Tunisia has reiterated its categorical rejection of the fallacies and rumours that have taken the form of tendentious campaigns by parties seeking to inflame the situation, conceal the efforts made by the Tunisian state to ensure the protection and care of irregular migrants, and attempt to damage its image and interests.
This was stated in a press release issued on Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad in response to reports and statements by international organisations and a number of media outlets on the Tunisian authorities' handling of the unprecedented increase in flows and the situation of irregular migrants.
The Ministry stressed Tunisia's commitment to continue to take all necessary measures to protect its land and sea borders and to prevent any attempt to cross them illegally.
It reiterated that Tunisia will not be a country of transit or settlement for irregular migrants, while abiding by all international and regional conventions, instruments and charters governing migration, as well as the rules of international humanitarian law.
In its statement, the Foreign Ministry underlined the willingness of the Tunisian authorities to treat migrants well and to address any individual abuses that may occur.
It said that the Tunisian state, with the help of the Tunisian Red Crescent Society, had spared no effort to ensure that these migrants had all their basic needs met, that they received the necessary medical care and that they were able to communicate with their families in their countries of origin.
It recalled Tunisia's call to the relevant UN agencies to assume their role with full responsibility in providing assistance and meeting basic needs in the face of this unprecedented influx of migrants, and not merely to issue statements expressing "their willingness to assist the Tunisian authorities in finding humanitarian solutions to the suffering of irregular migrants".
It stressed that Tunisia reiterated its call for the issue of irregular migration and the challenges it poses to be addressed as a cross-border phenomenon in a collective and comprehensive approach. It also reiterated its call for the avoidance of inaccuracies and rumour-mongering and the exploitation of the situation of these displaced persons, victims of organised criminal networks and trafficking in human beings, for known purposes, and for the mobilisation of international efforts to combat these criminal organisations.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse