Tunisia: Tunisia Migration Deal Worsening Human Rights Violations - EU
[HRW] Brussels -- The European Union (EU) and its member states should publicly denounce human rights violations in Tunisia and stop funding abusive migration control activities, 46 human rights and humanitarian organizations said in a joint statement released today. The statement comes three years after the EU and Tunisia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on July 16, 2023, largely motiva
Brussels — The European Union (EU) and its member states should publicly denounce human rights violations in Tunisia and stop funding abusive migration control activities, 46 human rights and humanitarian organizations said in a joint statement released today. The statement comes three years after the EU and Tunisia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on July 16, 2023, largely motivated by seeking Tunisia's cooperation to prevent boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers from irregularly departing for Europe.
The MoU has fueled and normalized serious human rights violations in Tunisia. In some cases, these abuses have led to deaths. Continued migration cooperation with Tunisia makes the EU complicit in human rights violations by Tunisian security forces, the organizations said. Under the migration component of the agreement, the EU and its member states have provided EUR 105 million for interceptions at sea and border control activities in Tunisia. At least 65 million are already contracted to train and equip abusive entities, notably the Tunisian Coast Guard and the Tunisian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.
