Why did Tunisia withdraw with the confidentiality of the African Court of Human Rights? | policy

Tunisia – The political and human rights scene in Tunisia witnessed widespread dissatisfaction after leaking news stating that the regime of President Qais Saeed decided on March 3, withdrawing the recognition of the African Court of Human Rights, which constitutes a setback for human rights in Tunisia, according to observers.

The decision to withdraw from the court came without an official announcement, which was considered by followers to evade criticism and to avoid the political and legal controversy that this decision might raise, but the leakage of the news through social media platforms ignited a wave of widespread anger among jurists.

The official page of the Presidency of the Republic or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not publish the declaration of withdrawal, but many human rights organizations, especially the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights, confirmed the validity of the decision, which was characterized by a secret and surprising nature, which left responses condemning the policy of official blackout.

The Tunisian Association for the Defense of Human Rights, a recognized organization with the African Court, considered the decision to withdraw “a dangerous setback and an attempt to disavow an independent judicial body, disavow responsibility and impunity, which paves the way for more violations without any accountability.”

In light of this controversy, many human rights organizations called on the Tunisian regime to review its position and immediately from this decision, out of respect for Tunisia’s international and regional pledges in the field of freedoms and to ensure the protection of human rights gains, and the failure to prejudice Tunisia’s credibility before international organizations.

Declining

On this withdrawal, the lawyer and human rights activist Al -Ayashi Al -Hamami told Al -Jazeera Net that the decision is a “dangerous retreat from Tunisia’s international and regional obligations to protect human rights, and a continuation of the current regime in the individual government approach, strike freedoms and reject any accounting mechanism.”

Al -Hammami also indicated that the decision is in line with previous practices of the regime, such as refusing to implement the provisions of the administrative court during the recent presidential elections, and withdrawing the jurisdiction of deciding in the electoral appeals from the administrative court to the judiciary, a few days before the polling date.

President Saeed had previously been criticized after Parliament’s approval of the amendment of the election law a few days before the presidential elections on October 20, 2024, which canceled the administrative court in the election appeals for fear of returning competitors to President Saeed to the election race.

Al -Hammami believes that the authority’s refusal to implement the provisions of the African Court of Human Rights and then move to the step of withdrawing recognition of the African Court’s jurisdiction, “additional and concrete evidence that President Qais Saeed continues the policy of legal isolation to protect his system from legal accountability.”

He explains that the regime of President Saeed took this decision in response to a series of rulings issued by the African Court of Human Rights against its authoritarian policy, especially those related to the invalidity of Decree 117, which he issued with the aim of unilaterally to ruling, and considered by the African Court unconstitutional.

The African Court of Human Rights is one of the mechanisms of the regional system for the protection of rights and freedoms, as it provides the possibility of individuals and organizations to resort to their justice after exhausting the means of national fairness, and Tunisia joined the court in 2007, and has previously ratified the African Charter since 1983.

After President Saeed announced the exceptional measures on July 25, 2021, according to which Parliament and the Supreme Judicial Council were canceled, the constitution was canceled and the year 117 enacted the assembly of power in his hands, the African Court received complaints from opponents to address what they consider tyranny.

However, the regime of President Saeed did not respond to the provisions of the African Court that it issued against its decrees and policies, to reach the peak between the regime and the court to announce the withdrawal from the court, and Al -Hammami says, “President Saeed raises the slogan of the application of the law, but it is actually rogue on the law.”

Proactive

In turn, the leader of the Ennahda movement, Riyad Al -Shuaibi, told Al -Jazeera Net, commenting on the decision to withdraw, that it is “another indication of the great decline in the field of human rights in Tunisia,” considering that international obligations enhance confidence in the state’s policies, while the withdrawal reflects the serious conditions.

Al -Shuaibi believes that the current system made this step in response to the rulings issued against him by the African Court, especially with regard to the unconstitutionality of Decree 117 issued by President Saeed to tighten his grip on power and other unconstitutional decrees that he issued.

It also confirms that the authority attempted to anticipate any new decisions that might be issued by the African Court regarding appeals in the recent presidential elections, especially with regard to amending the electoral law in the last moments and withdrawing the jurisdiction of deciding the appeals from the administrative court in Tunisia.

Al -Shuaibi notes that the decision to withdraw from the African Court of Human Rights comes in the context of the start of the trial of dozens of political opponents detained since February 2023 on weak charges such as conspiracy against state security, as well as the escalation of the campaign to abuse the detainees, he said.

He considered that “the decision to withdraw from the African Court comes at a time when Tunisia suffers from international isolation due to the policy pursued by the current president, in addition to the crisis of obtaining external financing, which reflects the weak confidence in the Tunisian state before the international and regional bodies.”

On the other hand, Al -Shuaibi stressed that the withdrawal from the membership of the African Court does not mean that Tunisia’s complete disappearance from its legal obligations towards it, noting that the basic law of the court states that “any country that decides to withdraw remains subject to the court’s authority for a year after its official withdrawal.”

He stated that “this fact puts the Tunisian authority before its legal responsibilities before the court even after the decision to withdraw, which may limit the state’s ability to evade the consequences of existing international obligations.”