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Tunisia: Unfinished Rights Business

New Government Should Suspend Abusive Laws

(Tunis) – Tunisia’s new government, approved by Parliament on February 27, 2020, should make human rights a priority, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should protect fundamental rights in eight key areas: ending criminal…
A general view of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People in Tunis, Tunisia, May 2016.
News

Tunisia: Truth Commission Outlines Decades of Abuse

Identifies High-Level Suspects; Recommends Overhaul of Judiciary, Security

(Tunis) – Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission on March 26, 2019 made public its five-volume report analyzing and exposing the institutional networks that enabled human rights abuses over five decades, Human Rights Watch said today.…
The first public hearing held by the Truth and Dignity Commission (TDC), at Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia on November 17, 2016.
News

Tunisia: Parliament Shouldn’t Undercut Transitional Justice

Extending Truth and Dignity Commission Term Vital for Victims

(Tunis) – Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission should be allowed to carry out its mandate, Human Rights Watch said today. The commission was created to establish the truth about human rights violations by Tunisia’s abusive past…
Instance de Vérité et Dignité
News

African Members Reaffirm Support at International Criminal Court Meeting

Countries Commit to Working Within the ICC System

A slew of African countries reaffirmed their backing for the International Criminal Court (ICC) during the past two days, giving much-needed support to the court in the wake of recently announced withdrawals by South Africa, Burundi, and Gambia.  …
News

Burundi: ICC Withdrawal Major Loss to Victims

Latest Move Shows Government’s Disregard for Victims

(Nairobi) – Burundi has taken a major step backward by officially withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said today. Other African ICC members should distance themselves from Burundi’s withdrawal and affirm their support for…
Residents outside their houses in Nyakabiga, in the Burundian capital Bujumbura, look at the body of a man shot dead on December 11, 2015.
News

Dispatches: Governments Defend ICC at African Union Summit

Pushback Against AU Call for Withdrawal

The 27th African Union (AU) summit closed Monday evening without an AU call for immediate mass withdrawal from the International Criminal Court in the face of strong pushback from Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, and even ICC non-member Algeria,…
A general view shows delegates during the 26th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, January 31, 2016.
Report

“All this for a Joint”

Summary For almost a quarter of a century, Tunisia’s drug laws have mandated long prison sentences for drug offenses resulting in large numbers of low-level offenders in Tunisian prisons. Long prison sentences are cruel,…
News

Tunisia: Reinstate Judges Fired Arbitrarily

Government Hasn’t Carried Out Court Order

(Tunis) – The Tunisian government should reinstate  judges summarily dismissed by the previous justice minister on May 28, 2012. An administrative court has ruled on 30 of the 75 cases since December 2013, ordering their reinstatement, but the government…
News

Tunisia: Flaws in the Landmark Ben Ali Verdict

Absentia Status in Trial for Killing Protesters Undercuts Justice

(Tunis) – The trial before the Le Kef military Tribunalof former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and others underscores the steps that must be taken if Tunisia’s judiciary is to hold officials of the ousted regime fully and fairly accountable for human…
News

Tunisia: Q&A on the Trial of Ben Ali, Others for Killing Protesters

1. What is the Ben Ali trial all about? 2. Who are the defendants? 3. What are the charges? 4. What are the shortcomings of the trial? 5. Are there other trials in connection with the December 2010 uprising? 6. What kind of accountability for human rights…
News

Tunisia: Don’t Extradite Former Prime Minister to Libya

Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi at Real Risk of Torture

(New York) – Tunisia should halt plans to extradite Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, the former Libyan prime minister, to Libya, where at present he will be at a real risk of torture, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities from the Libyan National…
News

Tunisia: Affirm Human Rights in New Constitution

Parties’ Responses to Questionnaire Shed Light on Their Stances

(Tunis) – Many parties competing in Tunisia’s election for a constituent assembly on October 23, 2011, believe that basic freedoms should be protected, but they disagree about circumstances under which freedoms could be limited, Human Rights Watch said in…
News

France-Africa Summit: Support Justice to End Atrocities

Seek Action to Bring to Justice Long-term Rights Abusers Who Have Evaded Prosecution

(Nice) - Heads of state attending the France-Africa summit should make a strong commitment to provide justice for victims of human rights abuses and to bring perpetrators to account, Human Rights Watch said today. The Conference of Heads of…