Condemnation of “gross abuses” by security forces against migrants
The NGO Human Rights Watch released a damning report on the treatment of African migrants by Tunisian security forces this Wednesday.
A Libyan border guard helps a migrant near the Tunisian border on July 16, 2023.
AFP
Tunisian security forces have committed “serious abuses” against black African migrants in recent months, prompting the European Union to “suspend its support” for the country in its fight against irregular migration, the Human Rights Watch NGO argued on Wednesday.
HRW notes that it has collected more than 20 testimonies from “victims of human rights violations at the hands of Tunisian authorities,” according to a press release condemning the actions of “police, soldiers, coast guards.”
“These abuses include beatings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, mass deportations, dangerous actions at sea, forced evacuations, money theft and personal consequences,” HRW says. Of those interviewed, 9 returned to their countries on repatriation flights in March and 8 are still in Tunisia.
“forced conversion”
And seven more “1,200 black Africans were deported and forcibly relocated by Tunisian security forces to the borders of Libya and Algeria in early July,” according to HRW.
Following clashes that claimed the life of a Tunisian on July 3, hundreds of African migrants were evacuated from the city of Sfax (Middle East), a major destination for illegal migration to Europe, before being relocated to uninhabited areas near Libya. East and Algeria West.
The testimonies collected by the NGO show that they are in the middle of the desert without water, food or shelter. According to the report, “most of the documented abuses took place after a speech by President Qais Syed on February 21, in which he denounced illegal immigration and condemned the arrival of “immigrants” who, according to him, “change the demographic structure” of Tunisia.
“Strategic Partnership”
Interviewees report being subjected to violence in police stations, where some were “shocked”. Others condemned “arbitrary arrests and detentions based on skin color” without prior verification of their documents.
According to Human Rights Watch, many have complained of “abuse during interception and rescue operations near Sfax”. The NGO, which wrote an unanswered letter to the Tunisian government at the end of June, is urging the EU to suspend its aid to the fight against illegal immigration in Tunisia “until it assesses their impact on human rights”.
“By funding abusive security forces, the EU shares responsibility for the suffering of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers,” HRW researcher Lauren Seibert underlined. The European Union and Tunisia concluded “a strategic partnership” on Sunday, which provides for Brussels to provide Tunis with 105 million euros in the form of equipment and to finance the “voluntary return” of 6,000 sub-Saharans.
AFP
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