Politics

Tunisia: New parliament must prioritize human rights, says Amnesty International

Tunisia’s newly elected parliament need to commit to defending human rights, stated Amnesty International, as the country declared the preliminary results of its parliamentary elections.
In an open letter to incoming members of parliament, the organization proclaimed a human rights agenda highlighting 10 pressing issues for Parliament to prioritize over the coming six months. These include electing all the required members of the constitutional court, decriminalizing freedom of expression, protecting freedom of association in the law, implementing the recommendations of the transitional justice report, as well as guaranteeing gender equality and decriminalizing same-sex relations.
“Tunisia’s new lawmakers have a crucial role to play in ending delays over stalled human rights reforms and putting in place the necessary changes needed to safeguard Tunisia’s political transition and guarantee the utmost protection for the human rights enshrined in Tunisia’s constitution,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“Nine years after the uprising, Tunisians deserve a country where their rights are protected and upheld, grave human rights violations of the past do not reoccur and perpetrators are brought to justice. Amnesty International’s 10-point human rights agenda provides the legislature with a concrete action plan for its first few months to bring Tunisian laws in line with its constitution and international human rights law.

In its 10-point human rights agenda Amnesty International is calling on the Tunisian authorities to:

commit to electing the missing members of the constitutional court
Implement the recommendations of the Truth and Dignity Commission
repeal legal provisions criminalizing freedom of expression
protect the space for independent civil society
strengthen parliamentary oversight to ensure perpetrators of human rights violations are brought to justice
guarantee gender equality
decriminalize same-sex relations
ensure emergency measures do not violate human rights
Finalize establishing the Commission for Sustainable Development and the Rights of Future Generations
abolish the death penalty