The European delegation’s visit to Tunisia: Human dignity is not a deal between ‘partners'

European Delegation’s Visit to Tunisia 

Human Dignity is Not a Bargaining Chip Between “Partners” 

A delegation from the European Commission is visiting Tunisia to review “Tunisia’s compliance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed in July 2023 between Tunisia and the European Union1.” This visit takes place amid mounting criticism2 over the high humanitarian cost of this memorandum, which has transformed Tunisia into a “service provider” for guarding European borders, with aspirations to establish migrant detention centers. 

The EU continues its hypocrisy under the guise of “scrutinizing Tunisia’s respect for the rights and dignity of migrants.” At the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), we do not consider the EU a qualified body to monitor human rights and dignity, as neither its stance on genocide in the occupied territories nor its Mediterranean policies toward migrants support this. 

The memorandum has succeeded in shifting the migration crisis from Europe’s southern borders to Tunisia, especially affecting the areas of Amra and Djebniana, further exacerbating the suffering of local residents and migrants alike. It has also enabled repressive practices targeting migrants, including forced mass deportations of Tunisian migrants from various European countries, hard push backs at along Tunisian coasts, and expulsions of migrants and refugees to the borders. 

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) reaffirms its rejection of the subtance of the Memorandum of Understanding and its disastrous consequences for the rights and dignity of Tunisian migrants within the Schengen area and migrants in Tunisia. The facts confirm the accuracy of our initial position on this memorandum, whose sole purpose has been to prevent individuals in mobility from reaching European territories and to export the effects of migration policies. The Tunisian and European parties relate this cooperation as a framework to combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks. These very networks thrive on policies that deny the right of movement, tighten visa requirements, and restrict migrants and refugees from securing housing and employment. 

Systematic repression has targeted not only migrants and refugees but also civil society organizations and all those who express solidarity with them. This repression has disrupted the registration process for asylum seekers, leading to what appears to be an undeclared withdrawal of the Tunisian state from the Geneva Convention relating to  the Status of Refugees. 

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) : 

• Reiterates its calls for the termination of the Memorandum of Understanding with the European Union and an end to all unfair cooperation frameworks on migration with the EU and its member states. 

• Rejects the transformation of Tunisian territory into an advanced European border checkpoint and an open prison for migrants and refugees. 

• Calls for a more humane response to the plight of those stranded in Tunisia and considers the establishment of safe migration routes for them an EU responsibility. 

• Calls for the release of all detainees and the cessation of prosecutions against civil activists who work to support migrants and refugees and who have denounced hate speech and racism (such as Sonia Dahmani, Cherifa Riahi, Saadia Mesbah, Ayad Boussalmi, Mohamed joou, Abdelrazak Karimi, Mustapha El Jamai, among others). 

• Denounces deadly policies targeting migrants in the Schengen area, in the Mediterranean Sea, and in Tunisia, and making human dignity a business matter subject to negotiation, barter, and trade. We urge policymakers to build bridges of solidarity between people, protect rights, and promote mutual and qual freedoms instead of the construction of barriers, walls, and detention centers. 

Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights 

President Abderlrahmen Hédhili