United Nations Press Release (Geneva) – UN experts* said today they are alarmed by reports of human rights violations against migrants, refugees and victims of trafficking during search and rescue operations and transfers to border areas. “We have received shocking reports detailing dangerous manoeuvres when intercepting migrants, refugees and asylum seekers at sea; physical violence, including […]
Tunisia
Tunisia: Detention and “Desert Dumping” of Sub-Saharan Refugees
With financial support from the European Union, Tunisia is systematically undertaking anti-migrant and racially motivated operations, including “desert dumps” and unlawful arbitrary expulsions of migrants and refugees to remote areas near Libya and Algeria, according to recent reports. Violence Against Migrants and Arrests of Human Rights Defenders The growing number of reports revealing abuses suffered […]
Trapped Between Borders: Tunisia’s Alarming Treatment of Sub-Saharan Migrants
Tunisia has come under renewed criticism from rights groups after authorities rounded up sub-Saharan migrants and asylum seekers and forcefully relocated them to a buffer zone between the Tunisian and Libyan border. Videos shared online show men, women, and children–some with injuries–stranded close to the sea, reportedly without any food or water. Surging Discrimination According […]
ITALY: Human Rights Court Rules Against “Hotspot” Detention
In an important ruling, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found that Italy breached Articles 3, 4, and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in its treatment of four Tunisian claimants who were detained and deported in October 2017. In October 2017, four Tunisians attempted to travel to Italy from […]
Tunisia: Covid-19 and Detention
In late September, Tunisian human rights organisations shared footage of Tunisian officials apparently transporting a group of migrants to the border with Libya and abandoning them in the desert. The group, who had initially been intercepted at sea, included approximately one hundred men, women and children, including at least three pregnant women. One of the […]
Tunisia Immigration Detention Data Profile (2020)
Tunisia Detention Data (2020) The latest detention-related data from Tunisia, including immigration and detention-related statistics, domestic laws and policies, international law, and institutional indicators. View the Tunisia Detention Data Profile Related Reading: Tunisia: Country Page Joint Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Tunisia Report: Immigration Detention in Tunisia – Shrouded in […]
Tunisia: Covid-19 and Detention
Having largely avoided the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tunisia began experiencing a sharp increase in infections starting in August 2020. This coincided with increased maritime arrivals from Tunisia to Italy and renewed efforts by European leaders to partner with Tunisia in externalising migration controls in the Mediterranean and North Africa. On 10 August, […]
Joint Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Tunisia
Global Detention Project and Forum Tunsien pour les Droits Économiques et Sociaux Joint Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (85th Session, 7-25 September 2020) Tunisia: Issues related to immigration detention The Global Detention Project (GDP) and the Forum Tunsien pour les Droits Économiques et Sociaux (FTDES) welcome the opportunity to […]
Tunisia: Covid-19 and Detention
On 16 July, in what observers in Tunisia have called an “unprecedented decision,” the Tunisian administrative court suspended the detention of 22 migrants detained arbitrarily at the El Ouardia detention centre. The decision comes after reports of hunger strikes at El Ouardia and calls from civil society organisations for authorities to clarify the legal basis […]
Tunisia: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project Covid-19 survey, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Tunis office reported that on 7 April 2020, the government held an inter-ministerial meeting, which included the Interior Ministry, to discuss measures to be taken with respect to migrants in response to the pandemic. These included the suspension of visa termination […]
