Twenty-six Tunisian human rights organisations, on Thursday, issued a statement urging Tunisian authorities to ensure the protection of Tunisian citizens abroad, while demanding truth and justice for migrants who have fallen victim to violence or lost their lives in detention centres known as Centres for Repatriation Permanence (CPR) in Italy.
The statement, published by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), asserts that Tunisian nationals represent number one nationality detained in Italian CPRs, with approximately 9,506 Tunisians over the past four years out of 17,767 migrants, representing 53%.
“Within the framework of readmission agreements, Tunisian nationals are also the predominant nationality repatriated from Italy, with approximately 6,758 Tunisians accounting for 57% of the total repatriated.”
“In addition to violence and violations perpetrated during detention and forced repatriations, cases of deaths are also reported.”
The statement emphasises that the state of irregulari
ty is exacerbated by a security-oriented approach limiting safe and regular access to countries. It also questions the whole administrative detention system for migrant individuals in Italy, with Tunisians being the first victims.”
Currently, there are nine operational CPRs in Italy with a capacity of nearly 1,000 individuals, the statement highlights.
Signatory organisations include the FTDES, Lawyers Without Borders (ASF), the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LTDH), Nachaz Organisation, the Tunisian Organisation for the Defence of Individual Liberties, the Tunisian Organisation for Rights and Liberties, the Organisation Against Torture in Tunisia, and the Organisation for the Promotion of the Right to Difference.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse