Tunisia: FTDES calls for a decent burial of illegal migrants

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights-FTDES launched a call for the decent burial of the bodies of illegal migrants who perished at sea and the launch of a proactive mechanism for help and rescue at sea in order to preserve lives, which comprises all structures and stakeholders along Tunisian territorial waters.

In a statement published on its page, the FTDES emphasised that it regularly follows the drownings on the Tunisian coast and the resulting humanitarian catastrophes. It also indicated the accumulation of migrant bodies in hospitals in Sfax, and the hesitation to speed up the burial under the pretext of unavailability of vacant places and or increased burial costs. In this context, it called on the authorities to take legal and medical measures that would permit the families to identify their identity later, urging the municipalities of the governorate of Sfax to voice their solidarity and ensure that the bodies are buried in appropriate places preserving human dignity.

Since the beginning of this year, the forum has recognised 276 victims and missing on Tunisian beaches (compared to 24 victims and missing at the same time last year). Believing that European immigration policies of closed and militarized borders, and Tunisia’s involvement in them, may have curbed the flow of migrants, but they have heightened the danger and death on the Tunisian coasts.