General comments made by other relevant stakeholders

3. General comments made by other relevant stakeholders

256. The Organisation de la Mère Maghrebine (also on behalf of Femmes Africa Solidarité and Association Tunisienne des Mères) focused its statement on equality and the promotion and protection of women’s rights, referring to Millennium Development Goal 3, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In Tunisia, the achievements in the area of women’s rights have become a social reality and a constitutional value. It considered that equality is linked to women’s fight for further improving the right to employment, the status within the family and also to participating in the process of sustainable human development. Thus, equality must be accompanied by an in-depth discussion involving the entire international community with a view to defining a plan of action to eradicate all forms of discrimination as proposed by the Millennium Summit which has set 2015 as the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

257. The World Organization against Torture (also on behalf of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists) stated that Tunisia is capable of making progress, particularly legislative progress in the areas of the rights of the child and the status of women. It regretted that there are serious gaps in Tunisian law, especially in the way in which it is applied. It would have liked to see a number of recommendations be reflected in the debate of the Working Group. As to paragraph 9 of the report, Tunisia should take measures without ambiguity to put an end to the use of torture during interrogations. As to paragraphs 49 and 59, it should clarify the definition of terrorism as emerging from the law of 2003 which should not be used to limit freedom of association and expression or forms of political disagreement expressed without violence. As to paragraphs 6 and 31, it should ensure genuine independence of judges and magistrates so that they can apply the law respecting their professional ethics, and put an end to harassment of lawyers. As to paragraph 23, Tunisia should guarantee the effective opening of an investigation into all allegations of torture or inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment, putting an end to the current practice of investigative authorities not accepting the filing of a complaint or letting its processing take too long. As to paragraph 42, it should put an end to the various forms of physical, administrative, judicial or media harassment against human rights defenders. As to paragraphs 10 and 19, it should amend the law according to which a person found guilty of a sexual offence against someone under the age of 20 is exempted from any penalty if the offender marries the victim.

258. The International Publishers Association (also on behalf of the International PEN and World Association of Newspapers) noted that in April 2007, the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group issued a report which refers to serious breaches of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Tunisia, notably article 19. It believed that the only recommendation pertaining to freedom of expression in the report of the review of Tunisia, mainly to the revision of article 51 of the Press Code, is far from sufficient to address the multitude of problems existing in Tunisia in this area. It welcomed the news of the release of some of the censored books and some announced positive changes to legislation although these do not go far enough in addressing the concerns raised in the report. It urged the Tunisian authorities to encourage diversity of content and ownership of the press, to stop blocking news websites, to release all censored books and to allow new titles to be published. It also reiterated its position that the Government should allow legal non-governmental organizations to work and independent organizations to be established without requiring prior political approval.

259. The Union Nationale de la Femme Tunisienne noted that the report of Tunisia revealed a number of indicators on the presentation of women in different areas of political, economic and social activity. The achievements reflected in the report are the result of Tunisia’s adoption of a personal status code directly after independence which has enshrined the emancipation of women, in particular by abolishing polygamy, eradicating customary marriage and establishing the principle of judicial marriage. All the achievements of women in Tunisia are the result of serious and constructive debate between the Government and women’s associations. It noted that efforts and progress made do not prevent the persistence of certain lacunae which call for in depth and collective reflection. But if the rights which women in Tunisia have today constitute a rampart against obscurantism and extremism. It called for combining efforts and multiplying contacts among women of different cultures to further promote the rights of women and to block all of those who try to hinder them.

260. Espace Afrique International welcomed Tunisia’s approach to human rights in general and noted that the promotion of women in Tunisia deserves support from the international community. Tunisia has been able to transform women into a pole of creativity and vigilance for harmonious social development. It noted that since the end of the 1980s, Tunisia has concentrated its efforts on women’s arrival in the public sphere at the level of the most important decision-making forums. Besides the provisions of the personal status code of women, Tunisia has developed many initiatives for their implementation. There is a long list of protective measures contained in the Constitution. Tunisia has always granted a privileged place to the education and training of girls. Measures have been taken to promote the integration of women into various areas of public life while preparing them for decision-making.

261. The Association tunisienne des droits de l’enfant welcomed the withdrawal of Tunisia’s reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in follow-up to recommendations made by the Committee, and reiterated its request to reconsider withdrawing the reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It noted that while legislation is in conformity with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, various challenges remained, such as the need to consolidate the mechanisms for the protection of the rights of children, in particular by setting up a database on the situations and violations of children’s rights which would be accessible to all, including civil society.

262. The Fondation Atlas pour l’auto-developpement et la solidarité noted that the report on Tunisia refers to efforts to combat poverty and welcomed efforts which have made it possible to reconcile economic and social affairs, encouraged by active solidarity. With regard to the rise of energy and basic food prices and the negative effects of globalization it asked about the implementation of the world solidarity fund established to combat poverty.

263. The Association tunisienne de la communication welcomed the fact that the rights of persons with disabilities are now protected through the 2005 legislation, which is in harmony with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ratified by Tunisia. It was convinced that other measures must be taken in order to reach full participation of disabled persons, in particular in the field of digital accessibility, which is still very expensive in Tunisia. It urged the Government, the private sector and civil society to make more efforts with a view to developing and implementing a needed mechanism to allow for access to information technology and information, in accordance with article 21 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

264. Action internationale pour la paix et le developpement dans la region des Grands Lacs welcomed the holistic approach to human rights promoted in Tunisia based on values set forth in the Vienna Programme of Action and relevant instruments of the African Union. It highlighted Tunisia’s efforts, especially the ratification of international instruments, the agreement to authorize Human Rights Watch to visit prisons, the creation of a body with a general coordinator on human rights responsible for follow-up to treaty body recommendations, the adoption of a draft law which strengthens judicial guarantees during preventive detention, the withdrawal of reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, ratification of the charter on the creation of an African court on human rights and peoples and the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which is important to promote the rights of the poor.