The current session of the Human Rights Council is devoted to the adoption of the country's final reports submitted to the universal periodic review (UPR) in April-May 2008. Under this procedure Alkarama had presented a report on Tunisia. On Monday, June 9, the recommendations addressed to Tunisia have been adopted by members of the Human Rights Council.
At its session on April 8, 2008, devoted to the examination itself, representatives of the states indulged in an exercise of courtesy rather than a rigorous and objective examination of the situation of human rights in Tunisia. Despite this complacency shown, the Tunisian delegation headed by the Minister of Justice has nevertheless demanded that this new mechanism should shed light on "major progress on human rights" and not focus on deficits.
It is in that spirit that the issues raised by the representatives of States were not on the serious violations of human rights in Tunisia that some local and international NGOs denounce regularly. Obviously showing that he would not tolerate to see a few "false notes" in the final report, the Minister of Justice of Tunisia has demanded that "critical" recommendations be excluded, which has caused great debates in the Assembly. The compromise reached planned to distinguish between those recommendations supported and those rejected by the states examined.
But in the final report, devoted to Tunisia and presented for adoption no longer makes this distinction: The recommendations have been reformulated so that they agree in their entirety with the views of the Tunisian authorities. Some states have regretted that the report has been presented at the last minute, which limited the debate. The permanent representative of Belgium regretted that the recommendation made by his country (§ 63) concerning freedom of expression has been "forgotten", the first time in April before being reformulated in June in an “agreed upon” manner.
Tunisia had promised for 2008 "to receive special rapporteurs of the Human Rights Council", "provide eight reports to United Nations bodies including the fifth and sixth periodic reports on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the third periodic report on the implementation of the International Convention against Torture ". However, in its final statement, the Tunisian Minister has omitted any reference to these commitments!
The recommendations contained in the report do not address the reality of the human rights situation in Tunisia which is nevertheless alarming: Torture, arbitrary detention, unfair trials, harassment of advocates of human rights, ban on independent NGOs and the regression of freedom of the press.
The crackdown affects not only the opponents and defenders of human rights but also seeks any movement of social protest. Today, the mining town of Redayef in the mining area of Gafsa in the south west which remains poor despite its mineral wealth, is in a very worrying situation: The region has been ablaze since January 5 this year, following the unfulfilled promise by the prefectural authorities to hire some unemployed workers within the Compagnie des Phosphates de Gafsa. The army took position and the police drew live bullets on the population and pillaged shops and homes. The provisional toll stands at 3 dead, dozens injured and hundreds of arrests.
Alkarama regrets that the Human Rights Council has bowed to the manoeuvres of Tunisia which, with the intervention of representatives of some States, did everything possible to reduce the contribution of NGOs. At the last session, they opposed the possibility for NGOs to criticize the final report, restricting them to merely a few technical remarks.
No independent Tunisian NGOs could attend the Council meeting because of the ban and the daily harassment that they face. Only three coalitions of international NGOs have been able to intervene on the ten declarations of NGOs under the Regulation. The other came from NGOs concocted by the official delegation of Tunisia. Accordingly, the joint statement of the Arab Commission on Human Rights and Alkarama could not be read.
Alkarama hopes that the Council will rectify the situation to make the UPR a real mechanism obliging states to respect their commitments on human rights. It is essential that an appropriate mechanism for monitoring the recommendations be put in place to remind States of their commitments vis-à-vis the Council of human rights.
UPR of Tunisia : Oral statement ACHR / Alkarama for Human Rights, June 09, 2008
Mr. President,
The Arab Commission on Human Rights and Alkarama for Human Rights share the unanimous opinion of NGOs and independent media that the review of Tunisia has seriously jeopardized the new procedure of UPR initially intended to improve and advance the issue of respect for human rights throughout the world.
The examination of Tunisia has been marked by a distribution of unwarranted satisfaction of convenience to a delegation representing a country where the least we can say is that violations of human rights are systematic.
The strong presence of “pseudo NGOs” (GONGOs) accompanying the official delegation and conducted by deputies and senators of the ruling party must not delude anybody.
The reality of the human rights situation in Tunisia is indeed alarming for several reasons: Torture, arbitrary detention, unfair trials, harassment of defenders of human rights, ban of independent NGOs and the enormous decline in the freedom of the press mark the everyday reality.
The crackdown affects not only the opponents and defenders of human rights but also covers any hint of social claim. Today, the deprived mining town of Redayef in the south-west region is under the control of the army following a protest movement that has lasted for 6 months and has made several dozens of dead and wounded and hundreds of 'arrests.
Tunisia, which still plays today before the Honorable Council the effect of advertisement, refrained for more than a decade to work together effectively, not only with the UN special procedures but also with conventional mechanisms which it had freely adhered to and reflected in reality by 15 years of delay for filing its periodic report to the Committee against Torture.
Even if today we are making a discordant note, we can not sum up the situation by the huge gap between the rhetoric and reality.
The Arab NGOs for the defence of human rights launch today a solemn appeal to the democratic nations to put in line their official discourse with a reality they can not ignore, and a solemn appeal to nations within this Council that have a sincere desire to build democratic societies and states of law and make efforts to place human rights at the centre of their concerns and cease their support and solidarity with countries that erect the human rights violations in the system of government.
Thank you.