Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that the muted response from UN member states to Tunisia’s deepening human rights crisis effectively hands the North African government a “free pass” to intensify its suppression of civic life.
In May, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk urged Tunisian authorities to halt their campaign against civil society groups, journalists, human rights defenders, opposition figures and members of the judiciary. Türk flagged a pattern of repression carried out through criminal prosecutions and administrative obstacles, a record that independent UN experts have likewise criticized.
“The alarm has been sounded. Now the Human Rights Council and UN member states should set political expediency aside, break their silence, and publicly condemn the Tunisian government’s repression,” the HRW statement said.
