji Caid Essebsi to Borhen Bsaies.
On December 23, 2018, Falikou Coulibaly, president of the Association of Ivorians in Tunisia, was killed during a robbery in Soukra (Greater Tunis). As protests led by the Subsaharian community multiplied across the capital, Nawaat met Eric. Settled in Tunisia since March 2017, the 31 year old Ivorian—like hundreds of his compatriots, has found himself uncapable of regularizing his status. Forced to relinquish his studies, Eric got a job as a construction worker. Racist acts of aggression, a lack of medical care and an exploitative work situation are some of the challenges he faces on a daily basis.
Bitterness, disgust, anger were feelings commonly expressed when we spoke with Tunisian employees working at foreign NGOs based in Tunisia. Today, several individuals open up about the economic discrimination experienced by local personnel working in foreign non-profit organizations.
After ongoing negotiations that began on July 15, 40 irregular migrants in territorial waters were brought to the commercial port of Zarzis after being intercepted on their way from Libya to Europe. On Wednesday, August 1, the migrants accepted landing in Tunisia as their legal status is settled to determine whether they will be deported or granted asylum. Their arrival on Tunisian soil marked the end of 18 perilous days at sea after the migrants were refused entry into European ports.
The tragedies continue one after another off Tunisia’s coasts. The last to date, along the shores of the islands of Kerkennah, cost the lives of 84 individuals according to a statement made by the Interior Ministry as the search for 28 missing migrants continues. 20 years after the closure of European borders following the Schengen Agreement, where does Tunisia’s migratory policy stand?
In Tunis, many practice the fast during Ramadan, abstaining from food and drink from sunup to sundown, just as many do not. At any time of day, you can find the latter crowded into the smoky refuge of one of the cafés and restaurants that continue to serve throughout the day, recognizable by their shutters partially pulled down over doorways or faded newspapers pasted across window fronts, discreet signals to non-fasting passers-by that inside, it’s business as usual. But this activity remains susceptible to police harassment justified by Interior Minister Lotfi Brahem, dismissed on June 5 after being vehemently criticized by NGOs.
The legal framework governing associations is high on the reforms agenda, at least according to a meeting held by Mehdi Ben Gharbia and a group of legal experts in February. The initiative echoes a recent Financial Action Task Force evaluation in which Tunisia was knocked down a grade for its non-profit sector. And while the fight against money laundering and terrorism is the government’s key argument when it comes to reforming legislation on associations, the proposed amendments, in parallel with the demonization of certain associations, portend rights violations and a gradual lockdown of the sector.
They arrived in La Marsa from Choucha refugee camp in June 2017, and were supposed to stay for a few days time while their situation was worked out. But still today, the 34 exiles remain in La Marsa. After fleeing Libya in 2011, their asylum applications were rejected in 2012 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They eagerly hoped for the re-examination of their files during the six years they spent in Choucha. Eight months after their arrival in La Marsa’s youth center, their living conditions have severely deteriorated and the competent authorities have abandoned their case.
Just in time for long-awaited municipal elections on May 6, 2018, Tunisia’s 12 new administrative courts are finally up and running. Prior to the creation of these regional chambers, all complaints concerning violations and abuse of power by public authorities were filed with the administrative judiciary headquartered in the capital. Despite delays and funding constraints that have beleaguered their organization, a dozen new chambers and 60 newly-appointed judges have hit the ground running since they became operative on February 22 of this year. For in addition to its day-to-day litigations, the administrative judiciary has a pivotal role to play in ensuring the integrity of upcoming local elections.
In parliament this week, deputies fixed the date on which they will elect the first four members of Tunisia’s Constitutional Court. Long held up in the selection process, the assembly now has less than a month to approve candidates before voting on March 13, 2018. Four years after the adoption of a new Constitution and three years after passing the organic law concerning the Constitutional Court, deputies have been under mounting pressure to establish the unique authority with the capacity to ensure the constitutionality of the laws. Consensus is at once the main cause of delays and also the solution of last recourse. At this late phase, will it enable them to move forward?
