BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union said Tuesday it expected Tunisia to investigate allegations that police have beaten and raped migrants, putting further scrutiny on an EU deal with the country to stem irregular migration.
The 27-nation bloc has struck controversial migration agreements with Tunisia and other African countries with questionable human rights records, providing funds to help them curb small-boat crossings to Europe.
In the latest of a series of investigations to spotlight alleged abuses in the region, British newspaper The Guardian last week reported that officers from Tunisia’s national guard had committed “widespread sexual violence” against vulnerable migrant women bound for Europe.
“Tunisia is a sovereign country, so when there’s any allegations of wrongdoing concerning their security forces, then of course, as partners of Tunisia, we would expect them to duly investigate these cases,” a European Commission spokeswoman told reporters.
EU funding for migration programs in Tunisia was channelled through international organizations, EU member states and NGOs working on the ground, the spokeswoman added, denying the bloc was directly supporting Tunisia’s national guard — singled out in the Guardian report.
Tunisia is one of the main launching points for boats carrying migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to seek better lives in Europe.
Most head for Italy, in particular its island of Lampedusa.
Under a 2023 agreement, Brussels has given 105 million euros ($116 million) to debt-ridden Tunis to help it curb irregular migration, in addition to 150 million euros in budgetary support.
The deal, strongly supported by Italy’s hard-right government, aimed to bolster Tunisia’s capacity to prevent boats leaving its shore, with some money also going to UN agencies assisting migrants.
It has contributed to a marked drop in crossings.
Between January 1 and September 2024, 47,455 migrants arrived in Italy via boat, down 64 percent on 2023 when 133,070 people reached Italian shores over the same period, according to the interior ministry.
But rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have decried the agreement.
HRW last year said migrants in Tunisia faced violence and arbitrary detentions, adding it had documented abuses by the coast guard, including beatings and leaving people adrift.
The EU’s ombudsman has opened an investigation into how the commission intends to ensure that human rights are respected under the agreement. The ethics watchdog is expected to publish its findings in the coming weeks.
Already in May, the EU admitted to a “difficult situation” after a journalism consortium said Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania — which have struck similar deals — were dumping migrants in the desert, using the bloc’s funds.
On Tuesday the commission said it was working to establish a “more structured dialogue with partner authorities” to set up a “comprehensive rights-based migration management system.”
“Migration management has to be done in compliance with human rights,” said commission spokeswoman Ana Pisonero.
“There’s international obligations on this and we expect our Tunisian partners, as the rest of our partners, to comply with these.”
