State of individual freedoms in Tunisia

Tunisian human rights defenders have chosen to respond to the national report presented by the Tunisian government during the 4th round of the Human Rights Council. They denounced the lies and inaccuracies in the information presented by the government and warned about the growing violations of individual rights and freedoms, exposing human rights defenders to repression every day.

In a concerning political, economic, and social context and more than a year after the authoritarian turn chosen by the President of the Tunisian Republic, Kais Saied, Tunisia presented and discussed its 4th Universal Periodic Review Report on November 8, 2022, at the Human Rights Council in Geneva (41st session from November 7 to 18, 2022). The Tunisian national report was presented on August 29 and made public in October 2022, and it was drafted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 and 16/21. Tunisia, the United Nations, is available at this link: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/tn-index.on.

In this report, the Tunisian State presented its assessment of the state of human rights covering the period 2017-2022 through the national mechanism for information and monitoring of recommendations on human rights.

Civil society organizations and all human rights defenders reject the arguments presented by the government in the report, available here. This report was presented and disseminated on November 8, 2022, in Geneva, at a parallel event to the Universal Periodic Review to recall the observations of civil society, raise awareness about the risks faced by human rights defenders, and propose recommendations that could be included in the Human Rights Council’s conclusions.

The event was livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube, and it is available here: https://youtu.be/naKS3KX1kX4.

NOVACT, through its work on UN-level policy advocacy within the WAHDA project, has supported this entire process and its dissemination to the widest possible audience. This report includes data and conclusions from the research conducted by Mr. Jalel Tlili, which highlighted human rights violations during the Covid-19 period (available here).

This information and continuous monitoring of human rights respect and international treaties by Tunisian specialists are essential for any democratic consolidation process. NOVACT will continue to support this work and ensure its usefulness and dissemination through its network and expertise.

This event is part of the dynamics of the project “WAHDA: Strengthening Tunisian civil society for the defense of civil and political rights and the promotion of social cohesion to advance in managing the COVID-19 crisis, the country’s political transition, and regional stability,” funded by the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD).