The issue of migrant returns has long been present in Tunisia. In 1985, Libya expelled over 50,000 Tunisian migrant workers due to a political crisis between the two countries. However, it was in the 1990s that irregular migration gained a significant place in Tunisian-European relations and agendas. This was largely forced by the introduction of the Schengen system, including the visas System, as well as the intensification of irregular Mediterranean crossings towards Italy.
Since 1998, Tunisia has signed a readmission agreement with Italy to facilitate the return of its Nationals residing irregularly in this country. Many other agreements with other European countries followed. In the same year, Morocco signed similar agreements with both Italy and Spain. From that, the return and deportation of non-European nationals by EU member states have become a central and important part of the Euro-Mediterranean migration relationships.
The EU and its membersStates havegradually tightened their migration policies regarding Nationals from Third Countries, following the adoption of the Return Directive in 2008. The Arab uprisings, especially the Tunisian revolution and the war against Libya in 2011 and the years after, resulted to a remarkablerise in irregular migrant arrivals from Tunisia and Libya, with over 60,000 migrants reaching the Southern coasts of Italy within just a few months.
In the same time, Tunisia has welcomed 313,000 people who fled the war in Libya. Thanks to the support of international organizations, it has ensured a gigantic and unprecedented operation of truly voluntary repatriation, by air and sea, of 179,284 migrants to their countries of origin, in Africa (140,062) and Asia (39,222).
Because of these upheavals, the EU reevaluates its relations with Tunisia and Libya, leading to propose a new type of agreement with third countries, the "Mobility Partnership". Both parties signed just the political Statement of this agreement in March 2014. However, this agreement was never completely and effectively adopted due to important disagreements and conflicts between Tunisia and the EU. The UE conditions “facilitating visas deliverance” against accepting (by Tunisia) a larger number of Nationals readmission, andNationals from Third Countries who had irregularly entered the EU via Tunisia.
The evolution that has taken place at the level of the legal context hasn’t been up to the challenges. The situation of asylum seekers and refugees is characterized by precariousness in addition to an incomplete legal framework and the lack of an asylum law. The legal texts applicable to migrants are, for their part, very old and incomplete.
The increase in irregular departures from Tunisia, including Tunisian citizens and foreign Nationals, has intensified since 2017 and after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. The numerical growth of these flows has strained relations betweenTunisia and the EU. This explains the growth in the number of forced returns of Tunisian migrants expelled from the Schengen area and readmitted by the Tunisian authorities: 1,345 in 2021, 2,225 in 2022 and 2,515 in 2023.
At the same time, the number of arrivals from Tunisia to Italy has continued to increase, from 14,685 in 2020 to 20,218 in 2021, 32,371 in 2022, and reaching 97,000 in 2023. The majority of these irregular migrants are foreigners who crossed irregularly the Tunisian land borders with Libya and Algeria. Many others entered regularly through Tunis airport but remained in Tunisia beyond the three-month tourist stay period. Finally, the interceptions of irregular migrants at sea and their disembarkation in Tunisian ports have largely contributed to increasing the number of these migrants, which is the source of growing tensions around the presence and visibility of these sub-Saharan migrants. The Tunisian state is struggling to ensure balanced management of these irregular flows.
The signing of the MoU by Tunisia and the EU in July 2023 was precipitated by this migration crisis. Sub-Saharan migrants in particular have faced waves of violence and deportations at the desert borders with Algeria and Libya. A new return policy has emerged in 2023-2024. Thanks to funding from Italy and the European Union, South-South returns, presented as voluntary returns of sub-Saharan migrants to their countries of origin, and operated by the IOM office in Tunisia, have already exceeded 7,000 people during the period from March 2023 to August 2024. These returns did not exceed a few hundred/year before 2023.
Authors: Hassen Boubakri, Hanen Ben Othmen, Malak Jedidi
