DECLARATION OF MESSAOUD ROMDHANI UPR PRE-SESSION ON TUNISIA, GENEVA, 5 AVRIL 2017

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DECLARATION OF MESSAOUD ROMDHANI UPR PRE-SESSION ON Tunisia, GENEVA, 5 AVRIL 2017
  • Presentation of the Organisation
This statement is delivered on behalf of a civil society coalition composed of the The Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights, The Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights, The Tunisian General Labor Union, The Tunisian Association of Democratic Women and The Association of Tunisian Women for Research on Development. Sponsored by the Cairo Institute of Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and Euromed Rights.
  • Plan of the Statement
The statement addresses the following issues: the right to work, the right to fair and just conditions of work, the right to education, and the right to healthcare
  • Statement
  1. Right to work and fair and just conditions of work
  1. Situation
Social inequality, unemployment and regional disparities were at the origin of six-month long Mining Region Revolt in Gafsa in 2008 through to the outbreak of protests in Sidi Bouzid on 17 December 2010. But more than six years after the revolution, the demands of social justice, youth employment and regional equity are still to be realized. Until now, the wealth gap between the impoverished interior of the country and the coastal area is sparking protests. The continual neglect of those disadvantaged areas where unemployment rates are often more than twice the national average could put at risk the democratic gains and create the breeding ground of extremism. Regarding economic and social rights, women and young people are the first to be affected. When the overall rate of unemployment is 15.4%, it reaches 22.2% for women and 31.2% among university graduates. Equal pay between men and women is often too far to reach. For instance, the salary gap between women and men in the agricultural sector can reach up to 50%. Working conditions need to be improved. There are currently 41.000 work-related accidents and there is no national roadmap that would enforce hygiene and safety standards.
  1. Recommendations
In this context, we urge the government the following recommendations to be made to Tunisia during the UPR:
  • Apply the principle of positive discrimination enshrined in the Constitution in favor of the economically marginalized regions;
  • Reactivate the national plan for the promotion of rural women;
  • Translate the constitutional principles of gender equality into a coherent national legislation;
  • Increase the minimum wage
  • Ratify the ILO conventions N° 155, 161, 187, 189 and 102 to improve the conditions of workers
  1. Right to Education
  1. Situation
The difficult living conditions in certain rural areas do not provide an enabling environment for students. School dropout rates are alarming: more than 100,000 children  drop out of school every year , that is about 10% of them. The ratio of students enrolled in the first cycle of primary education having attended pre-school programs amount to around 80%, which is a steep improvement compared to 2009. However, it is much lower for marginalized regions. As an example, it is only of 45% in Kasserine. As a result, the illiteracy rate in Tunisia is still high: 18.8%, and 25% among women. We also witness a steady increase in private schools, which can hinder the State’s ability to guarantee the right to education for all its citizens, and can create a two-gear school system, where well-off social classes turn to private schools with more resources. Overall, the quality of education is not satisfactory, as Tunisia ranks poorly compared to international standards. Among the 65 countries audited in The Program for International Student Assessment, Tunisia ranks 56th in reading, 60th in math and 55th in sciences.  
  1. Recommendations
  • Ensure public schools can provide quality education, to fulfill goal n°4 of the Sustainable Development Goals
  • Establish a fairer « school map » which would take into account the needs of all students, and improve transport conditions for students and teachers alike, especially in marginalized areas
  • Make preschool programs mandatory, accessible and free across the country
  • implementation a National Adult Literacy Plan that would aim at eradicating illiteracy by 2030
 
  • Right to healthcare
  1. Situation
The lack of healthcare coverage prohibits entire segments of the Tunisian population to access healthcare. Currently, 2 million people, mostly working in the informal sectors of the economy, do not have any coverage. They are forced to either pay high prices or give up receiving care. On average, households bear 40% of the overall national spending on Healthcare. The disparities in healthcare between the coastal regions and inland regions, and between urban and rural areas, are central to the lack of healthcare access and the limited performance of the healthcare system in Tunisia. Furthermore, the deterioration of health services, lack of resources and medical staff in local clinics and first-line centers, hinder the care of low-income citizens and lead to particularly substandard local services, especially in rural areas. These disparities are illustrated in life expectancy, which is at 74.5 years nationwide.  However, it does not exceed 70 years in the governorate of Kasserine, while it reaches 77 years in the governorate of Tunis. Child mortality rates also show a wide gap between regions. It stands at 12,2/1000 in urban areas, and doubles at 24,6/1000 in rural areas. Access to appropriate medication is also an issue. Medicine accounts for 40% of the overall spending on healthcare. However, since public institutions are under-funded, public-subsidized medicine cover only 50% of the needs to fight chronic diseases. The Health sector is also known to be one of the most corrupt sectors (67% of Tunisian citizens think so)  
  1. Recommendations
  • Reduce regional inequalities by strengthening first-line healthcare services
  • Strengthen the legal framework and extend coverage to enable universal access to healthcare,
  • Universalize access to the essential medication
  • Implement a strategy to fight against corruption in the health sector
  1. Migration and Asylum
The legal framework on migration is insufficient and  in many cases, discriminatory. Migrants in irregular situation face imprisonment and even arbitrary deportations. In December 2016, 10 migrants from sub-Saharan countries were illegally deported to the Algerian border. Migrant workers are in dire need of protection.
  • Adopt laws on migration in conformity with international treaties ratified by Tunisia and combat all forms of discrimination, racism, and exclusion of migrant populations in Tunisia.
  • Set up the necessary administrative measures and legislative provisions to regularize the situation of migrants, who are in an irregular situation in Tunisia.
  • Ratify the conventions of the International Labor Organization, n°97 and n°143 pertaining to migrant workers, and the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
  • Set up an effective asylum system based on respecting human rights and applying the principle of non-deportation.
 
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On Women’s International Day: Equality, You Said?

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The celebration of Women’s Day in Tunisia this year has shown that pride and self-satisfaction that have portrayed Tunisia as the pioneer in women’s emancipation, from the Code of Personal Status (CPS) to subsequent legislations, haven’t concealed a bleaker reality: we are still a long way from gender equality. And there are causes of alarm.

Last February, The Ministry of Women and Family Affairs published a survey about violence against women. It showed that about half of the Tunisian females, aged between 18 and 64 have been victims of violence, whether physical, psychological or sexual, at least once in their life time. The survey added that most of this violence occurs within the household where, generally, the spouse or the partner is the perpetrator. So far, the measures to prevent such violence remain inadequate, with flawed protective laws, total absence of awareness-raising campaigns and no protection for the victims. As for child sexual abuse, it has known a sharp increase in the aftermath of the revolution: 262 cases in 2013, 313 in 2014 to 601 in 2015. (Highlights .com, February 4th, 2017) The other major issue is the economic marginalization of women. A study carried out by the Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) on rural women found that the agricultural activities are more and more feminized and that rural women represent 92% of the productive capacity in agriculture, working with no social security at all. Worse still, the study showed that they work with no legal contract. (Essabeh Newspaper, 26 December 2015) But there remains a glimmer of hope with the new draft law on the Elimination of Violence against Women, submitted to the Assembly of People’s Representatives (APR) last year, a draft law that predicts severe sanctions against “all forms of gender based violence directed by any perpetrator , whatever form it takes.” (Article 2) Besides, the bill introduces legal protection for victims, with a widened definition of sexual harassment, including street harassment. Another major improvement: it aims to raise awareness among children and young people through programs to “show the magnitude of the issue (of violence).” In fact, the bill is expected to avoid all the loopholes in the current laws including those that grant perpetrators of rape and sexual assault a way out: with the current flawed law, for instance, the rapist can get off scot-free if he marries his victim. But the pending law is criticized by civil society actors as there‘s no reference to their vital role in raising awareness about the issue. In fact, Tunisian civil society organizations have carried out, through decades, huge and sustained advocacy campaigns to end both violence and discrimination against women. Furthermore, the project law doesn’t refer to international conventions, mainly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Idem for national texts: no reference to the constitution (2014) , and to article 46 that charges the state with ensuring the eradication of violence against women. Equal Inheritance: Not a priority? Although Tunisia has one of the most progressive personal statuses in the region, some discriminatory provisions still exist. Take for example, inheritance: women are entitled to only the half of any inheritance received by the male counterparts. For those who stick to this legislation, they think they could not change what Sharia law commends. Last year, an independent MP proposed a law designed “to facilitate” equality in inheritance between men and women. The proposed law tried to be in line with the CEDAW convention that urges signatory governments to “incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women” and consistent with the Tunisian constitution that stipulates that “male and female citizens are equal before the law, without discrimination.” However, not only did the proposed law of “optional “equal share of inheritance meet resistance from religious groups and imams who consider that any equality there would “contravene explicit textual directives “of the Quran, but also from progressive elites in the parliament, who after signing with the bill withdrew their support, using the excuse of “more pressing matters and priorities”. “This is not the time to open the debate on equality in inheritance, we have other priorities,” said Hamma Hamami, Spokesman of the Progressive Popular Front, to Radio Mosaique Fm (Inheritance Equality Deferred in Favor of “More Pressing Matters” May 6, 2016.) In Morocco, when the National Human Rights Council published its report, equality in inheritance received significant attention and some religious scholars gave their support, believing that Islam is not only texts but “ijtihad, (“reasoning”). Islamic views should adapt to new challenges, evolutions and complexities of life, and ” Quran is the book of guidance , not the book of law,” says one enlightened scholar. As for our progressive leftist elites in Tunisia, who are frightened of the social backlash if they stand with equal inheritance, we could only ask them to practice what they’ve been preaching: gender equality, women empowerment, respect of the constitution, international law… Besides pioneers of women’s liberation from the Egyptian Kacem Amine, to the Tunisians Tahar Hadded and Habib Bourguiba did not just comply with existing norms, they had the courage to move the public opinion forward with new ideas; otherwise no change would have happened. “Man cannot discover new oceans if he has not the courage to lose sight of the shore,” said the French writer, André Gide. And I think he’s right. In spite of advances in legislations, whether through the code of personal status or in the constitution, we are still far from gender equality: women still face discrimination mainly in two areas: their ability to get equal inheritance and to receive protection against all types of violence. There’s a keynote to remember, though: there’s no democratic progress, social justice or sustainable development in Tunisia without women’s empowerment.

MOUVEMENTS SOCIAUX

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الحركات الاجتماعية

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BASSIN MINIER

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الحوض المنجمي

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MIGRATION ET RÉFUGIÉS

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الهجرة واللاجئين

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تقرير شهر فيفري 2017 حول الاحتجاجات الاجتماعية

حدة الاحتجاجات خلال هذا الشهر كانت مثل الأشهر الماضية هامة، بالرغم من ذلك كان حضور هذه الاحتجاجات في وسائل الإعلام المرئية بالخصوص حضورا محتشما للغاية، في عديد وسائل الإعلام الأخرى لم يتجاوز الإعلان عن التحركات الاحتجاجية في أفضل الحالات الخبر الإعلامي عدى بعض التحركات الاحتجاجية التي أخذت أبعادا وطنية والتي تم الاهتمام بها على خلفية بعدها الحدثي، لم تعد في الغالب هذه الاحتجاجات تلاقي نفس الاهتمام والعناية والتناول من طرف الأحزاب السياسية سواء تلك التي في السلطة أو خارجها، من كانت لها تمثيلية بمجلس نواب الشعب أو تلك التي لا تتوفر على هذه التمثيلية، بل أننا لاحظنا أن هناك حملة ممنهجة ضد التحركات الاحتجاجية بدأت مختلف معالمها تبرز منذ بدايات السنة الماضية، ذلك أن تردي الأوضاع الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والسياسية والأمنية والبيئية يتطلب الوقف الفوري لكل أشكال الاحتجاج وتأجيل ذلك إلى أوقات لاحقة تتعافى خلالها الأوضاع الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والسياسية والأمنية، ويعود المستثمرون الأجانب للاستثمار والسياح إلى التمتع بما توفره بلادنا من فضاءات سياحية، وتعود لدبلوماسيتها بريقها القديم ولرياضتها الإشعاع ولمهاجريها نفس الحماس
بالانتماء إلى الوطن …إلى غير ذلك من القوالب والشعارات التي تنتج للاستهلاك المحلي، من خلال ما نرصده من احتجاجات بشكل يومي في كل القطاعات وكل الجهات فإن الأمر مخالف لذلك تماما، الاحتجاجات ليست مؤامرة وليست عبثا وليست إهدارا للوقت أو للمكاسب أو للثروة… الاحتجاجات هي تعبير عن أوضاع تدعو للتدخل والمعالجة، هي ناقوس وتذكير لصناع القرار والإداريين والمهتمين بالشأن العام حول أوضاع اجتماعية لا تكفي مفاهيم مثل الإقصاء والتهميش و»الحقرة» عن التعبير عنه تردي هذه الأوضاع كانت من الأسباب الأساسية للثورة، والنتائج التي تم تحقيقها إلى الآن لا ترتقي إلى مستوى الانتظارات
 

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