Tunisia guide
|
| © New Internationalist |
Home to a civilisation extending back over 3000 years, Tunisia reflects a cultural collage of French-Arab influences and an increasing Western orientation. Having been independent for over 50 years the country has experienced stable economic development and has attained middle income status. Tunisia often presents an outward impression of progress and civil liberty, yet underneath this veil the situation is much more complex. Real concerns remain over human rights abuses and lack of freedom of expression.
updated March 2009
Poverty in Tunisia
In becoming one of the most developed countries in Africa, Tunisia has made significant progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Assessed by the benchmark adopted for the MDGs, there is virtually no extreme poverty. The rate of basic needs poverty (assessed by the value of basic food and essential goods) had fallen to 3.9% by 2005, already close to the target of halving the rate effective in 1990.
Education goals are also close to attainment with net enrolment for primary education at 97.3% in 2006 and equal access for girls and boys. This progress has enabled the government to focus more on improving the quality of education.
However, these achievements have been uneven. As Tunisia's economy has diversified from traditional agriculture, the capital city, Tunis, has become the hub for trade, private investment and state spending. The consequent division in prosperity between the rural west and urbanised east of the country is such that, at a regional level, MDG targets may not be met. Unemployment is a problem throughout the country but especially in the poorer regions.
Tunisia has made some headway in addressing this disparity but a core of marginalized and vulnerable people, in both rural and urban areas, remains at risk of being neglected. This concern is identified as a priority in the country's latest 5 year plan.
Health in Tunisia
The regional divide is also reflected in health indicators. In aggregate, the mortality rate of children under five has fallen from 37 to 24 per thousand births since 1990. However, child mortality in rural areas remains double the urban rate. Basic sanitation is available in only a minority of rural households, in comparison to almost universal coverage in the governate of Tunis.
The state has nevertheless invested considerably in health services in recent decades, so that free or subsidised facilities are widely available. Tunisia's HIV prevalence rate is one of the lowest in Africa with less than 0.1% of the population affected. Maternal mortality is however the MDG which is considered to be the most difficult to achieve. The rate has fallen from 75 per 100,000 births in 1990 only as far as 48 in 2005. The target is a reduction of 75% by 2015.
Climate Change in Tunisia
As a semi-arid country with an expanding and youthful population, the balance between Tunisia's natural resources and human demands is precarious. Overuse of groundwater is the trigger for many problems. In the North and Central regions 3 million hectares of land are being strongly eroded, and 7 million hectares in the South suffer from secondary salination, wind erosion and sand invasion. The potential impact of climate change on agriculture and water supplies may pose serious problems for this sensitive environment.
The government has made some headway in tackling these problems through soil and water conservation programmes, the development of green belts to combat desertification, and reforestation programmes. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence of active awareness of climate change in Tunisia nor of government plans for adaptation.
Politics in Tunisia
With independence from France in 1956, President Habib Bourguiba established a one party state which was strictly opposed to Islamic fundamentalism. Far reaching rights for women were granted - a move previously unseen in North Africa - and measures were made to create an outward-oriented economy.
In 1987 the present leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali succeeded Bourguiba. After more than 20 years in office, Ben Ali can lay claim to significant economic diversification and human development. Some moves have been made to create political diversity, authorising legal parties alongside the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally, including the Union Démocrates Socialistes (MDS); the Union Démocratique Unioniste (UDU); and the Parti de L'Unité Populaire (PUP).
However, election results continue to produce 98-99% majorities, implying an artificial process and resistance to current international pressure on Arab countries for more public freedom and democracy. Opposition parties boycotted the 2004 election, believing participation would create a false impression of a democratic political landscape. Ben Ali further inflamed his opponents by engineering a referendum in 2002 which raised the retirement age of the president, effectively permitting him to stand in two further elections. The next presidential election is due in October 2009.
Though Ben Ali presents an open society to foreign press and political circles, civil society in Tunisia is denied a coherent identity and struggles to play a role in the political process. European funds for the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) have repeatedly been blocked and in June 2005 the government froze the activity of the Arab Institute for Human Rights.
Human Rights in Tunisia
Tunisia therefore attracts strong censure from international human rights observers. Although the state has done much to adapt to a progressive and rapidly changing society, there is significant state suppression of political activity. Criticism focuses on the broad definition of terrorism in 2003 anti-terror laws and the questionable independence of the judiciary. This combination is alleged to condemn legitimate political activism to detention, torture and imprisonment, often under multiple sentences for a single offence, in violation of international and domestic law.
The government has ratified the Convention against Torture and introduced appropriate legislation. But it is forced to deny accusations by Amnesty International that torture remains common practice in Tunisia.
Events in the inland city of Gafsa during 2008 illustrate government attitudes to public expression of grievance. Rising food and fuel prices came as a particular blow in a region where unemployment is believed to be over 30%. The government response was to hand out 8 year prison sentences to trade union organisers of the protests.
Government resistance to the intrusion of Islamism into the affairs of the state lies behind much of this political tension. For example, the ban on women wearing headscarves in schools and government offices is enforced with varying degrees of rigour, depending on the broader profile of political opposition.
Information and Media in Tunisia
Freedom of information and media is authorised by the constitution, yet in reality political and human rights content is heavily censored. Websites have been banned including those of opposition parties. Fines and prison sentences are stipulated for critical journalists together with regular harassment by officials.
The government is likely to find its control culture impeded by the continued advance of the internet, the resolve of private radio stations, satellite technology and overseas-based broadcasters. Nevertheless, placed as low as 143 in the press freedom ranking published by Reporters Without Borders, few countries in the world have poorer reputations for freedom of expression and civil liberties.
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held in Tunis in November 2005, sparking controversy for the choice of location. In the event, this opportunity for Tunisia to improve its international reputation was spurned. Foreign reporters were discouraged from coverage of human rights violations and the authorities reportedly intimidated numerous civil society groups.
The Economy in Tunisia
In light of its record on freedom of information, there is a degree of irony in Tunisia’s moves to embrace the information technology and telecommunications sectors as drivers of its economy. Nevertheless, the traditional agricultural economic base has grown to encompass tourism, mining, manufacturing and energy.
After gaining independence, Tunisia adopted a socialist economic model for a number of decades, with high levels of state intervention. Economic collapse in the 1980s forced the government to adopt the IMF and World Bank economic liberalization programs in exchange for aid. As a consequence the country was opened to trade and foreign investment. Tunisia joined the WTO on its creation in 1995 and became the first North African country to enter a free trade agreement with the European Union.
The OneWorld Tunisia Guide was first published in July 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Catriona Wright.
In becoming one of the most developed countries in Africa, Tunisia has made significant progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Assessed by the benchmark adopted for the MDGs, there is virtually no extreme poverty. The rate of basic needs poverty (assessed by the value of basic food and essential goods) had fallen to 3.9% by 2005, already close to the target of halving the rate effective in 1990.
Education goals are also close to attainment with net enrolment for primary education at 97.3% in 2006 and equal access for girls and boys. This progress has enabled the government to focus more on improving the quality of education.
However, these achievements have been uneven. As Tunisia's economy has diversified from traditional agriculture, the capital city, Tunis, has become the hub for trade, private investment and state spending. The consequent division in prosperity between the rural west and urbanised east of the country is such that, at a regional level, MDG targets may not be met. Unemployment is a problem throughout the country but especially in the poorer regions.
Tunisia has made some headway in addressing this disparity but a core of marginalized and vulnerable people, in both rural and urban areas, remains at risk of being neglected. This concern is identified as a priority in the country's latest 5 year plan.
Health in Tunisia
The regional divide is also reflected in health indicators. In aggregate, the mortality rate of children under five has fallen from 37 to 24 per thousand births since 1990. However, child mortality in rural areas remains double the urban rate. Basic sanitation is available in only a minority of rural households, in comparison to almost universal coverage in the governate of Tunis.
The state has nevertheless invested considerably in health services in recent decades, so that free or subsidised facilities are widely available. Tunisia's HIV prevalence rate is one of the lowest in Africa with less than 0.1% of the population affected. Maternal mortality is however the MDG which is considered to be the most difficult to achieve. The rate has fallen from 75 per 100,000 births in 1990 only as far as 48 in 2005. The target is a reduction of 75% by 2015.
Climate Change in Tunisia
As a semi-arid country with an expanding and youthful population, the balance between Tunisia's natural resources and human demands is precarious. Overuse of groundwater is the trigger for many problems. In the North and Central regions 3 million hectares of land are being strongly eroded, and 7 million hectares in the South suffer from secondary salination, wind erosion and sand invasion. The potential impact of climate change on agriculture and water supplies may pose serious problems for this sensitive environment.
The government has made some headway in tackling these problems through soil and water conservation programmes, the development of green belts to combat desertification, and reforestation programmes. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence of active awareness of climate change in Tunisia nor of government plans for adaptation.
Politics in Tunisia
With independence from France in 1956, President Habib Bourguiba established a one party state which was strictly opposed to Islamic fundamentalism. Far reaching rights for women were granted - a move previously unseen in North Africa - and measures were made to create an outward-oriented economy.
In 1987 the present leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali succeeded Bourguiba. After more than 20 years in office, Ben Ali can lay claim to significant economic diversification and human development. Some moves have been made to create political diversity, authorising legal parties alongside the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally, including the Union Démocrates Socialistes (MDS); the Union Démocratique Unioniste (UDU); and the Parti de L'Unité Populaire (PUP).
However, election results continue to produce 98-99% majorities, implying an artificial process and resistance to current international pressure on Arab countries for more public freedom and democracy. Opposition parties boycotted the 2004 election, believing participation would create a false impression of a democratic political landscape. Ben Ali further inflamed his opponents by engineering a referendum in 2002 which raised the retirement age of the president, effectively permitting him to stand in two further elections. The next presidential election is due in October 2009.
Though Ben Ali presents an open society to foreign press and political circles, civil society in Tunisia is denied a coherent identity and struggles to play a role in the political process. European funds for the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) have repeatedly been blocked and in June 2005 the government froze the activity of the Arab Institute for Human Rights.
Human Rights in Tunisia
Tunisia therefore attracts strong censure from international human rights observers. Although the state has done much to adapt to a progressive and rapidly changing society, there is significant state suppression of political activity. Criticism focuses on the broad definition of terrorism in 2003 anti-terror laws and the questionable independence of the judiciary. This combination is alleged to condemn legitimate political activism to detention, torture and imprisonment, often under multiple sentences for a single offence, in violation of international and domestic law.
The government has ratified the Convention against Torture and introduced appropriate legislation. But it is forced to deny accusations by Amnesty International that torture remains common practice in Tunisia.
Events in the inland city of Gafsa during 2008 illustrate government attitudes to public expression of grievance. Rising food and fuel prices came as a particular blow in a region where unemployment is believed to be over 30%. The government response was to hand out 8 year prison sentences to trade union organisers of the protests.
Government resistance to the intrusion of Islamism into the affairs of the state lies behind much of this political tension. For example, the ban on women wearing headscarves in schools and government offices is enforced with varying degrees of rigour, depending on the broader profile of political opposition.
Information and Media in Tunisia
Freedom of information and media is authorised by the constitution, yet in reality political and human rights content is heavily censored. Websites have been banned including those of opposition parties. Fines and prison sentences are stipulated for critical journalists together with regular harassment by officials.
The government is likely to find its control culture impeded by the continued advance of the internet, the resolve of private radio stations, satellite technology and overseas-based broadcasters. Nevertheless, placed as low as 143 in the press freedom ranking published by Reporters Without Borders, few countries in the world have poorer reputations for freedom of expression and civil liberties.
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held in Tunis in November 2005, sparking controversy for the choice of location. In the event, this opportunity for Tunisia to improve its international reputation was spurned. Foreign reporters were discouraged from coverage of human rights violations and the authorities reportedly intimidated numerous civil society groups.
The Economy in Tunisia
In light of its record on freedom of information, there is a degree of irony in Tunisia’s moves to embrace the information technology and telecommunications sectors as drivers of its economy. Nevertheless, the traditional agricultural economic base has grown to encompass tourism, mining, manufacturing and energy.
After gaining independence, Tunisia adopted a socialist economic model for a number of decades, with high levels of state intervention. Economic collapse in the 1980s forced the government to adopt the IMF and World Bank economic liberalization programs in exchange for aid. As a consequence the country was opened to trade and foreign investment. Tunisia joined the WTO on its creation in 1995 and became the first North African country to enter a free trade agreement with the European Union.
The OneWorld Tunisia Guide was first published in July 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Catriona Wright.
»
Your right of reply
Does this OneWorld Guide contain any inaccuracies?
Has something important been omitted?
Your views are welcome
»
Please write to the Guides Editor Has something important been omitted?
Your views are welcome
Help us to include all developing countries
Many countries are missing from our range of Country Briefings. OneWorld wants to fill these gaps as part of our efforts to improve understanding of the issues faced by developing countries. We receive no funding for the production of our educational resources. Every small contribution helps!
Many countries are missing from our range of Country Briefings. OneWorld wants to fill these gaps as part of our efforts to improve understanding of the issues faced by developing countries. We receive no funding for the production of our educational resources. Every small contribution helps!
|
Printable version
top of the page