
Yann
Faivre
Executive Director West & North Africa and Latin America
Although Tunisia is often presented as an Arab Spring success story in terms of democratic change, many of the political, social and economic grievances that existed before the ‘Jasmine Revolution’ of 2011 persist.
Source: | UNHCR
Protection issues among migrants include access to shelter, legal documentation, livelihood opportunities, education and exclusion from their surrounding environment. Abusive smuggling practices and trafficking are key concerns, especially in the Libyan/Tunisian borderlands. Without adequate protection, migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers in Tunisia are extremely vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and negative coping mechanisms.
DRC has been working in Tunisia since 2011 as part of a coordinated Libya-Tunisia program responding to regional instability following the Arab Spring revolutions. DRC has been one of the main implementing agencies providing services in Shousha refugee camp, as well as to refugees living in urban centres in southern Tunisia.
Since 2014, DRC has been implementing a series of armed violence reduction projects aimed at enhancing community security and resilience in key border towns in Tunisia.
Since 2021, DRC has diversified its programming to focus on Economic Recovery support for Tunisian Youth including through a multi-year, Danish MFA funded, Danish Arab Partnership Program. As well as young Tunisians, DRC aims to support migrants and returnees in the country in 2023.
Yann
Faivre
Executive Director West & North Africa and Latin America
Andrew
Aby Merat
Country Director