Migrations, the “Rwanda plan” applied by the British government for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants could be replicated in Tunisia

ROMA – In theory – we read in the German online newspaper DW – Tunisia could be a privileged place to welcome asylum seekers who enter the European Union by irregular means. A model that will end up replicating the recent one “Rwanda plan” of the United Kingdom which aims to relocate asylum seekers attempting to enter the United Kingdom “illegally” to Africa.

But Saied denies that this can happen. In practice, however, this is unlikely to happen in Tunisia, even though its coasts have long become popular starting points for would-be migrants from North African and sub-Saharan countries en route to Europe. In early April, Tunisian President Kais Saied reiterated during a national security meeting that Tunisia “will become neither a center nor a crossing point” for sub-Saharan migrants. Nor, he said, would he accept migrants “deported from Europe.”

But there is a contradiction. Although it is not the first time that Saied has made such statements, this time, and despite the obvious contradiction, namely that the European Union and Italy in particular are actively trying to limit immigration from Tunisia, while the Tunisia is clear that it does not want to host any more departing or returning migrants – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has strongly supported him in rejecting what has been called a Tunisian “Rwanda plan”.

Support with the “Mattei Plan”. Notably, his support came soon after he agreed to three new deals with Tunisia as part of Italy’s “Mattei Plan” for Africa – a 105 million euro ($111.7 million) continent-wide strategy ), aimed at increasing economic opportunities and preventing migration to Europe.

That 1 billion partnership program. These agreements were signed around eight months after the EU offered Tunisia a “partnership programme” worth more than 1 billion euros in financial support and which also included 105 million euros to curb irregular immigration.

This pragmatic partnership has already proven to be successful in terms of reducing the number of migrants.

21 thousand migrants intercepted by Tunisians. According to the latest data from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as of April 15, 2024, Tunisian border patrol forces had intercepted approximately 21,000 migrants before they could reach European waters. In turn, less than half of the migrants – around 16,000 people departing mainly from Tunisia and, to a lesser extent, Libya and Algeria – arrived in Italy during this period compared to the same period in 2023.

Stricter controls mean more migrants returned“The EU’s deal with Tunisia aims to keep migrants and refugees out of the EU, not Tunisia itself,” he told the DW Kelly Petillo, program manager for the Middle East and North Africa at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Is Tunisia a “safe country”? Furthermore, none of the agreements address the fact that Tunisia cannot be considered a “safe country” as President Saied not only dismantled most local democratic institutions following a far-reaching takeover in July 2021, but he also cracked down on migrants. “The agreements with the EU and Italy even undermine the rights of refugees and migrants,” added Petillo. Salsabil Chellali, Tunisian director of the NGO Human Rights Watch, definitely agrees. “Today in Tunisia, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees – he said – suffer serious abuses committed by security forces, including the National Guard and the coast guard during interceptions at sea, and, once repatriated, continue to suffer mistreatment, arbitrary arrests, detention and collective expulsion”.

The alleged founding principles of the European Union. All this – it was reiterated – can only be attributed to the harsh policies against migrants imposed by Saied, as well as to the logic of the outsourcing of reception imposed by the EU, which continues to finance immigration control in Tunisia while also ignoring the most basic human rights principles, which are presumed to be the foundation of the European Union itself.

And in any case in Tunisia there are no laws on asylum. Tunisia also has no national asylum laws or even an asylum system that could grant legal status or allow people to work, said Lauren Seibert, a refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “While the United Nations Refugee Agency, or UNHCRis unable to register asylum seekers and refugees in Tunisia, humanitarian support is inadequate and many are homeless and destitute,” he said. “Even registered refugees have difficulty accessing jobs and public services.”

There are currently around 12,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered in Tunisia with the UNHCR. “Meanwhile, Ms. Meloni is fully aware that up to 80,000 sub-Saharan migrants are waiting in olive plantations south of Sfax for better weather,” said Heike Löschmann, director of the Tunis office of the German Foundation Heinrich Boell. The situation in Al Jidariyah, a region further south, is also becoming particularly serious, said Mustafa Abdel Kabir, head of theTunisian Observatory for Human Rights. “The area is remote and lacks housing and work facilities, but this week hundreds of refugees were brought here and left alone,” he told the DW.

Incentives for Tunisian voters. Considering Tunisia’s upcoming presidential elections in October and anti-migrant public sentiment in the country, Saied is unlikely to place emphasis on improving conditions for migrants anytime soon. Instead, without a doubt, he will address the country’s economic crisis and try to appease the population.