June 15, 2021
Tunisia is one of the first countries that abolished slavery on January 23, 1846 and signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1969. However, it still records incidents of racial discrimination against black and sub-Saharan Africans by locals, which prompted human rights associations and activist called on the Tunisian parliament to expedite the ratification of a law criminalizing racial discrimination.
In the Al-Ons neighborhood in the city of Sfax, clashes between Tunisians and Africans from southern Sahara took place on Monday, June 14. Consequently, human rights voices have confirmed that some black-skinned people continue to be subjected to compulsion or racism because of the color of their skin, and pointed out that Tunisians treat them with some contempt and arrogance.
In 2018, Tunisia was the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to enact a law that punishes racial discrimination and allows victims of racism to seek redress for verbal abuse or physical racist acts against them.
Racial Discrimination
Saadia Mosbah, president of the Manamati Association, an activist in the fight against racism, told JDD Tunisia that the enactment of a law criminalizing racism is evidence that discrimination based on color or race is still practiced in our daily lives.
Saadia Mosbah added that the law criminalizing racism suffers from many shortcomings, most notably the lack of protection for whistleblowers and anyone who files a complaint about being subjected to racist harassment, and the requirement to have witnesses to any abuse suffered by the complainant, in addition to the absence of a clear definition of victims of discrimination.
Systematic Racism
Saadia Mosbah also pointed out that racial discrimination reached social networking sites through Facebook pages and groups calling for the expulsion of Tunisians of black skin and Africans from sub-Saharan countries from Tunisia, stressing that these groups say that “North Africa is for people with white skin and we will not allow blacks to own it,” though it is worth noting, according to Mosbah, that these “systematic campaigns” are led by unknown parties calling for a distinction between the people of the same country. Unfortunately, a large number of citizens are involved in these conspiracies and embrace racist ideas!
