Tunis seems to become the city of queues. Whether at gas stations, at supermarkets, or at bakeries, long lines of increasingly frustrated citizens are a clear sign of the socioeconomic crisis enveloping Tunisia particularly when it comes to food and fuel. Police forces are escorting milk and fuel distributors, indicating fertile grounds for social unrest in this winter. Empty shelves in supermarkets are also increasingly becoming the norm in what could be qualified as one of the worst economic crisis hitting the country since its independence. The government’s hopes of getting Tunisia out of its financial troubles seems to cling on a deal with the IMF, as expressed by Prime Minister Najla Bouden.
On June 5, 2022, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations Environment Conference, which led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Program and to the designation of June 5 as World Environment Day. At the same time, in the south of Tunisia, the region of Gabès, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Tunisian Chemical Group, a public company operating phosphate mines since the 1970s, and has polluted its water and oasis ever since.
Even with an IMF deal, as well as other possible future loans, Tunisia’s economic recovery will require deep and—most importantly—inclusive reforms that would boost the economy without sacrificing vulnerable households. Rising discontent among Tunisians is also bound to complicate an already complex political and socio-economic crisis regardless of the state’s attempts to solve the crisis now.
Two weeks ago, Kais Saied issued a decree tightening his grip on the judiciary and granting himself an extended control over its institutions. On the same day, 57 judges were dismissed, accused by the president of corruption and terrorism. In response to these measures, judges started a nationwide strike and argue that these sackings were due to their refusal to follow Saied’s instructions on trying political cases against his opponents.
LGBTQI+ Tunisians have faced escalated harassment on and offline, violent reprisals, and arrests and prosecution, both in response to their peaceful advocacy as well as solely on the basis of their gender expression and sexual orientation.
This fact sheet, put together by TIMEP’s Legal Unit, tracks and unpacks some of the key laws in question, including those on civil society, freedom of information, and counter-terrorism.
After the revolution, public morality offenses have been consistently used against those who do not conform to some of Tunisia’s religious and cultural customs.
