A hostage to its « sacro-patriarchal » paradigm, Tunisia’s Code of Personal Status has become a glass ceiling—blocking women’s access to full and complete citizenship and preventing them from enjoying all of their human rights—in a society where the demand for equality between men and women presents a permanent threat to a public order that is gendered.
Special File: What is the value of the economic reforms imposed in the Arab World?
This publication file is in the framework of the activities of the network of independant media on the Arab world. The regional cooperation is made by Al-Jumhuriya, Assafir Al Arabi, Mada Masr, Maghreb Emergent, Mashallah News, Nawaat, 7iber and Orient XXI.
The impossible reform of the Lebanese financial system
In recent months, Lebanon has been alive with rumours about a forthcoming devaluation. In mid-September, the governor of the Central Bank, Riadh Salameh was obliged to officially deny that he was ill and had to resign and Michel Aoun, the President of the Republic, also had to declare that the Lebanese pound was in good health and that the country was not on the road to bankruptcy. For every Lebanese these factors are indeed closely related since all know that the country is deep in debt.
Palestine : “Good governance” to bury the Intifada
The second Intifada used a large network of parallel and informal financial assistance to provide material and logistical support to the Palestinian resistance. That is why Israel has imposed reforms on the Palestinian Authority that have played a decisive role in its control strategy. Presented as a step towards good governance and the fight against corruption, they contributed to the halt given to the Intifada after the death of Yasser Arafat.
Chahed courts the IMF, Tunisian General Labor Union defiant
On February 25, Youssef Chahed announced the appointment of new heads to several ministries. The UGTT lost not a minute in denouncing what it called a politically-driven and unilateral decision to replace Abid Briki, former UGTT Under Secretary General, with Khalil Ghariani, head of social affairs for the UTICA, as Minister of Public Service. In a statement published on February 26, the UGTT deemed the move a deliberate provocation, and made in the interest of unblocking the second installment of a $2.9 billion loan from the IMF. The conflict, which culminated in Ghariani’s refusal to accept the nomination and the subsequent suspension of the Ministry of Public Service on March 2, is the most recent flare-up in the tenuous relationship between the current government and country’s largest workers union.
Reviving the Beys
Broad-faced, imposing Qsar Essaïd in Tunis was the palace Sadok Bey, one of Tunisia’s many rulers under the Ottoman Empire. It was here where Sadok Bey adopted Qanoun Eddawla, the country’s first constitution. Two decades later, he signed the Treaty of Bardo, marking the beginning of the French protectorate. Today, sixty years after independence and six years after the revolution, Qsar Essaïd has been opened to the public with “The Awakening of a Nation,” an exhibition on a period of Tunisia’s history (1837-1881) that modern regimes preferred to forget.
Tunisia’s new PM: Youssef Chahed, a singular professional trajectory
While opposition parties have denounced the appointment of Youssef Chahed as partial and contrary to the idea of a coalition government, some decry the designation as a relapse to the old “all in the family” way of politics. Few, however, have paid much attention to Chahed’s singular professional trajectory prior to his swift ascension to Prime Minister.
A new face for the same “foreign support” to Tunisia
Assessing Tunisia’s resistance to political and economic reforms, the Atlantic Council observes that “old guard networks are present throughout the political system, the business world, and security institutions,” and proposes that Western donors adopt new support strategy to help Tunisia progress in its democratization process.
Bread: cereal production and food security
Earlier this year, the Food and Agriculture Administration (FAO) of the United Nations reported that wheat constitutes 96% of cereals consumed and over half of the daily caloric intake per person in Tunisia. What’s more, the high demand for cereals, and by extension cereal imports, are projected to rise in the years to come. In measure with these findings, statistics recently published by the Ministry of Agriculture for the 2014-2015 seasons report above-average imports; meanwhile, market speculations for 2016 anticipate that cereal imports to Tunisia will be up 15% from the previous five-year average.
Privacy in Tunisia: Legislation, Application, and Public Outreach
The Tunisian constitution of 2014 enshrines (via Article 24) the protection of privacy at home and in the domains of communications correspondence and personal data. The text itself conforms with European case law, but what about current legislation, its application, and its impact on Tunisians?
Terrorism and ICT: Keeping alive old surveillance practices in Tunisia
On the surface, the counterterrorism law of 25 July 2015 appears to introduce innovative measures to address crimes associated with new technologies. A number of these provisions, however, contain flaws including vague definitions, the privilege of immunity granted to investigators, threats to fundamental rights to privacy and access to information, and the exclusion of the National Authority for the Protection of Personal Information from the special commission in the fight against terrorism.
Debt, Farmers, and Farming Companies in Tunisia: laying ground for security and stability through agricultural reform
If important steps have been taken to improve management and optimize exploitation of State-owned agricultural lands and alleviate the debts of tenants who lease these properties, adopted measures are yet limited and incomplete … Working at the very heart of a sector upon which depends the country’s food security and, to a certain extent, the economy, Tunisian farmers have yet to gain substantial financial backing, adequate legal support, and due political recognition. Moving onward from a year of climatic fluctuations and political violence which have had devastating effects upon the sector, government officials and decision-makers will do well to recognize and invest in agriculture as the base from which sovereignty, security, and stability can grow.
مشروع الإصلاح الجبائي: لعبة ليّ الأذرع والمصالح المتضاربة
في الثاني عشر والثالث عشر من شهر نوفمبر الجاري، نظّمت وزارة الماليّة اجتماعات موسّعة مع جميع الأطراف المساهمة في صياغة مشروع الإصلاح الجبائيّ تحت عنوان “الاستشارة الوطنيّة حول إصلاح المنظومة الجبائيّة” في نزل البلاص بقمرت. وقد كان فريق نواة حاضرا خلال ورشات النقاش التي عرضت خلالها اللجان المختلفة أعمالها وتصوّراتها التي أدرجت في مشروع الإصلاح الجبائيّ
Pourquoi n’a-t-on pas encore une police républicaine ?
On n’a pas arrêté depuis la Révolution de répéter que la police dans notre pays devait se transformer d’un instrument docile de la dictature, acharné contre le peuple, en un instrument efficace au service de l’État de droit, étant une police véritablement républicaine.
حل كتاب : “القناصة و إصلاح المنظومة الأمنية” للضابط الطاهر بن يوسف
بعد أن قرأت كتاب السيد الطاهر بن يوسف المنسوخ باللغة الفرنسية، اتصلنا به كي يقدم هذا الكتاب القيم للتونسيين و القراء بصفة عامة. العديد من المعلومات الهامة وجب تسليط الضوء عليها كتواجد 20 متخصص في الرمي الدقيق في وحدات الأمن، الجيش و الحرس في تونس.
INRIC Conference: Media’s independence is at risk
The INRIC (National Authority for the Reform of Information and Communication) held a press conference on April 30th, at the Palais des Congres convention center in Tunis. Mr. Kamel Abidi, president of the authority, along with other members, presented the recommendations