EU-Tunisia Cooperation Criticized Heavily for Abuse and Violations

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Numerous humanitarian organizations have united in a statement to contend that human rights violations are being exacerbated by Tunisia’s and the EU’s cooperation in sending back to the North African nation migrants who have been intercepted at sea. The statement “Tunisia is not a place of safety for people rescued at sea,” was signed by 63 humanitarian organizations and published on October 4.

According to reporting by Italian news agency ANSA, the organizations asking Tunisian authorities to “end human rights violations against people in movement and the repression of civil society” include SOS Humanity, Sea-Watch, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.Human rights guaranteed by international conventions are being violated by the European Union and its member states, who are stepping up their collaboration with Tunisia to keep migrants away from European coastlines,” the statement continues.

“In Tunisia, refugees are not safe,” stated Marie Michel from SOS Humanity. “Hundreds of cases of that nation’s violating people’s rights who are in transit have been documented, particularly from the spring of 2023 to the present. She emphasized that there is neither a system of asylum nor protection for refugees.

“The EU ensures that international law is respected.”As a nongovernmental search and rescue organization, we believe that it would be against international law to bring individuals we have rescued from dangerous situations in the Mediterranean Sea to Tunisia, Michel continued. Similar to Libya, Tunisia is not a secure location.

The organizations who signed the appeal demand that Tunisia “put an end to human rights violations against refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants” by the European Union and its member states. They request that Europe ensure that international law and human rights are respected both at sea and on the Tunisian mainland, after setting up a search and rescue zone in the country in June 2024.

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