Africans Rising for Unity, Justice, Peace, and Dignity strongly condemns the president of Tunisia’s racist comments towards fellow Africans and his administration’s apparent crackdown on Sub-Saharan migrants under the pretext of curbing illegal immigration.
On 21 February, President Kais Saied made baseless allegations about a plot to settle fellowAfricans in Tunisia and change the country’s demographic composition. His racist rhetoric shocked Africa and the world, and has been condemned by the African Union.
The president’s comments came as he was announcing an order to stop all illegal migration and expel undocumented migrants, which has caused panic among black Tunisians as well as the estimated 20,000 fellow Africans from South of the Sahara in the country. In the wake of his comments, media outlets have reported an increase of harassment against African migrants across the country. On college campuses, students have been targeted and student associations are urging black students to stay at home for fear that they may be assaulted by people inflamed by the anti-migrant rhetoric. On 25 February, four migrants were attacked and harassed with a knife, and there was also a report of a Gabonese man who was harassed when leaving his home.
Africans Rising for Unity, Justice, Peace and Dignity calls on:
- Tunisian government authorities to stop the crackdown on African migrants and follow national and international human rights law in an exercise to control illegal immigration.
- Security organs to ensure Sub-Saharan African migrants, whether legal or illegal, are protected; and to take appropriate action against anyone involved in the harassment of fellow Africans and black Tunisians.
- Human rights organizations in Tunisia and across Africa to join their voices and condemn these attacks on black people in Tunisia.
