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Resolution 2166 (2017)
Political transition in Tunisia
1. Since the “Dignity Revolution”
in January 2011, Tunisia is on the road to democracy. Of the countries which
experienced the “Arab Spring”, it is the only one to have had a
positive outcome.
2. In Resolutions
1791 (2011) and 1819
(2011) and Recommendation
1972 (2011) on the situation in Tunisia, and in Resolution 1893 (2012) on
the political transition in Tunisia, the Parliamentary Assembly
gave its backing to the democratic aspirations of the Tunisian people
and offered its co-operation to place its experience of accompanying
democratic transition at the disposal of Tunisia's institutions
and civil society.
3. As part of the observation of elections, the Parliamentary
Assembly has monitored all of the national ballots held in Tunisia
since 2011, namely the election of the National Constituent Assembly
in October 2011, of the Assembly of People’s Representatives in
October 2014 and of the President of the Republic in December 2014,
and has praised their organisation and conduct.
4. The Assembly welcomes the adoption of the constitution of
27 January 2014, which reflects the expectations of most Tunisians,
dedicates an entire chapter to human rights and fundamental freedoms, establishes
a Constitutional Court for Tunisia responsible for ensuring their
respect, and puts in place a political system with institutionalised
checks and balances.
5. The Assembly pays tribute to the Tunisian people and its leaders,
who have been able to successfully complete this constitutional
process in a very difficult political and security context, and
praises the sense of responsibility and compromise on the part of
political decision makers along with the engagement of civil society,
including in particular that of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet
headed by the Tunisian General Labour Union.
6. The Assembly notes with satisfaction that the new institutional
framework is working. The unicameral Parliament, the Assembly of
People’s Representatives, has adopted rules of procedure giving
effect to the rights granted to the opposition by the constitution.
The government has effective political responsibility before the
Assembly of People’s Representatives. Lastly, the president of the
republic plays a highly active role, providing momentum within the
legislative process and acting as a guarantor of the constitution.
7. The Assembly calls on the Tunisian authorities to ensure that
the independent constitutional commissions, as well as those established
by law, are given their rightful place. All these commissions are intended
to make a significant contribution to the protection of human rights
in accordance with the “Paris Principles” approved by the United
Nations General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights, now the Human
Rights Council. The Assembly accordingly invites the competent authorities
to:
7.1. adopt swiftly the draft
organic law laying down common provisions for all constitutional commissions,
which has been pending before the Assembly of People’s Representatives
since March 2016;
7.2. allocate the constitutional commissions, and those established
by law, financial and human resources commensurate with the responsibilities
vested in them;
7.3. guarantee the independence of these commissions by providing
real assurances of their financial autonomy, as provided for under
the constitution and/or the legislation applicable to them;
7.4. refer to the European Commission for Democracy through
Law (Venice Commission) both the draft organic law common to the
constitutional commissions and the draft organic laws specific to
each of the commissions that will succeed the current provisional
bodies.
8. The Assembly took note of the simultaneous resignation of
three members of the Independent High Commission for Elections,
including its vice-president and its president. It pays tribute
to the exemplary nature of the work carried out by the commission
and calls on its members to continue organising future elections
in an impartial and transparent manner, in compliance with the constitution
and international conventions.
9. The Assembly welcomes the justice system reforms which contribute
to the establishment of the rule of law and supports the efforts
made by the Ministry of Justice to establish financial divisions
capable of effectively combating corruption. It takes note of the
removal of the impediments to the election of the Supreme Judicial Council,
which should enable the Constitutional Court to be established.
10. The Assembly is aware of the need to take the national reconciliation
process to its conclusion, including in the economic and financial
fields. However, it recalls that it is important that this reconciliation
does not take place at the expense of justice and does not give
rise to a sense of impunity. In this regard, it calls on the Assembly
of People’s Representatives to take into consideration the principles
set forth in the interim opinion of the Venice Commission on the
institutional aspects of the draft law on special procedures concerning reconciliation
in the economic and financial fields in Tunisia, in a new debate
on a revised version of this draft law.
11. The Assembly confirms its firm attachment to the freedom of
the media and welcomes the progress achieved in Tunisia in this
field. It encourages the Tunisian authorities to preserve the genuine
independence of journalists and to guarantee that all media groups
behave in an ethical manner. In addition, the state of emergency
should not be used to interfere in the work of journalists. Civil
and criminal procedures are the proper way to deal with infringements
which do not endanger national security. In this context, it calls
on the Tunisian authorities to:
11.1. fully
support the High Independent Authority for Audiovisual Communication
in fulfilling its regulatory role and to establish as soon as possible
the independent constitutional commission in charge of the audiovisual
sector;
11.2. settle as soon as possible the issue of the media outlets
confiscated and run by the public administration after the fall
of Ben Ali’s regime, including the situation of the journalists
employed by them.
12. The Assembly notes with satisfaction Tunisia’s spontaneous
request that the Council of Europe help it to set up the national
mechanism for the prevention of torture. It encourages the Tunisian
authorities to:
12.1. implement the
recommendations published by the United Nations Committee against
Torture in May 2016, according to which abuses committed by law-enforcement
officials too often go unpunished;
12.2. provide the National Commission for the Prevention of
Torture, as quickly as possible, with the financial and human resources
necessary for its operation.
13. The Assembly welcomes the reforms implemented in Tunisia to
combat discrimination. In this regard, it gives its backing to the
Tunisian authorities’ ongoing efforts to promote equality between
men and women in accordance with the constitution.
14. It considers that, while constituting positive discrimination,
the voting system adopted for municipal and regional elections,
which requires male-female alternation in lists and obliges political
parties to ensure that half of the lead candidates in lists are
women, will significantly improve the level of women’s political
representation.
15. In matters of discrimination, it encourages the Tunisian authorities
to:
15.1. intensify the efforts to
combat economic discrimination against women and to ensure that
all legislative advances in the area of equality are implemented,
irrespective of their social or geographical origin;
15.2. pursue their efforts in relation to the criminalisation
of racism and adopt the draft law to this end currently being debated
by the Assembly of People’s Representatives;
15.3. reconsider the legality of the provisions of the criminal
code that criminalise homosexuality in the light of the constitution,
which prohibits all forms of discrimination and guarantees the right
to private life.
16. The Assembly expresses its solidarity with the Tunisian people
in combating terrorism and welcomes the work done by the law-enforcement
authorities. In this context:
16.1. it
calls on the Tunisian authorities to assess the implementation of
Organic Law No. 2015-26 of 7 August 2015 on combating terrorism
and money laundering, in particular with regard to:
16.1.1. the
duration of police custody and the possibility to prevent access
to a lawyer during the first 48 hours;
16.1.2. more generally, its effects on freedoms, regard being
had to the results obtained in terms of public security;
16.2. it invites the Tunisian authorities to reaffirm their
commitment to maintaining the moratorium on the death penalty which
Tunisia has respected since 1991, and to undertake that this moratorium
will not be called into question by the application of the law of
7 August 2015 or articles of the Criminal Code which provide for
the death penalty.
17. The Assembly calls on the member and observer States of the
Council of Europe, as well as the European Union, to come to the
assistance of Tunisia to enable it to deal with the economic and
security challenges upon which the success of its democratic transition
depends. It reiterates the call it made in 2012 to the principal
international partners of Tunisia to support the relaunch of the
country's economy and tourism sector and encourages the Tunisian
authorities to use the fight against corruption as a tool for the
country’s return to growth.
18. It also invites these international partners to pursue their
co-operation in the area of security, while respecting Tunisian
sovereignty, and considers the Tunisian initiative for Libya to
be the best solution at present for enabling the Skhirat Agreement,
negotiated under the aegis of the United Nations, to be implemented.
As regards the management of Tunisian nationals returning from conflict
zones, it encourages Tunisia to establish co-operation with countries
that have attained convincing results in the field of deradicalisation.
19. Taking account of the economic and security challenges currently
facing Tunisia, the uncertain geopolitical context in which it is
operating and the importance of the economic and human ties that
bind it to Europe, the Assembly considers that Europe should do
its utmost to prevent Tunisia from becoming destabilised by its
immediate surroundings. Tunisia’s and Europe’s destinies are closely
linked. A deterioration in the situation in Tunisia would have immediate
repercussions for the European continent in terms of both migration
and security. Consequently, the Assembly:
19.1. urgently calls on the member and observer States of the
Council of Europe and the European Union to take all appropriate
measures to maintain stability and to contribute to Tunisia’s transition
to democracy;
19.2. draws the attention of the competent institutions of the
European Union, and in particular of the European Commission, to
the importance for Tunisia of securing a complete and comprehensive
free trade agreement that is fair, in particular in the area of
agriculture.
20. The Assembly welcomes the intense and fruitful co-operation
between Tunisia and the various bodies of the Council of Europe,
which is making a strong contribution to its democratic transition.
This co-operation should be developed further and extended to other
areas, including Tunisia's decentralisation process, with which
the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of
Europe has been called upon to assist.
21. The Assembly considers that this co-operation would be more
effective if it were supplemented by dialogue at parliamentary level.
It is ready to reinforce its links with the Assembly of People’s
Representatives and invites Tunisia's elected representatives to
take full advantage of the opportunity which it provides to participate
in European parliamentary dialogue.