Brussels, Belgium – The European Union’s deal with Tunisia to curb migration has raised concerns about human rights violations and repression in the North African country. As European and EU leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tunisia, reports emerged of hundreds of refugees and migrants being stranded in the country’s desert border areas with Libya. They were said to have been rounded up and abandoned without access to basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. This resulted in multiple deaths, with European leaders failing to publicly condemn these violations.
The agreement involved a significant sum of money, with Tunisia receiving €105 million for “border management,” and nearly €1 billion in additional loans and financial support. However, despite the focus on curbing migration to Europe, the human costs of the deal were already apparent, with asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants bearing the brunt of the growing repression of human rights in Tunisia.
The lack of transparency and the absence of human rights conditions in the agreement have raised concerns about the EU’s complicity in potential rights abuses. The European Ombudsman has requested clarification from the European Commission on how it will ensure that human rights will be respected by Tunisia. This follows a pattern of EU cooperation with non-EU countries leading to severe human rights abuses against migrants and refugees.
Critics argue that agreements aimed at containing people in non-EU countries do not save lives nor reduce reliance on irregular migration routes. Instead, they force people to take more dangerous routes and contribute to the profits of smugglers, while doing nothing to address the root causes of migration. The lack of conditions and assessments in the Tunisia deal has led to calls for its suspension, with advocates urging the EU to prioritize the promotion of human rights in its migration policies.
The agreement with Tunisia also comes at a time of growing repression in the country, with the Tunisian president dismantling institutional checks on executive power and restricting free speech. The crackdown on dissent has led to the arbitrary criminal investigation and restrictive measures against critics and opponents, raising concerns about the EU’s silence on these issues.
In light of the potential for human rights violations and the lack of transparency in the negotiation process, there are calls for EU leaders to reverse course and prioritize the protection of migrants and refugees. This would involve the suspension of the MoU and a concerted effort to promote a balanced approach that expands safe migration pathways and protects, rather than contains, people. As discussions continue on the implementation of the deal, attention remains on the EU’s responsibility to uphold human rights standards in its engagement with non-EU countries.