UN Warns Tunisia Over Racist Rhetoric and Mass Expulsions of African Migrants
UN Slams Tunisian Authorities for Hate Speech, Forced Camp Evictions, and Border Deportations of Sub-Saharan Refugees.
Watan-The United Nations has officially warned Tunisian authorities about the rise of “racist rhetoric” targeting Sub-Saharan African migrants. The UN also condemned the dismantling of several migrant camps and the mass forced expulsions and deportations of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers to the Libyan and Algerian borders.
Al-Quds Al-Arabi obtained a copy of a letter sent by Michael Balcerzak, Chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, to Sabri Bachtobji, Tunisia’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. The letter was issued under the UN’s “Early Warning and Urgent Action” mechanism concerning the treatment of Sub-Saharan African nationals in Tunisia.
Balcerzak warned of escalating hate speech in Tunisian media and social platforms, along with reports of assaults by both civilians and police forces. He also criticized politicians, including parliamentarians, for promoting racist narratives, such as claiming that African migrants’ birth rates would negatively alter Tunisia’s demographic structure.
One female MP suggested “stopping the birth hemorrhage among irregular migrant mothers,” and claimed that Sub-Saharan women were three times more fertile than the global average.
UN Condemns Tunisia’s Mass Deportations and NGO Crackdown
Additionally, the UN criticized a Tunisian MP for unofficially circulating a draft law on migrant expulsions via social media, bypassing parliamentary protocol and limiting public consultation.
The Committee concluded that these incidents represent violations of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, especially regarding personal security and protection from harm.
The UN called on Tunisian authorities to protect migrants’ rights, investigate human rights abuses, and ensure accountability for arbitrary detention, collective expulsions, legal violations, and punitive measures. It also urged compensation for affected individuals.
Recently, Tunisian authorities launched a crackdown on NGOs supporting undocumented African refugees, prompting accusations of criminalizing civil and humanitarian efforts in the country.
