2023-08-04 05:40:04
A country of origin, destination and transit for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, Tunisia overtook Libya in the first half of 2023 as the departure point for boats docking in Italy. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (HCR), of the 69,599 people who arrived in Italy between January 1 and July 9, 2023 via the Mediterranean Sea, 37,720 left from Tunisia, 28,558 from Libya, and the others from Turkey and Algeria. According to one estimation official dating from 2021, while there are nearly 1.2 million Tunisian immigrants throughout the world, mainly in Europe, 21,000 foreigners from non-Maghreb African countries are in Tunisia, with a population of 12 million. Since January, the country has hosted 9,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers. Only, between the manhunt and several forms of abuse and violence of which they are victims, on the part of the police and other defense and security forces and civilians, Tunisia is no longer a “safe place for black African migrants and refugees”. Findings and testimonials in this second and final drafta series of articles that Daily South devotes, since its edition yesterday Wednesday, to the situation of black sub-Saharan Africans in this country of North Africa.
Despite its laws dating from 1968 and of 2004 criminalize the entry, stay and exit of irregular foreigners, as well as the organization or assistance for irregular entry or exit, punishable by prison sentences and fines, Tunisia has not no explicit legal basis for administrative detention of immigrants. However, many organizations have documented cases of arbitrary detention of African immigrants. Indeed, for several African nationalities, Tunisia authorizes stays of 90 days without a visa with entry stamp. But obtaining a residence permit can turn out to be difficile in this State party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination ; to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which prohibits collective expulsions; as well as the United Nations and African Conventions relating to the Status of Refugees, Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit forced returns or expulsions to countries where people risk being tortured, having their life or freedom threatened, or suffering other serious harm.
Through the results of his research, entitled “Tunisia: No Safe Place for Black African Migrants and Refugees”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) examines the abuses once morest black sub-Saharan migrants and refugees and other asylum seekers in this Maghreb country, with testimonies from victims and civil society in support. A total of 22 respondents were victims of human rights violations committed by the Tunisian authorities. In addition to abuse by security forces, at least 12 men interviewed said they had been victims of abuse by Tunisian civilians.
MORE THAN 3500 MIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR “IRREGULAR STAYAND MORE THAN 23,000 OTHERS ATTEMPT TO LEAVE TUNISIA IRREGULARLY
According to the source, “Although the violations documented took place between 2019 and 2023, they mostly occurred following President Kaïs Saïed, in February 2023, commanded security forces to crack down on irregular migration, associating undocumented African migrants with criminality and a “conspiracy” to change the demographic structure of Tunisia”.
According to FTDES (a non-governmental forum), between January and May 2023, Tunisian authorities arrested more than 3,500 migrants for “illegal stayand intercepted more than 23,000 people attempting to leave Tunisia irregularly. And to point out that most of the recorded arrests of migrants took place near the Algerian border, but that following the president’s speech, hundreds of them also took place in Tunis, Sfax and other cities. With regard to collective expulsions at the borders with Libya and Algeria, “Between July 2 and 5, 2023, the Tunisian Police, National Guard and Army carried out raids in and around Sfax, arbitrarily arresting hundreds of black African foreigners of many nationalities, in regular or irregular situations. . The National Guard and the Army forcibly expelled or transferred, without any respect for legal procedures, until 1200 people, divided into several groups, towards the Libyan and Algerian borders”.
OVER 600 PEOPLE FINALLY TRANSFERRED FROM THE LIBYAN BORDER TO IOM SHELTERS AND OTHER FACILITIES
However, “On July 10, Tunisian authorities finally transferred more than 600 people from the Libyan border to International Organization for Migration (IOM) shelters and other facilities in Ben Guerdane, Medenine and Tataouine, according to representatives of the United Nations and an Ivorian who was among those taken to Medenine, who provided his localisation. However, on July 11, Human Rights Watch spoke with two migrants saying they were part of a group of more than 100 deportees still stranded at the Libyan border. They provided videos and their location. (…) Migrants on both borders told Human Rights Watch and others that several had perished or been killed following an eviction, although Human Rights Watch might not independently confirm their accounts”reports HRW in the document.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In its recommendations, HRW insists that “The European Parliament, in its negotiations with the Council of the EU on the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, should seek to limit the discretionary use of the concept of ‘safe third country’ by individual EU Member States. EU. EU institutions and Member States should agree on clear criteria for designating a country as a ‘safe third country’ for the purpose of return or transfer of third-country nationals, to ensure that EU Member States do not erode protection criteria in their application of the concept, and to publicly determine whether Tunisia meets these criteria, taking into account the attacks and abuses that black Africans are continually targeted in this country. The EU and the Member States concerned should suspend funding and other forms of support for Tunisian security forces aimed at border and immigration control, and condition any future aid on verifiable human rights criteria. The Tunisian government should investigate all reported abuses once morest migrants, asylum seekers and refugees committed by authorities or civilians; hold those responsible to account, including through appropriate legal action; and implement reforms and oversight systems within the police, national guard (including coast guard) and military to ensure respect for human rights, end racial discrimination or violence, and refrain from stirring up racial hatred or discrimination once morest black Africans”.
In the meantime, we offer you excerpts from some testimonies on abuse!
Damning accounts of a hunt for blacks with a hint of assumed racism
SIDY MBAYE (repatriated from Tunisia, in March)
A 25-year-old Senegalese repatriated in March, Sidy Mbaye entered Tunisia irregularly in 2021 and worked as a street vendor. He described police abuses in Tunis: «[Le 25 février]I went to town to sell phones, T-shirts and fabrics at the market […]. Three policemen approached me and asked me my nationality. They said, “Did you hear what the president said? You must leave […] “. They didn’t ask me for any documents. They took all my merchandise […]. I have [résisté] […] they beat me hard, punching me and beating me with truncheons. Blood was dripping from my nose […]. They took me to the police station, put me in a cell and kept beating and insulting me […]. They said something regarding me being black […]. They still haven’t asked me for any documents. I spent a day there. I refused to leave because I wanted my things back, but I ended up leaving. They threatened me and said, “If you come back and sell these things once more, we’ll kill you. Leave the country immediately”. […] Where I lived with five other Senegalese, the owner was a policeman […] When we came back, we found our things outside.”
PAPI SAKHO, (irregular migrant in Tunis)
Papi Sakho, a 29-year-old Senegalese who came to Tunis irregularly for work, was the victim of violence and forced eviction by the police before being repatriated in March: “End of February […]five police officers came […]. There were four of us working in the car wash, me, two Gambians and an Ivorian. […] They didn’t ask us for our papers […]. They yelled at us, insulted us […] They beat me hard with truncheons […]. The Ivorian was injured and bleeding […] they closed our garage […]. And we were the ones who usually washed their police cars! The police then took us to our accommodation and informed the owner that we were no longer allowed to stay there. […]. They took our bags and put them outside […]. My passport stayed inside. The police took my two phones […]. The others told me that the police had taken some of their money.”
MOUSSA BALDE, (arrived in Tunisia with a work visa)
Moussa Baldé, a 30-year-old mechanic from Senegal, said he arrived in Tunisia in 2021 on a work visa. He traveled to Tunis in February 2023 to buy spare parts. “A policeman stopped my taxi, made me get out and pushed me. He said to me: “You are black, you have no right to be here […]”. He didn’t ask me for my papers, he just indexed me because of the color of my skin. [Au poste de police,] two police officers punched me and hit me. They only gave me food once for the two days [de détention]and I slept on the floor“. The police did not ask him any questions regarding his legal status. “They told me: “We will release you, but you have to leave the country” ».
ABDOULAYE BA, (lived in Tunis)
Abdoulaye Ba, 27, also from Senegal, had lived in Tunis since 2022. In February 2023, the Police came to the construction site where he worked and arrested at least ten workers, some with papers and some without papers, from Tunisia. West and Central Africa: “There were Tunisians and Moroccans, but they only arrested people with black skin. They asked us which country we were from but did not ask for our papers […]. We resisted arrest and part of town came out […] and threw stones at us […]. The police hit us with batons […] They took us to a police station in Tunis and detained us for five hours, without asking to see our papers […]. They then released us and asked us to leave Tunisia. […] The police also stole my iPhone 12, and others said the police took their money.”
The abuses committed by the Police do not only date from 2023
Abuse by the police does not only date from 2023. A 31-year-old Malian man said that in December 2021 a group of 6 to 8 police officers found him sleeping in a train station and assaulted him before arrested for irregular entry, in a town near the Algerian border: “They hit me repeatedly with their truncheons, until I fell, then they kicked me».
SALIF KEITA, (repatriated in March)
Salif Keita, a 28-year-old Malian, repatriated in March, said he attempted a boat crossing from Sfax in 2019.The National Coast Guard took our motor and left us stranded at sea“, he related. “We had to break pieces of wood off the boat […] to return by paddling».
MOUSSA KAMARA, living in Sfax
Moussa Kamara, a 28-year-old Malian living in Sfax, had entered Tunisia in May 2022. In December 2022, he embarked near Sfax with around 25 West Africans. ” After just 30 minutes, the coastguards arrived [en positionnant leur bateau à côté du nôtre] and said “Stop!”. We didn’t stop, so one of the guards started hitting us with a stick. […]. They hit three men, including me… A friend of mine was injured “. The authorities took them to Sfax and then released them. After this experience, Kamara stayed in Tunisia, but President Saied’s speech and its consequences changed his mind: “ I decided to try once more [un voyage en mer]. The president told us to leave the country. If I don’t leave, I won’t find a home or a job ».
ROMDHANE BEN AMORspokesperson for the FTDES, a Tunisian Forum
“The president has created a climate of horror for migrants in Tunisia, so many are rushing to leave”, explained Romdhane Ben Amor, spokesperson for the Tunisian Forum, FTDES. “In recent months, the Coast Guard has started using tear gas to compel [les bateaux] to stop […]». And to note that they charge “migrants trying to film them […] ; they confiscate the phones following each operation».
Statement by an Alarm Phone volunteer in Tunis
An Alarm Phone volunteer in Tunis said her team had collected similar testimonies:Since 2022, there have been recurring behaviors by the Tunisian coastguards by attacking boats[…] ; they use sticks to hit people, in some cases tear gas, […] they shoot in the air or in the direction of the engine […] and sometimes […] they leave people stranded [en mer dans des bateaux hors d’usage]“. Many such practices were cited in a statement of December of more than 50 groups in Tunisia, and once more in avril.
HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS STUCK BETWEEN TUNISIA AND LIBYA
“We are not animals”
By Ibrahima DIALLO
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