initial reform efforts such as the elaboration of a draft law on asylum and a rights-based national migration strategy were cut short in 2013 by a series of political assassinations, growing tensions in neighbouring Libya and continued economic struggles. 2021. Democratization has not only affected migration dynamics, but also fundamentally reframed how migration policy was debated and decided upon in Tunisia. Based on over 50 in-depth interviews with deportees, it concludes that Tunisians are regularly denied their rights after arriving in Italian territory (for example, to legal advice, information, or adequate living conditions), and that the situation is propelled by a security-minded approach to migration that has been implemented across the EU and its member states for at least two decades. The popular mandate on emigration was clear for Tunisian policymakers: safeguarding and expanding emigrants rights.
Under Ben Ali, the state's involvement in migration was limited to the Interior Ministry's security approach and negotiations between the Foreign Affairs Ministry and European countries; inter-institutional cooperation was almost nonexistent.
, . 2020. Indeed, during demonstrations in January 2011, the rights to emigrate and to participate in the polity from abroad were core demands of the revolution. In Tunisia, the first decade of democratization did not lead to an expansion of migrant rights. On the other hand, it also increases Tunisia's political reticence towards externally imposed migration control agendas. [2] Cuttitta, Paolo.
In particular, the institutionalization of the migration dossier after 2011 has led to a conflict between the Social and Foreign Affairs Ministries around the tutelage of the State Secretary for Migration (SEMTE). This report stresses that it focuses on the tip of the iceberg, the impact of security-minded migration policy on thousands of people forced into living illegally who are criminalised by policies and detention practices. The report, Study on the conditions of stay and trajectories of Tunisian migrants repatriated by Italy, was published by Avocats sans Frontires (ASF), Associazione Studi Giuridici sullImmigrazione (ASGI) and the Forum Tunisien pour les Droits conomiques et Sociaux (FTDES) at the end of March. After quarantine on ships, people are transferred to the corresponding centres for the legal status they are assigned. requiring political leaders to accommodate divergent views rather than adhering to principles of equality and freedom.
Mouvements 93:99-106. For instance, in the early years after the revolution, the presence of CSOs at meetings between IOs and state institutions increased the likelihood that public actors would recognize the need to address immigration as a topic in Tunisian public life. The importance of legitimizing public policies. - 22 , : . ", Cassarino 2018 ; Geisser 2019 ; Meddeb, Hamza. Yet, despite this initial dynamism, claims for a more rights-based polity did ultimately not spill over into more rights for migrants.
"Politiques du non-accueil en Tunisie: Des acteurs humanitaires au service des politiques scuritaires europennes." Libres de partir : Les dparts des harragas de la Tunisie en rvolution." Although emigration and diaspora politics have stayed central to Tunisia's development agenda, little has changed for Tunisian emigrants since 2011. Creating Hegemony through Compromise.". Tunisia's migration policy: the ambiguous consequences of democratization.
. AHAVA SIT. Ultimately, the core of Tunisia's immigration regime inherited from the authoritarian era the restrictive rules on entry and stay remains untouched. Expanding on the United Nations Womens Rights Convention, Tunisia became the first Arab country to incorporate into its laws the notion of gender-based political violence. Outlawing gender-based political violence: Can Tunisias example carve a multilateral path for others? The democratic transition also had ambiguous consequences for dynamics within the Tunisian state. In parallel, increased political freedoms prompted civil activism on an unprecedented scale. ?
The proposed Screening Regulation would entrench this practice across the EU. 98% of the studys participants were held on quarantine ships, while 2% were transferred to other structures, and were held in isolation for 14 days on average. By using this website, you agree with our use of cookies to improve its performance and enhance your user experience. coordinate and steer Tunisia's policy towards immigration and emigration. Many Tunisians were returned following either the issuing of expulsion orders or deferred refusal of entry, as happened to all of the studys 53 participants. Their demands for more rights continue to clash with European security interests to reduce immigration and increase returns. Swift detention in CPRs awaiting removal is enacted without the authorities providing the necessary information on the chance to request international protection, the reasons for their detention and removal, the chance to access a lawyers services and the date of their planned return. , SIT. In particular, Tunisia's Foreign Affairs Ministry has welcomed civil society criticism of EU migration policies to back up Tunisia's refusal of EU migration control demands. 1,922 Tunisians were returned from Italy in 2020 (1,872 in 2021), amounting to 73.5% of the total number of returns, followed by Egypt and Albania, with 231 and 140 returns respectively. T +49 (30) 285 34-0 After 2011, international funding and capacity building activities by IOs such as UNHCR or IOM have burgeoned; and their daily interactions with Tunisian institutions and CSOs multiplied. 
Within a logic of selection and expulsion of migrants, these facilities extend the length of time during which people are held or detained to speed up returns, consolidating procedures to sort people on the basis of an arbitrary distinction between asylum seekers and economic migrants. FRONTEX. Yet, while these laws were welcome by civil society actors and international observers, they only affected migrant rights at the fringe and left the core of Tunisia's immigration regime largely unchanged. - . LAnne du Maghreb 8:143-60. Italys eight functioning CPRs (the six previously listed, plus Macomer in Sardinia and Palazzo San Gervasio in Potenza) have higher occupancy rates that their normal capacity, with the highest overcrowding rate (almost 400%) in Milan. "I wish I did not understand Arabic! Living as a black migrant in contemporary Tunisia." Your email address will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy. A lack of information at disembarkation points resulted in 70% of participants not submitting international protection requests, whereas 30% claimed that they were prevented from doing so. [1] At the same time, several hundred thousand migrant workers and Libyan families crossed into south-eastern Tunisia because of the civil war in neighbouring Libya, a dynamic that has since continued at a smaller scale. Ultimately, liberal migration reform seems to have failed for two reasons: because the security priorities of Tunisia's Interior Ministry and of European external actors have not been fundamentally affected by the democratic transition and, regarding immigration, because there is no clear majority within Tunisian society to politicize the issue through a human rights lens. , . We also welcome links to material on our site. The end of authoritarianism meant that the politics of isolation broke down: high-level civil servants reclaimed political initiative, and inter-institutional dialogue was attempted anew. "The EU must work with partner countries to reduce irregular departures, manage migration and examine reasons that cause, particularly economic consequences of pandemic,"Johansson said in a tweet ahead of her trip. Pp. [1] ASF, ASGI and FTDES, Etude sur les conditions de sjour et les trajectoires des migrant.e.s tunisien.ne.s rapatri.e.s en italie, 30 March 2022, https://ftdes.net/etude-sur-les-conditions-de-sejour-et-les-trajectoires-des-migrant-e-s-tunisien-ne-s-rapatrie-e-s-en-italie/, [2] Khlaifia sentence: Italy still under scrutiny for violations in hotspots, Statewatch, 4 May 2021, https://www.statewatch.org/news/2021/may/khlaifia-sentence-italy-still-under-scrutiny-for-violations-in-hotspots/; Yasha Maccanico, Khlaifia judgement reveals illegal detention and collective expulsion practices in Italys treatment of Tunisians in 2011 - Commissions plans for readmission agreements and summary returns contravene the ECHR, February 2016, https://www.statewatch.org/media/documents/analyses/no-282-chr-judgment-italy-detention-expulsion.pdf; Case of Khlaifia and others vs. Italy, application no. The contributions reflect what the protagonists hoped for and how they look today at what they have achieved, a kind of "look back to the future". All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. [1] It examines the reasons behind Tunisian citizens irregular migration by sea to Italy, and the conditions they face upon arrival. After 2011, international funding and capacity building activities by IOs such as UNHCR or IOM have burgeoned; and their daily interactions with Tunisian institutions and CSOs multiplied. Most participants contracted debts to pay for their journeys, which raises the issue of the cost of migration policies for migrants families. "FRAN Quarterly, Issue 1, JanuaryMarch 2011." Safe country status and access to international protection. Italy has pledged to commit up to 200 millions Euros to financedevelopment projects in Tunisia as part of a cooperation agreement between the two countries. In late May, the European Union's Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson traveled to Tunisia to dicuss a deal on migration with the country's authorities. Ce que la rvolution a chang dans ce petit pays homogne par excellence quest la Tunisie." What explains the persistence of securitized approaches towards migration in Tunisias context of democratization?
"Le gouvernement des migrations en Tunisie : vers un nouveau paradigme?" " On a fait la rvolution pour tre libres. As well as that of Wissem Ben Abdellatif, the report highlights the death Ezzedine Anani in December 2021 in the Gradisca dIsonzo detention centre (Centro di Permanenza per i Rimpatri, CPR), and questions whether migration policies can reconcile security and humanitarian concerns. Ultimately, the democratic character of post-2011 Tunisia allows the government to better face European pressures by highlighting the need to consider civil society and popular opinion.
Although external actors have successfully set the issue of immigration on the Tunisian governmental agenda, attempts to impose specific frames have also been met by open or subtle resistances from Tunisian state actors at the level of policy development and policy practice. 295-309 in, Cassarini, Camille. An information note (foglio notizie) is the first-level screening to impede Tunisian citizens access to asylum procedures based on where they come from. Tunisian authorities on Thursday intercepted 267 would-be migrants who had also begun the sea crossing from Libya, most of them Bangladeshis, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. buzzword, , . "From Revolution to Tunisianit: Who is the Tunisian People? Warsaw: FRONTEX. 2020. 2016. The length of stays in CPRs depends on how long it takes to organise a return. What explains this? Increases in arrivals, interceptions and deportations. 52% of participants claimed they did not have sufficient food on quarantine ships, 14% declared that they did not have a bed or chair, or a mattress and clean bed linen, and 96% complained about a lack of access to showers or hot water, although most received hygiene kits. Late last month, Tunisia's coast guard said it had thwarted six departure attempts and rescued 125 Europe-bound migrants, 112 of them from sub-Saharan Africa. . However, this popular mandate clashes with Europe's continuous pressures for the externalization and securitization of migration.
More than 1,300 have died or gone missing while trying to make the Mediterranean crossing, particularly to reach Italy, Spain and Greece. On the other hand, it also increases Tunisia's political reticence towards externally imposed migration control agendas.
In this context, the lacking inter-institutional coordination by the SEMTE has opened up space for other ministries to pursue their own interests on migration. [10] Garelli et Tazzioli 2017; Scaglioni, Marta. Vice-versa, Tunisian CSOs rely on their international networks to exercise transnational pressure on national political actors.
80% of participants claimed not to have received any document to explain their situation, the reasons for their predicament, its consequences (three or five-year re-entry bans) and the possibility of filing appeals. [3] Cassarino, Jean-Pierre. Nonetheless, detainees are sometimes held in CPRs for weeks or months, without adequate judicial and administrative oversight. The migrants, who the ministry said were from Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Ivory Coast, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mali and Ethiopia, had set off from the Libyan port of Zuwara overnight Friday to Saturday. [4] Cassarini, Camille. This exceptional measure lasts from a minimum of 10 days to more than a month and was justified by public health concerns, but it appears to have become routine. Despite initial attempts to replace the restrictive policies inherited from the authoritarian regime of Ben Ali, domestic and international forces ultimately put breaks on liberal migration reform. In particular.
According to IOM figures, more than 1,000 migrants hoping to reach Europe had set off from Libya and ended up in Tunisia since January, and the number of departures is rising. .
Warsaw: FRONTEX. Biometric Europe: civil society workshops, Biometric Europe: imposing digital identities in the name of security.
First of all, the democratic transition fundamentally reshaped the foundations of political legitimacy in Tunisia.
These people are deemed economic migrants who cannot claim a right to stay in Italy, resulting in orders for removal, which may be preceded by a spell in detention, if the individual cannot be immediately removed. Tunisia is a key departure point for would-be migrants hoping to attempt the dangerous sea crossing to Europe. On 28 November 2021, Wissem Ben Abdellatif, a 26-year-old Tunisian man, died in a hospital in Rome after suffering a heart attack.
A third type of holding centre examined by the report are CPRs. 2012. "Ad-hocratic immigration governance: how states secure their power over immigration through intentional ambiguity." The interceptions took place both at sea and on the coast, assisting 223 migrants from different African countries, including 111 Tunisians, the national guard said.
Detained foreign citizens are often denied information about the reasons for their detention, their legal status and the date when their deportation is scheduled for. The European Agenda on Migration instituted hotspots near entry points as a way to support member states experiencing disproportionate pressure at the EUs external borders and to improve reception practices, but they mainly function to swiftly identify, categorise and block people. Tunisia as a Case Study. relations between external actors, CSOs and Tunisia's administration vary according to the issue at stake: On immigration, civil society and international actors tend to join forces to lobby state institutions for progressive reforms. Ultimately, liberal migration reform seems to have failed for two reasons: because the security priorities of Tunisia's Interior Ministry and of European external actors have not been fundamentally affected by the democratic transition and, regarding immigration, because there is no clear majority within Tunisian society to politicize the issue through a human rights lens. Migration Information Source. Created in 2011, the SEMTE was transferred in August 2016 from Social Affairs to Foreign Affairs in response to Parliamentarians representing Tunisians Residing Abroad, triggering open discontent from the Social Affairs Ministry. More generally, democratization made Tunisian civil servants aware of their powers to discuss, disagree, and formulate ideas. Tunisia Intercepts Over 200 Migrants Trying to Reach Italian Coast. The Tunisian Forum of Economic and Social Rights said that the number of illegal Tunisian migrants reaching Italy in 2019 was 2,654 in 2019, and 5,200 in 2018. made Tunisian civil servants aware of their powers to discuss, disagree, and formulate ideas. 16483/12, Judgement, Strasbourg, 15 December 2016, https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-170054. . Registered UK company number: 08480724. Under Ben Ali, migration policy was primarily a tool to bolster the authoritarian regime by guaranteeing international support and stepping up population surveillance. 24,884 people of all nationalities (18,715 men, 1,641 women and 4,528 minors) were held in four Italian hotspots in 2020: 19,874 of them in Lampedusa; 3,277 in Pozzallo; 1,031 in Taranto; and 702 in Messina. Differential treatment and restrictions undermine some detainees fundamental rights. This has been particularly successful in their advocacy against human trafficking and racial discrimination. claims for a more rights-based polity did ultimately not spill over into more rights for migrants. ", Roman 2019 ; Pouessel, Stphanie. 2019. Territory, Politics, Governance. 2018. First of all, the democratic transition fundamentally reshaped the foundations of political legitimacy in Tunisia. Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Pp.
Limits to international protection derive from a lack of information and interviews to make their case, fast-track procedures, and from Tunisias classification as a safe country of origin. In the aftermath of the revolution, 18 parliamentary seats were attributed to Tunisian emigrants and a State Secretary for Migration and Tunisians Abroad (SEMTE) was created to coordinate and steer Tunisia's policy towards immigration and emigration.
"From Revolution to Tunisianit: Who is the Tunisian People? They make clear how important the personal confrontations are in order to develop political alternatives. Population, Space and Place 26(7):e2329 ; Dini, Sabine, et Caterina Giusa. 66% of participants were provided interpretation, 50% of whom said that interpreters were not impartial. If identification proves impossible, people may be held in CPRs for a maximum of 90 days, extendable by a further 30 days if they come from a country with which Italy has a readmission agreement.
After half a century of authoritarian rule, Tunisia embarked on a democratic transition process in January 2011. 2019. Another type of holding facility examined by the report are the quarantine ships established by a civil protection department decree on 12 April 2020 in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. - , , ?
2019. Yet, while the democratic transition opened up space for external actors, it did not automatically increase their weight on domestic decision-making. 2020. 2018. 2017. ", Lixi 2018 ; Roman, Emanuela. After half a century of authoritarian rule, Tunisia embarked on a democratic transition process in January 2011.
Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.
The multiplication of actors engaged on migration within the Tunisian state and the increased bureaucratic activism have thus made policymaking more incoherent and dependent on individual or institutional agendas. [1] FRONTEX. [2] In this context, the political treatment of migrants, marginalized and rights-deprived under Ben Ali, was a critical test for the young democracy and its human rights ideals. , , , , , , . 2012. 2018. Covid 19 measures evolved into a lengthy and arbitrary segregation of foreign citizens, exacerbated by obstacles to accessing procedures and information. [6] After 2011, Tunisian political leaders needed to legitimize decisions in front of an electorate. It requires that dedicated areas be set up within hotspots, and that people be held for the shortest possible time (up to a maximum of 30 days) to verify their identity and nationality. [7] Giusa, Caterina. In particular, it triggered equivocal transnational dynamics. externalization and securitization of migration. This has ultimately reinforced, democratization did not reduce external demands for migration control but instead gave rise to shifting coalitions between state, civil society and international actors on immigration or emigration.
Their demands for more rights continue to clash with European security interests to reduce immigration and increase returns.
, as Europe's political goal to reduce migration to its southern borders created pressures on Tunisia to simultaneously restrict the rights of Tunisian emigrants and expand the rights of immigrants in Tunisia.
espite the dynamism of Tunisian civil society and some initial institutional efforts, there were thus both domestic and international forces that put breaks on reforming Tunisia's security-driven migration policy.
2017. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know. However, democratic legitimization has played out differently for emigration, where it required navigating between clashing domestic and international demands, than for immigration, where it meant considering divergent popular views. Indeed, more inclusive policy processes created frictions between different Tunisian ministries. In fact, relations between external actors, CSOs and Tunisia's administration vary according to the issue at stake: On immigration, civil society and international actors tend to join forces to lobby state institutions for progressive reforms. A public health emergency was used to ensure that migrants would not escape authorities control, as had happened in July 2021, when 200 people left quarantine, deeming the conditions they were held in to be inhuman.
All rights reserved. 2,623 Tunisians were detained in CPRs in 2020, which is more than half of the 4,387 detained foreign citizens, as official figures show continued to be the case in 2021 (2,465 Tunisian detainees out of a total of 4,489 until November). . "EUs migration policies in the eyes of partner countries civil society actors: the case of Tunisia."
In contrast to emigration, Tunisian decision-makers are confronted with contradictory popular claims on immigration: On the one hand, democratization created space for civil society activism and allowed migrants who felt discriminated to demand equality. In the first semester of 2021, interior ministry data show that around 833 Tunisians were transferred to reception facilities such as CARAs (reception centres for asylum seekers), CASs (extraordinary reception centres) for adults or minors, an MSNA (centre for unaccompanied minors) and accommodation in the SAI (reception and integration network). Once young Tunisians are caught in the migration management web, it is hard to free themselves due to reception activities that leave them without information in situations designed to stop them exercising their rights. Several ships were deployed for this purpose and, in the first semester of 2021, 11,833 foreign citizens (10,513 men and 1,320 women) underwent medical checks on such vessels, of whom 1,524 were Tunisians.
Under Ben Ali, the state's involvement in migration was limited to the Interior Ministry's security approach and negotiations between the Foreign Affairs Ministry and European countries; inter-institutional cooperation was almost nonexistent.
, . 2020. Indeed, during demonstrations in January 2011, the rights to emigrate and to participate in the polity from abroad were core demands of the revolution. In Tunisia, the first decade of democratization did not lead to an expansion of migrant rights. On the other hand, it also increases Tunisia's political reticence towards externally imposed migration control agendas. [2] Cuttitta, Paolo.
In particular, the institutionalization of the migration dossier after 2011 has led to a conflict between the Social and Foreign Affairs Ministries around the tutelage of the State Secretary for Migration (SEMTE). This report stresses that it focuses on the tip of the iceberg, the impact of security-minded migration policy on thousands of people forced into living illegally who are criminalised by policies and detention practices. The report, Study on the conditions of stay and trajectories of Tunisian migrants repatriated by Italy, was published by Avocats sans Frontires (ASF), Associazione Studi Giuridici sullImmigrazione (ASGI) and the Forum Tunisien pour les Droits conomiques et Sociaux (FTDES) at the end of March. After quarantine on ships, people are transferred to the corresponding centres for the legal status they are assigned. requiring political leaders to accommodate divergent views rather than adhering to principles of equality and freedom.
Mouvements 93:99-106. For instance, in the early years after the revolution, the presence of CSOs at meetings between IOs and state institutions increased the likelihood that public actors would recognize the need to address immigration as a topic in Tunisian public life. The importance of legitimizing public policies. - 22 , : . ", Cassarino 2018 ; Geisser 2019 ; Meddeb, Hamza. Yet, despite this initial dynamism, claims for a more rights-based polity did ultimately not spill over into more rights for migrants. "Politiques du non-accueil en Tunisie: Des acteurs humanitaires au service des politiques scuritaires europennes." Libres de partir : Les dparts des harragas de la Tunisie en rvolution." Although emigration and diaspora politics have stayed central to Tunisia's development agenda, little has changed for Tunisian emigrants since 2011. Creating Hegemony through Compromise.". Tunisia's migration policy: the ambiguous consequences of democratization.
. AHAVA SIT. Ultimately, the core of Tunisia's immigration regime inherited from the authoritarian era the restrictive rules on entry and stay remains untouched. Expanding on the United Nations Womens Rights Convention, Tunisia became the first Arab country to incorporate into its laws the notion of gender-based political violence. Outlawing gender-based political violence: Can Tunisias example carve a multilateral path for others? The democratic transition also had ambiguous consequences for dynamics within the Tunisian state. In parallel, increased political freedoms prompted civil activism on an unprecedented scale. ?
The proposed Screening Regulation would entrench this practice across the EU. 98% of the studys participants were held on quarantine ships, while 2% were transferred to other structures, and were held in isolation for 14 days on average. By using this website, you agree with our use of cookies to improve its performance and enhance your user experience. coordinate and steer Tunisia's policy towards immigration and emigration. Many Tunisians were returned following either the issuing of expulsion orders or deferred refusal of entry, as happened to all of the studys 53 participants. Their demands for more rights continue to clash with European security interests to reduce immigration and increase returns. Swift detention in CPRs awaiting removal is enacted without the authorities providing the necessary information on the chance to request international protection, the reasons for their detention and removal, the chance to access a lawyers services and the date of their planned return. , SIT. In particular, Tunisia's Foreign Affairs Ministry has welcomed civil society criticism of EU migration policies to back up Tunisia's refusal of EU migration control demands. 1,922 Tunisians were returned from Italy in 2020 (1,872 in 2021), amounting to 73.5% of the total number of returns, followed by Egypt and Albania, with 231 and 140 returns respectively. T +49 (30) 285 34-0 After 2011, international funding and capacity building activities by IOs such as UNHCR or IOM have burgeoned; and their daily interactions with Tunisian institutions and CSOs multiplied. Within a logic of selection and expulsion of migrants, these facilities extend the length of time during which people are held or detained to speed up returns, consolidating procedures to sort people on the basis of an arbitrary distinction between asylum seekers and economic migrants. FRONTEX. Yet, while these laws were welcome by civil society actors and international observers, they only affected migrant rights at the fringe and left the core of Tunisia's immigration regime largely unchanged. - . LAnne du Maghreb 8:143-60. Italys eight functioning CPRs (the six previously listed, plus Macomer in Sardinia and Palazzo San Gervasio in Potenza) have higher occupancy rates that their normal capacity, with the highest overcrowding rate (almost 400%) in Milan. "I wish I did not understand Arabic! Living as a black migrant in contemporary Tunisia." Your email address will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy. A lack of information at disembarkation points resulted in 70% of participants not submitting international protection requests, whereas 30% claimed that they were prevented from doing so. [1] At the same time, several hundred thousand migrant workers and Libyan families crossed into south-eastern Tunisia because of the civil war in neighbouring Libya, a dynamic that has since continued at a smaller scale. Ultimately, liberal migration reform seems to have failed for two reasons: because the security priorities of Tunisia's Interior Ministry and of European external actors have not been fundamentally affected by the democratic transition and, regarding immigration, because there is no clear majority within Tunisian society to politicize the issue through a human rights lens. , . We also welcome links to material on our site. The end of authoritarianism meant that the politics of isolation broke down: high-level civil servants reclaimed political initiative, and inter-institutional dialogue was attempted anew. "The EU must work with partner countries to reduce irregular departures, manage migration and examine reasons that cause, particularly economic consequences of pandemic,"Johansson said in a tweet ahead of her trip. Pp. [1] ASF, ASGI and FTDES, Etude sur les conditions de sjour et les trajectoires des migrant.e.s tunisien.ne.s rapatri.e.s en italie, 30 March 2022, https://ftdes.net/etude-sur-les-conditions-de-sejour-et-les-trajectoires-des-migrant-e-s-tunisien-ne-s-rapatrie-e-s-en-italie/, [2] Khlaifia sentence: Italy still under scrutiny for violations in hotspots, Statewatch, 4 May 2021, https://www.statewatch.org/news/2021/may/khlaifia-sentence-italy-still-under-scrutiny-for-violations-in-hotspots/; Yasha Maccanico, Khlaifia judgement reveals illegal detention and collective expulsion practices in Italys treatment of Tunisians in 2011 - Commissions plans for readmission agreements and summary returns contravene the ECHR, February 2016, https://www.statewatch.org/media/documents/analyses/no-282-chr-judgment-italy-detention-expulsion.pdf; Case of Khlaifia and others vs. Italy, application no. The contributions reflect what the protagonists hoped for and how they look today at what they have achieved, a kind of "look back to the future". All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. [1] It examines the reasons behind Tunisian citizens irregular migration by sea to Italy, and the conditions they face upon arrival. After 2011, international funding and capacity building activities by IOs such as UNHCR or IOM have burgeoned; and their daily interactions with Tunisian institutions and CSOs multiplied. Most participants contracted debts to pay for their journeys, which raises the issue of the cost of migration policies for migrants families. "FRAN Quarterly, Issue 1, JanuaryMarch 2011." Safe country status and access to international protection. Italy has pledged to commit up to 200 millions Euros to financedevelopment projects in Tunisia as part of a cooperation agreement between the two countries. In late May, the European Union's Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson traveled to Tunisia to dicuss a deal on migration with the country's authorities. Ce que la rvolution a chang dans ce petit pays homogne par excellence quest la Tunisie." What explains the persistence of securitized approaches towards migration in Tunisias context of democratization? "Le gouvernement des migrations en Tunisie : vers un nouveau paradigme?" " On a fait la rvolution pour tre libres. As well as that of Wissem Ben Abdellatif, the report highlights the death Ezzedine Anani in December 2021 in the Gradisca dIsonzo detention centre (Centro di Permanenza per i Rimpatri, CPR), and questions whether migration policies can reconcile security and humanitarian concerns. Ultimately, the democratic character of post-2011 Tunisia allows the government to better face European pressures by highlighting the need to consider civil society and popular opinion.
Although external actors have successfully set the issue of immigration on the Tunisian governmental agenda, attempts to impose specific frames have also been met by open or subtle resistances from Tunisian state actors at the level of policy development and policy practice. 295-309 in, Cassarini, Camille. An information note (foglio notizie) is the first-level screening to impede Tunisian citizens access to asylum procedures based on where they come from. Tunisian authorities on Thursday intercepted 267 would-be migrants who had also begun the sea crossing from Libya, most of them Bangladeshis, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. buzzword, , . "From Revolution to Tunisianit: Who is the Tunisian People? Warsaw: FRONTEX. 2020. 2016. The length of stays in CPRs depends on how long it takes to organise a return. What explains this? Increases in arrivals, interceptions and deportations. 52% of participants claimed they did not have sufficient food on quarantine ships, 14% declared that they did not have a bed or chair, or a mattress and clean bed linen, and 96% complained about a lack of access to showers or hot water, although most received hygiene kits. Late last month, Tunisia's coast guard said it had thwarted six departure attempts and rescued 125 Europe-bound migrants, 112 of them from sub-Saharan Africa. . However, this popular mandate clashes with Europe's continuous pressures for the externalization and securitization of migration.
More than 1,300 have died or gone missing while trying to make the Mediterranean crossing, particularly to reach Italy, Spain and Greece. On the other hand, it also increases Tunisia's political reticence towards externally imposed migration control agendas.
In this context, the lacking inter-institutional coordination by the SEMTE has opened up space for other ministries to pursue their own interests on migration. [10] Garelli et Tazzioli 2017; Scaglioni, Marta. Vice-versa, Tunisian CSOs rely on their international networks to exercise transnational pressure on national political actors.
80% of participants claimed not to have received any document to explain their situation, the reasons for their predicament, its consequences (three or five-year re-entry bans) and the possibility of filing appeals. [3] Cassarino, Jean-Pierre. Nonetheless, detainees are sometimes held in CPRs for weeks or months, without adequate judicial and administrative oversight. The migrants, who the ministry said were from Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Ivory Coast, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mali and Ethiopia, had set off from the Libyan port of Zuwara overnight Friday to Saturday. [4] Cassarini, Camille. This exceptional measure lasts from a minimum of 10 days to more than a month and was justified by public health concerns, but it appears to have become routine. Despite initial attempts to replace the restrictive policies inherited from the authoritarian regime of Ben Ali, domestic and international forces ultimately put breaks on liberal migration reform. In particular.
According to IOM figures, more than 1,000 migrants hoping to reach Europe had set off from Libya and ended up in Tunisia since January, and the number of departures is rising. .
Warsaw: FRONTEX. Biometric Europe: civil society workshops, Biometric Europe: imposing digital identities in the name of security.
First of all, the democratic transition fundamentally reshaped the foundations of political legitimacy in Tunisia.
These people are deemed economic migrants who cannot claim a right to stay in Italy, resulting in orders for removal, which may be preceded by a spell in detention, if the individual cannot be immediately removed. Tunisia is a key departure point for would-be migrants hoping to attempt the dangerous sea crossing to Europe. On 28 November 2021, Wissem Ben Abdellatif, a 26-year-old Tunisian man, died in a hospital in Rome after suffering a heart attack.
A third type of holding centre examined by the report are CPRs. 2012. "Ad-hocratic immigration governance: how states secure their power over immigration through intentional ambiguity." The interceptions took place both at sea and on the coast, assisting 223 migrants from different African countries, including 111 Tunisians, the national guard said.
Detained foreign citizens are often denied information about the reasons for their detention, their legal status and the date when their deportation is scheduled for. The European Agenda on Migration instituted hotspots near entry points as a way to support member states experiencing disproportionate pressure at the EUs external borders and to improve reception practices, but they mainly function to swiftly identify, categorise and block people. Tunisia as a Case Study. relations between external actors, CSOs and Tunisia's administration vary according to the issue at stake: On immigration, civil society and international actors tend to join forces to lobby state institutions for progressive reforms. Ultimately, liberal migration reform seems to have failed for two reasons: because the security priorities of Tunisia's Interior Ministry and of European external actors have not been fundamentally affected by the democratic transition and, regarding immigration, because there is no clear majority within Tunisian society to politicize the issue through a human rights lens. Migration Information Source. Created in 2011, the SEMTE was transferred in August 2016 from Social Affairs to Foreign Affairs in response to Parliamentarians representing Tunisians Residing Abroad, triggering open discontent from the Social Affairs Ministry. More generally, democratization made Tunisian civil servants aware of their powers to discuss, disagree, and formulate ideas. Tunisia Intercepts Over 200 Migrants Trying to Reach Italian Coast. The Tunisian Forum of Economic and Social Rights said that the number of illegal Tunisian migrants reaching Italy in 2019 was 2,654 in 2019, and 5,200 in 2018. made Tunisian civil servants aware of their powers to discuss, disagree, and formulate ideas. 16483/12, Judgement, Strasbourg, 15 December 2016, https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-170054. . Registered UK company number: 08480724. Under Ben Ali, migration policy was primarily a tool to bolster the authoritarian regime by guaranteeing international support and stepping up population surveillance. 24,884 people of all nationalities (18,715 men, 1,641 women and 4,528 minors) were held in four Italian hotspots in 2020: 19,874 of them in Lampedusa; 3,277 in Pozzallo; 1,031 in Taranto; and 702 in Messina. Differential treatment and restrictions undermine some detainees fundamental rights. This has been particularly successful in their advocacy against human trafficking and racial discrimination. claims for a more rights-based polity did ultimately not spill over into more rights for migrants. ", Roman 2019 ; Pouessel, Stphanie. 2019. Territory, Politics, Governance. 2018. First of all, the democratic transition fundamentally reshaped the foundations of political legitimacy in Tunisia. Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Pp.
Limits to international protection derive from a lack of information and interviews to make their case, fast-track procedures, and from Tunisias classification as a safe country of origin. In the aftermath of the revolution, 18 parliamentary seats were attributed to Tunisian emigrants and a State Secretary for Migration and Tunisians Abroad (SEMTE) was created to coordinate and steer Tunisia's policy towards immigration and emigration.
"From Revolution to Tunisianit: Who is the Tunisian People? They make clear how important the personal confrontations are in order to develop political alternatives. Population, Space and Place 26(7):e2329 ; Dini, Sabine, et Caterina Giusa. 66% of participants were provided interpretation, 50% of whom said that interpreters were not impartial. If identification proves impossible, people may be held in CPRs for a maximum of 90 days, extendable by a further 30 days if they come from a country with which Italy has a readmission agreement.
After half a century of authoritarian rule, Tunisia embarked on a democratic transition process in January 2011. 2019. Another type of holding facility examined by the report are the quarantine ships established by a civil protection department decree on 12 April 2020 in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. - , , ?
2019. Yet, while the democratic transition opened up space for external actors, it did not automatically increase their weight on domestic decision-making. 2020. 2018. 2017. ", Lixi 2018 ; Roman, Emanuela. After half a century of authoritarian rule, Tunisia embarked on a democratic transition process in January 2011.
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The multiplication of actors engaged on migration within the Tunisian state and the increased bureaucratic activism have thus made policymaking more incoherent and dependent on individual or institutional agendas. [1] FRONTEX. [2] In this context, the political treatment of migrants, marginalized and rights-deprived under Ben Ali, was a critical test for the young democracy and its human rights ideals. , , , , , , . 2012. 2018. Covid 19 measures evolved into a lengthy and arbitrary segregation of foreign citizens, exacerbated by obstacles to accessing procedures and information. [6] After 2011, Tunisian political leaders needed to legitimize decisions in front of an electorate. It requires that dedicated areas be set up within hotspots, and that people be held for the shortest possible time (up to a maximum of 30 days) to verify their identity and nationality. [7] Giusa, Caterina. In particular, it triggered equivocal transnational dynamics. externalization and securitization of migration. This has ultimately reinforced, democratization did not reduce external demands for migration control but instead gave rise to shifting coalitions between state, civil society and international actors on immigration or emigration.
Their demands for more rights continue to clash with European security interests to reduce immigration and increase returns.
, as Europe's political goal to reduce migration to its southern borders created pressures on Tunisia to simultaneously restrict the rights of Tunisian emigrants and expand the rights of immigrants in Tunisia.
espite the dynamism of Tunisian civil society and some initial institutional efforts, there were thus both domestic and international forces that put breaks on reforming Tunisia's security-driven migration policy.
2017. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know. However, democratic legitimization has played out differently for emigration, where it required navigating between clashing domestic and international demands, than for immigration, where it meant considering divergent popular views. Indeed, more inclusive policy processes created frictions between different Tunisian ministries. In fact, relations between external actors, CSOs and Tunisia's administration vary according to the issue at stake: On immigration, civil society and international actors tend to join forces to lobby state institutions for progressive reforms. A public health emergency was used to ensure that migrants would not escape authorities control, as had happened in July 2021, when 200 people left quarantine, deeming the conditions they were held in to be inhuman.
All rights reserved. 2,623 Tunisians were detained in CPRs in 2020, which is more than half of the 4,387 detained foreign citizens, as official figures show continued to be the case in 2021 (2,465 Tunisian detainees out of a total of 4,489 until November). . "EUs migration policies in the eyes of partner countries civil society actors: the case of Tunisia."
In contrast to emigration, Tunisian decision-makers are confronted with contradictory popular claims on immigration: On the one hand, democratization created space for civil society activism and allowed migrants who felt discriminated to demand equality. In the first semester of 2021, interior ministry data show that around 833 Tunisians were transferred to reception facilities such as CARAs (reception centres for asylum seekers), CASs (extraordinary reception centres) for adults or minors, an MSNA (centre for unaccompanied minors) and accommodation in the SAI (reception and integration network). Once young Tunisians are caught in the migration management web, it is hard to free themselves due to reception activities that leave them without information in situations designed to stop them exercising their rights. Several ships were deployed for this purpose and, in the first semester of 2021, 11,833 foreign citizens (10,513 men and 1,320 women) underwent medical checks on such vessels, of whom 1,524 were Tunisians.