By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Tunisian police, military, and national guard, including the coast guard have committed serious abuses against Black African migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, rights group, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has alleged.
Among the documented abuses are beatings, use of excessive force, some cases of torture, arbitrary arrests and detention, collective expulsions, dangerous actions at sea, forced evictions, and theft of money and belongings, HRW alleges further.
HRW therefore called on the European Union (EU) to suspend funding to Tunisian security forces for migration control and set clear human rights benchmarks for any further support.
It urged that the EU member states withdraw their support for migration and border management under the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with Tunisia, until a thorough human rights impact assessment is carried out.
HRW said that between 2015 and 2022, the EU dedicated close to U.S.$200 million in migration-related funding to Tunisia. This included the reinforcing and equipping of security forces, to prevent irregular migration and to stop boats from heading to Europe.
HRW accused Tunisian authorities of failing to ensure adequate protection, justice, or support for many victims of forced evictions and racist attacks, at times even blocking such efforts.
As a result, with respect to Black Africans, Tunisia is neither a safe place for disembarkation of third country nationals intercepted or rescued at sea, nor a “safe third country” for transfers of asylum Seekers, HRW report concluded.
