Several shipwrecks were recorded between April 7 and 8 off Tunisia. At least 27 migrants are missing after two boat sank between Tunisia and Italy. Another 53 peoplewere rescued by the Tunisian coast guard off the city of Sfax. Another shipwreck took place off the Italian island of Lampedusa between April 8 and 9: at least 2 migrants died and more than 20 are missing, as reported by German aid group ResQship that rescued the vessel during one of the multiple operations carried out during the night. On April 11, another shipwreck killed at least 24 migrants. The Tunisian coast guard was able to rescue 76 of the migrants aboard the vessel. On April 14, the coastguard recovered 8 more bodies from a migrant boat that sank off the country.
On April 17, President of the European People’s Party Manfred Weber released an interview with an Italian newspaper. Referring to the migration situation in Tunisia, Weber proposed that the EU negotiates a migration pact with the country, offering concrete financial aid, similar to the Turkey agreement.
On April 17, dozens of Tunisian and international organizations including EuroMed Rights signed a statement calling on the European Union and its member states to cease their cooperation with Tunisian authorities on migration, saying that Tunisia cannot be considered a so-called “safe country of origin.”
On April 13, Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar flew to Rome to meet his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani. Migration was a central topic in the discussion between the two leaders. Tajani expressed Italy’s willingness to support Tunisia bilaterally and within the European Union. An official visit to Tunisia of European Commissioner of Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, together with Interior Ministers of Italy and France is planned at the end of April 2023.
On April 5, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination found that Saïed’s racist remarks about migrants were in contravention of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Responding to the UN statements, Tunisia’s foreign ministry declared that no hate speech or incitement to racism has been made by official Tunisian sources. The ministry urged the international agency to use “greater objectivity.”
According to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights’ (FTDES) latest report, almost 1800 migrants from Tunisia have reached Italy since the beginning of 2023, including 300 minors. The report also found that 132 died or went missing en route during the first three months of 2023. FTDES blamed the “repressive” European policies “aimed at strengthening controls and turning Tunisia into a buffer zone” for “the irregular migration crisis in Tunisia”.
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