Tunisia under harsh criticism for anti-migrant measures

According to UN experts, the human rights violations committed against migrants in Tunisia can only be described as “shocking.”
A recently published report stated that Tunisian authorities had engaged in “dangerous manoeuvres when intercepting migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers at sea.” The report also mentioned episodes of physical violence, including beatings, threats of use of firearms, the removal of engines and fuel and the capsizing of boats.
The report, released on October 14, said that between January and July, 189 people, including children, were said to have lost their lives while crossing the Mediterranean Sea, while 265 reportedly died during interception operations at sea.
Ninety-five people have been reported missing, in some cases “victims of enforced disappearance or acts tantamount to enforced disappearance,” said the report. Migrants from sub-Saharan countries are subjected to a heightened level of violence, according to the UN.
“We are appalled by the reported violence and the excessive use of force during these transfers,” the UN experts said.
Once on Tunisian soil, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, including children and pregnant women, are allegedly brought to the desert areas bordering Algeria and Libya, and fired at by border guards if they attempt to return.
The report also said aid organizations were being obstructed in their work.
The declaration was signed by the UN special rapporteurs on human trafficking, racism and migrants’ rights as well as several human rights lawyers.
These independent experts are commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council, but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself.
While Tunisian authorities have not yet responded to a request for comment by DW, Tunisia’s government has repeatedly rejected such accusations in the past.
And yet, human rights activists have regularly highlighted the mistreatment of migrants in Tunisia. 
In view of these “serious allegations,” the experts criticized the fact that Tunisia is still considered a safe country of origin by EU countries.
The country’s attitude toward migrants has become considerably tougher under President Kais Saied. Critics have said Saied has been ruling in an increasingly authoritarian manner since first coming to power in 2019. In 2021, he started a power grab, curtailing opposition parties and independent media, that has culminated in his recent reelection earlier this month.
Saied himself has repeatedly made disrespectful remarks about migrants.
Migrants in Tunisia have confirmed the allegations made by the UN experts.
A refugee from Burkina Faso told DW that when his group came close to the Tunisian coast in their boat, the ship piloted by security authorities drew dangerously tight circles around them.
The refugee asked DW not to publish his name, for fear of retribution. “Later in the refugee camp, the police took our cellphones and our food,” he said, adding that “the police even took away the blankets and destroyed our accommodation.”
Another migrant from Guinea, who also preferred to remain anonymous, reported a similar story. His group was repeatedly attacked, he told DW. “They broke into our accommodation, stole our cellphones, our money, everything,” he said.
The European Union has called on Tunisia to conduct an investigation into the treatment of migrants, a call that has so far gone unanswered.
The EU and Tunisia agreed a migration pact in July 2023, which provides comprehensive EU aid for Tunisia, as well as €105 million ($113 million) for border protection. Those funds go toward the coast guard, and pay for the repatriation of migrants to their countries of origin.
“Tunisia has further received Italian and European aid for the years 2024 and 2025 in the form of equipment and fuel costs for operations on the high seas,” said Romdhane Ben Amor, a human rights activist with the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. He added that the aim of Tunisian authorities is to reduce the flow of migrants and demonstrate their commitment to the EU-Tunisia pact.
Human rights organizations have long been vehemently critical of the cooperation between the EU, or individual EU member states, and Tunisia when it comes to migration.
“The ongoing cooperation between the European Union, EU member states, and Tunisia on migration control which includes reliance on the possibility to disembark people rescued or intercepted at sea in Tunisia — similar to previous cooperation with Libya — is contributing to human rights violations,” said a recent statement signed by numerous aid organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. “Despite the documented human rights violations by Tunisian authorities, the EU and its member states have stepped up their support for Kais Saied’s administration.”
Migrants in Tunisia also suffer from other problematic methods of migration control, Romdhane Ben Amor told DW.
“Since August 2023, Tunisia has also resorted to other solutions such as the deportation of migrants when they return by sea to the borders with Libya and Algeria,” he said.
An unnamed spokesperson for the European Commission responded to those accusations in late September. “As Tunisia’s partner, we expect these cases to be properly investigated,” the spokesperson told the online news outlet Euractiv.
According to the spokesperson, the EU is planning to set up an independent monitoring mission in Tunisia. Whether Tunisia’s government will agree to this, however, remains to be seen.
This article was originally written in German.