(Geneva) The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced on Friday the “intimidation and harassment” of which lawyers and members of the media critical of the government and its migration policies are victims in Tunisia.
The raids against the Bar Association in this country “undermine the rule of law and violate international standards relating to the protection of the independence and function of lawyers. Such acts constitute forms of intimidation and harassment,” denounced Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the High Commission in Geneva, during a press briefing.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, “urges the authorities to respect and safeguard the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, which are guaranteed by the International Covenant on Human Rights civil and political to which Tunisia is a party,” underlined Mr.me Shamdasani.
“The rule of law must be respected and people arbitrarily detained, including for having defended the rights of migrants and fought against racial discrimination, must be released,” the High Commissioner still demands, adding that “the human rights of all migrants must be protected and xenophobic hate speech must stop.”
Mme Shamdasani indicated that the Office was “very concerned by the fact that migrants, mostly from south of the Sahara, as well as the people and organizations who come to their aid, in Tunisia, are increasingly targeted “.
And she denounced “an increase in the use of dehumanizing and racist rhetoric against black migrants and black Tunisians”.
Tunisian President Kais Saied, who has concentrated all powers since July 2021, rose up against Western criticism on Thursday, defending the legality of these measures.