Rising Concerns Over Human Rights Violations in Tunisia
Tunisia’s migration policy is facing increasing scrutiny, particularly two years after a significant agreement with the European Union aimed at curbing illegal migration from the North African nation. This comes alongside a controversial “replacement theory” speech delivered by President Kais Saied in 2023, which warned of the “dangers” posed by black migration. A recent report by Amnesty International has brought to light widespread human rights violations within the country.
Testimonies of Abuse and Expulsion
Hakim, a Cameroonian national, recounted his harrowing experience in January 2025 when Tunisian officers transported him and others to the Algerian border and left them there. “They took each of us one by one, surrounded us, they asked us to lay down, we were handcuffed. They beat us with everything they had: clubs, batons, iron pipes, wooden sticks,” he said. He also described being forced to chant “Tunisia no more, we will never come back,” while being physically assaulted.
This testimony is among 120 recorded by Amnesty International in a recent report detailing human rights abuses and racist attacks on migrants, especially black individuals, in Tunisia. The organization interviewed refugees from nearly 20 countries in Tunis, Sfax, and Zarzis between February 2023 and June 2025.
Safia Ryan, a North Africa researcher at Amnesty International, stated, “The numerous violations recorded – rape, torture, unlawful detention – are racially motivated.” These accounts highlight the severity of the situation faced by migrants in Tunisia.
The Role of Xenophobia and Government Policies
Tunisia serves as a major departure point for tens of thousands of migrants, many from sub-Saharan Africa, who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of a better life in Europe. However, the situation has deteriorated significantly.
Heba Morayef, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, remarked, “The Tunisian authorities have presided over horrific human rights violations, stoking xenophobia, while dealing blow after blow to refugee protection.”
According to author Hatem Nafti, a member of the Tunisian Observatory on Populism, President Saied quickly adopted a “conspiracy theory” approach to governance following a power grab in 2021. On 21 February 2023, he accused “hordes of illegal migrants” from sub-Saharan Africa of “violence, crime and unacceptable practices.” Saied’s “replacement theory” suggested that sub-Saharan migrants were part of a “criminal plan to change the demographic landscape of Tunisia” and turn it into “just another African country that doesn’t belong to Arab and Islamic nations anymore.”
This rhetoric led to increased violence against black people by both police and the public, who felt legitimised in carrying out racist acts such as profiling, arrests, hate campaigns on social media, intimidation, eviction, and attacks. The African Union condemned what it called “racialised hate speech” by the Tunisian authorities.
Crackdown on Civil Society
Since then, the Tunisian government has suspended several rights groups in the country and arrested journalists and activists. On 5 October, the activities of the World Organisation Against Torture in Tunisia were suspended for a month. At the end of October, the activities of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) and the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) were also suspended for 30 days. Many of these organizations were assisting migrants.
“This has had horrific humanitarian consequences and led to an enormous gap in protection,” reported Amnesty.
Abandonment in the Desert
From June 2023 onwards, Tunisian authorities have been expelling tens of thousands of refugees and migrants, most of whom are black. Security forces have been routinely dumping migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, including children and pregnant women, in remote and desert areas at the borders with Libya and Algeria. These individuals are often left without food or water, and their phones, identification documents, and money are confiscated.
Tunisian Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Nafti stated on 5 October that all migrants who entered Tunisian territory illegally would be repatriated “with human dignity.” However, Amnesty International’s Ryan reported, “We documented 14 cases of rape on women and minors by Tunisian security forces.”
EU Migration Deal and Its Consequences
In an effort to tackle illegal migration from Tunisia, the European Union committed €100 million to border management in 2023, with the right of asylum, the rights of refugees, and the protection of vulnerable migrants in Tunisia as part of the deal. Additionally, Tunisia received around €1 billion in loans and financial support for various sectors, including renewable energy, education, and economic development.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed the EU-Tunisia deal on migration has been a clear success, with 80 percent fewer irregular arrivals in Italy from Tunisia. However, the European Ombudsman in 2024 questioned the European Commission’s monitoring of the human rights impact of the deal, citing deeply disturbing reports regarding how Tunisian authorities treat migrants.
Amnesty has criticized the EU’s silence over what it describes as “horrific abuses.” “Each day the EU persists in recklessly supporting Tunisia’s dangerous assault on the rights of migrants and refugees and those defending them, while failing to meaningfully review its migration cooperation, European leaders risk becoming complicit,” said Morayef.