From Magharebia

Tunisia will soon activate special commissions to investigate and prevent torture, child abuse, discrimination and police violence, Human Rights and Transitional Justice Minister Samir Dilou announced on Monday (November 11th).

“Building democracy is harder than bringing down dictatorships,” he said in his opening address to a conference co-hosted by the EU delegation to Tunisia.

Nonetheless, he said, the country was “in the process of establishing a number of bodies and institutions that guarantee human rights, in accordance with the partnership agreement and political neighborly relations between Tunisia and the European Union”.

The head of the EU mission to Tunisia confirmed that “the protection of human rights and the fight against torture and all forms of discrimination” topped the priorities of the partnership accord.

“Tunisia has made significant strides since 2011, for the term ‘human rights’ used to be considered a taboo,” Ambassador Laura Baeza added.

The heightened attention to human rights issues comes at a critical time, according to the head of Amnesty International Tunisia.

“The human rights situation in Tunisia is alarming, as a result of stalled structural and legislative reforms, and also because of the limits of officials in enforcing laws to ensure respect for human rights,” Lotfi Azzouz told Magharebia.

Written by Yasmine Najjar and Mona Yahia | Read more at Magharebia