Forty-six rights groups tell the EU to stop funding Tunisian migration control, three years after the memorandum
In a joint statement released by Human Rights Watch on July 16, three years to the day after the EU-Tunisia memorandum of understanding was signed on July 16, 2023, 46 human rights and humanitarian organisations call on the EU and its member states to publicly denounce violations in Tunisia and stop funding abusive migration control. The statement says the EU and member states have provided 105 million euros for interceptions at sea and border-control activities in Tunisia, of which at least 65 million is already contracted to train and equip bodies including the Tunisian coast guard and the maritime rescue coordination centre. The signatories cite documented arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, and collective expulsions to neighbouring countries, and note that UNHCR's asylum and refugee-status work in Tunisia has been suspended since June 2024.