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The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, a group taking up the issues of migrants, among other things, accused the government of waging a campaign of repression against migrants at the expense of humanitarian concerns to satisfy and please European countries, who want them to take strict measures against migrants crossing over to their territories
Migration activists have condemned mass expulsions and arbitrary arrests in Tunisia and nearby countries to address the migrant issues. Tunisian authorities have maintained that a large number of migrants are arriving for attempted Mediterranean crossings from the North African nation to Europe amidst concerns expressed by the Western countries on increased migration.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, a group taking up the issues of migrants, among other things, accused the government of waging a campaign of repression against migrants at the expense of humanitarian concerns to satisfy and please European countries, who want them to take strict measures against migrants crossing over to their territories.
It is reported that the situation had become particularly dire around Tunisia’s borders with Libya and Algeria and the country’s second most populous city, Sfax, which is 117 miles (188 kilometers) from the Italian Island of Lampedusa.
The activists said that migrants in Sfax regularly experience arbitrary arrests and violence. Many have their property destroyed. Such inhuman treatment is meted out to all treating them as mercenaries to migrants. Refugees, students, and workers are subjected to arbitrary arrests and incarceration.
Similar treatments are meted out also in Algeria and Libya. Deportations often lead to migrants ending up in detention centers run by armed groups. In Tunisia, small groups of migrants have been pushed back across the country’s desert borders. Social Right activists implored the government to end the deportations and urged authorities to provide migrants with haven and update laws to allow those without papers to obtain some sort of legal status.
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More than 97,000 people crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy in 2023, according to UNHCR. Tunisian migration groups estimate there are between 20,000 and 50,000 sub-Saharan migrants in the country. Tunisian authorities receive financial assistance from Europe to help police borders. The country brokered a one billion euro (US$1.1 billion) aid agreement in July that included a pledge of 105 million euros (US$110 million) earmarked for migration.
