Tunisia

In Tunisia, the first decade of democratization did not lead to an expansion of migrant rights. 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.

Global climate policy is the subject of multiple announcements put to the test over the course of these two weeks of COP26. Between the countries that have established carbon neutrality targets for 2050 (the United States and the European Union) and those looking to 2060 or further instead (Russia, China, India), the major challenge lies not in the deadlines, but in the translation of these dramatic promises into concrete actions.

Expanding on the United Nations Women’s Rights Convention, Tunisia became the first Arab country to incorporate into its laws the notion of gender-based political violence. Can this concept now be incorporated into international instruments to benefit more women across the globe, starting with UN Women’s 2021 Generation Equality Forum?

To mark the occasion, we will be publishing a series of literary essays by authors from the region over the next few weeks. 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". They make clear how important the personal confrontations are in order to develop political alternatives.

In Tunisia, the EU Migration Pact is received with diplomatic silence from politicians, apathy from the Tunisian authorities and powerless indignation from the civil society. This sobering pact only confirms once again for many Tunisians that the EU migration policy is a one-way affair.