Skip to main content
Donate Now
Tunisia’s shuttered parliament. President Saeid suspended the body on July 25 as part of his seizure of extraordinary powers. July 26, 2021, Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia. © 2021 Ahmed Zarrouki

(Tunis) – 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.”

Your tax deductible gift can help stop human rights violations and save lives around the world.

Donate today to protect and defend human rights

Human Rights Watch operates in over 100 countries, where we work to investigate and document human rights abuses, expose the truth and hold perpetrators to account. Your generosity helps us continue to research abuses, report on our findings, and advocate for change, ensuring that human rights are protected for all.