| Resolution: | The EU responsibility to support the Tunisian civil society |
|---|---|
| Proposer: | FYEG EC |
| Status: | Published |
| Submitted: | 05/03/2023, 15:57 |
Supports the Tunisian civil society, which is being targeted and controlled by a regime which is becoming more authoritarian, using the Ministries of
In July 2021, the Tunisian president Kais Saied triggered Article 80 of the
Tunisian constitution1, a coup de force that led to the dismantling of the
institutions resulting from the post-2011 transition of the Tunisian people's
uprising against the regime of the former dictator of Tunisia, Zine el-Abidine
Ben Ali, also known as the Jasmine Revolution.
The actions undertaken by the Saied regime, such as freezing and then dissolving
the Parliament, full powers by decree, ratification of a new constitution in
2022 with an extremely low participation rate and the legislative elections in
December/January 2023 with an even lower participation rate, racist outbursts
against Black Africans, persecution of political opponents and NGOs, draws up a
record that leaves no room for doubt about the undeniable authoritarian and
populist turn taken by the Saied regime in Tunisia.
Tunisia's new constitution, which entered into force in August 2022, removes
many checks and balances from the 2014 constitution and firmly centralises power
in the hands of the President, for example he now has the power to unilaterally
appoint the Prime Minister and can no longer be impeached for serious violations
of the constitution. As described by Amnesty International, “the adoption of the
new constitution comes after a year marked by a regression on human rights
protections in Tunisia”2, leading to the weakening of human rights safeguards
and the rule of law. In addition to the constitutional changes, the judicial
system, until now independent from presidential power, is being further attacked
and dismantled in order to ensure that the presidential control is maintained.
In particular, with the support of the Ministry of Justice, which has been
completely under the control of the presidential power since its reform3, as
well as the use of the military justice system4, and the total impunity granted
to the security forces and the Ministry of the Interior. All this in a context
of dramatic socio-economic crisis and risk of default.
It is important to put in context the deterioration of the rule of law and
individual freedoms in Tunisia with the state of its economic situation. The
fragility of the Tunisian economy has been strongly impacted and weakened by the
two consecutive external shocks, the pandemic of COVID-19 and the outbreak of a
full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Widespread shortages of food and their
rationing, shortages of medicines but also of fuel have been commonplace in
recent months.
The Tunisian state is struggling to pay for its imports and is in the midst of
negotiations with the IMF and the World Bank to receive $1.9 billion in
financial support, while the political situation is moving towards a
dictatorship that is repressing political opponents and minorities. The European
Union, through the fascist Italy of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani (former President of the European
Parliament), is more concerned about the arrival of migrants in Europe via the
Tunisian coast than anything else.
With Turkey, Morocco and Libya, Tunisia is one of the European Union partners
supporting the externalisation of its borders in a “Fortress Europe” that is
increasingly conciliatory with the anti-migration policies of the far-right. The
number of victims and missing persons on the Tunisian coast from January to
October 2022 is 544,2415. For many organisations, these shipwrecks are
"consciously provoked" off the coast of Tunisia: While the European Union is
steadily increasing its financial support to the Tunisian government in
protecting and developing its coastline to avoid tragedies related to
Mediterranean crossings, there is mounting evidence of the involvement of the
Tunisian coast guard in dangerous manoeuvres that have cost the lives of many
migrants. For the last decade, Italy has allocated 47 million euros to Tunisia
to control their borders and migratory "flows", in parallel with a readmission
agreement that allows Italy to expel Tunisian nationals at a rate of up to 4
charters per week. The EU has released 30 million euros from the Emergency Trust
Fund for Africa to implement an "integrated surveillance" system for maritime
borders6.
It is important to denounce the reinforcement of hate speech by the Tunisian
president himself towards Black African migrants/refugees and asylum seekers in
the country which has intensified xenophobic and racist sentiment and acts of
violence against these populations on the basis of conspiracy theories7. These
words and acts of violence are also reused and integrated into the racist,
xenophobic, anti-migrant and conspiracy theories of far-right movements and
political parties in Europe... While far-right ideas are already at the heart of
our institutions and gaining more and more power in our societies, this support
from both sides of the Mediterranean is dangerous and threatens the safety of
migrants and asylum seekers.
With this resolution FYEG:
Condemns the violence, racism and systemic discrimination in Tunisia
against the Black African populations present in the country.
Supports the Tunisian civil society, which is being targeted and controlled by a
regime which is becoming more authoritarian, using the Ministries of
Interior and of Justice (now fully subordinated to the President) as well
as military institutions to shrink the democratic and human rights spaces
in the country.
Strongly denounces and is concerned about the resurgence of conspiracy and
racist theories within European societies and the progression of fascist
and far-right ideas and theories in the European Institutions.
Calls on the European Union and its representatives to firmly and
officially sanction the Tunisian president and his government for
undermining the democratic values and processes established after the 2011
Revolution.
Calls the European Union to immediately stop the externalisation of the EU
border with Tunisia via the funding through European funds of the Saied
regime to stop migration corridors.
Reiterates the importance of the statements made in the resolution No
Discrimination on Migration to develop an European humanitarian framework
focusing on saving and welcoming refugees through safe corridors.
Reuters - 26/07/2021. Tunisian lawyers, politicians split on
constitutional crisis. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisian-
lawyers-politicians-split-constitutional-crisis-2021-07-26/
Amnesty International - 19/08/2022. Tunisia: Adoption of new constitution
must not institutionalise erosion of human rights.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde30/5925/2022/en/
Inkyfada - 13/12/2022 - A jeopardised judiciary, trapped between the
police and the executive https://inkyfada.com/en/2022/12/13/justice-
police-executive/
Amnesty International - 02/02/2023. Tunisia: Convictions of six civilians
by military courts must be quashed
FTDES - Forum Tunisien pour les Droits Économiques et Sociaux Statistiques
migration 2022. https://ftdes.net/statistiques-migration-2022/
Statewatch website: https://www.statewatch.org/media/3241/eu-council-pact-
tunisia-action-plan-11392-21-rev2.pdf
27/02/2023 - ACHPR: Press release on the Tunisian President's Statement on
the situation of sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia
The amendment is written to make the text reflect the intent behind it. In current form, the text implies that we support the fact that Tunisian civil society is being targeted, rather than that we support Tunisian civil society.
