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Tunisia, Libya Announce Deal to Rescue Stranded Migrants

Tunisia and Libya will split the cost of housing hundreds of migrants who were stuck at their borders, many of whom had been there for more than a month, Al Arabiya reports.

The migrants, who are mostly from sub-Saharan African nations, had been taken by Tunisian authorities to the desert region of Ras Jedir and left there to fend for themselves, according to witnesses, rights organizations, and United Nations agencies.
Rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said the Tunisian police, military, and national guard including the coast guard, have committed serious abuses against Black African migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

HRW said that documented abuses include 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 is calling 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. EU member states should withhold 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 says Tunisian authorities have failed 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.

InFocus

© Lilia Blaise / RFI

Young Tunisians burn tires after the funeral of a young man stabbed to death during clashes with sub-Saharan migrants, in Sfax, July 4, 2023

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