Tunisia: Questions and Answers On the Draft Constitution

14 July 2022
Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC)
press release

Tunis — July 25 Referendum on a Text Weak in Rights Safeguards

The draft constitution proposed by Tunisian President Kais Saied enumerates many rights but eviscerates the checks and balances needed to protect them, Human Rights Watch said today in a question-and-answer document about the draft. Saied unveiled the text of the draft constitution on June 30, 2022, and urged Tunisians to approve it in a national referendum scheduled for July 25.

The draft gives far more power to the presidency than the current constitution, which provides for a hybrid presidential-parliamentary system, stronger protections for judicial independence, and other provisions that would check executive powers. President Saied suspended much of the current constitution in September 2021, two months after he seized extraordinary powers, suspended parliament, and lifted parliamentary immunity.

"It is not enough for a constitution to list human rights," said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "A constitution should create institutions and mechanisms to protect rights from being trampled, and that is what is dangerously missing in Saied's draft constitution for Tunisia."

Read the original article on HRW.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2022 Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.