Tunisia Monitoring Group

The Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG) is a coalition of 21 free-expression organisations that belong to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
The IFEX-TMG monitors free expression violations in Tunisia and works to raise international awareness of censorship in the country. In the lead-up to, and during, the November 2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the IFEX-TMG called attention to Tunisia's failure to respect international human rights standards as the summit's host.
In the years running up to and during the Arab Spring, and the immediate months after, the chairman spokesman and chief fundraiser of the IFEX-TMG was Rohan Jayasekera, then Associate Editor of Index on Censorship. He was succeeded in 2012 by Virginie Jouan of the World Association of Newspapers who remained in post until IFEX wound up the group in late 2012.
April 2011 IFEX-TMG mission to Tunisia.
A mission carried out in April 2011 post-revolution took place in an entirely different context. In stark contrast to previous missions, the delegation of seven IFEX-TMG member groups was able to meet and talk openly with civil society groups, human rights activists, journalists, bloggers and representatives from across the political spectrum. The work of the IFEX-TMG in consistently raising freedom of expression issues both inside Tunisia and on the international stage during the country's darkest years was widely praised, while opinions on how the transition process is unfolding were freely given. A full report is being issued on 1 June 2011.
Previous fact-finding missions to Tunisia.
April/May 2010.
"Tunisia needs a truly independent judiciary to reverse its worsening record on human rights and treatment of prisoners of opinion." This is a key conclusion of the latest IFEX-TMG mission to Tunisia in April/May 2010.
It draws from research and interviews during the IFEX-TMG's seventh mission to Tunisia, conducted between 25 April and 6 May 2010. The IFEX-TMG found that there had been a significant deterioration of human rights in Tunisia since the last IFEX-TMG mission in 2007.
The report records a number of recurring cases of harassment, surveillance, and imprisonment of journalists and human rights activists some of whom have been detained in harsh conditions, physically harassed and dismissed from their jobs. Others have been denied their rights to communicate and move freely. The report culminates with 18 specific recommendations for change.
A pot-pourri of administrative sanctions used to limit free expression and exert indirect pressure on journalists and human rights defenders are also addressed. These include denying licences to independent and opposition media, the harassment of critical journalists and human rights defenders and the confiscation of publications.
Another chapter analyses the tactics the Tunisian authorities have employed in an effort to prevent the emergence of an independent judiciary, in spite of its national and international obligations.
January 2005.
From 14 to 19 January 2005, six members of the IFEX-TMG conducted a fact-finding mission to Tunisia, where they met with writers, publishers, editors, journalists, human rights defenders and academics, as well as government officials and government-sponsored organisations.
The resulting report, "Tunisia: Freedom of Expression Under Siege", documented extensive censorship in the country, including:
September 2005.
In September 2005, members of the IFEX-TMG returned to Tunisia to assess whether free expression conditions had improved since the first report. It found systematic censorship of newspapers and books; blocking of Internet sites; systematic surveillance of e-mails and telephones; denial of the right to legal accreditation of independent civil society associations; and threats against freedom of assembly.
April 2006.
Free expression violations in Tunisia continue to run rampant, six months after the government attracted controversy for muzzling civil society activists during the World Summit on the Information Society last November, according to a new report by the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group, which undertook a mission in April 2006.
April 2007.
Following a mission to Tunisia in February and March 2007, the IFEX-TMG launched its fourth report – Freedom of Expression in Tunisia: The Siege Holds – in Cairo, Washington, Paris and Geneva. The report, available in English, French and Arabic, states: "a lack of positive change has led us to conclude that the Tunisian government has sought to further stifle dissidents since the previous TMG report of May 2006."
Recommendations for the Tunisian government.
The IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group believes that Tunisia must abide by its international obligations as a signatory to UN human rights treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as the host of the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis in November 2005.
The following 18 recommendations are based on the statements made by the wide variety of civil society representatives which the IFEX-TMG mission members met in April/May 2010 and the IFEX-TMG's thorough assessment of the situation in Tunisia.
The IFEX-TMG strongly urges the Tunisian government to:
The IFEX-TMG recommends media practitioners, state-owned media outlets, as well as private outlets that are close to the government to: