Source: European Parliament
On 18 February 2025, the Commission replied to the European Ombudsman by providing further clarifications on several elements of compliance with its human rights obligations.
Concerning the possible suspension of contracts, the General Conditions for Contribution Agreements (Articles 11 and 12[1]) stipulate that the implementation may be suspended when a violation of human rights in the respective partner country has been identified per a formal EU decision. Suspension can be partial and is not the only means to address a potential breach.
This can also be done by reinforcing dialogue with the authorities and taking mitigating measures, including trainings on international law and human rights.
The Commission is working on enhancing internal procedures to ensure better mainstreaming of human rights in migration management and more effectively follow up on allegations of human rights violations.
The Commission has strong monitoring mechanisms in place. Implementing partners conduct risk and context analysis and identify preventive measures to mitigate the risk that EU assistance results in violation of human rights.
The EU Delegation also monitors the situation through regular missions, meetings and policy dialogue with relevant stakeholders, including Tunisian authorities and internal security forces.
The latter assured that appropriate procedures are in place to address any instances of mistreatment or misconduct. Moreover, dedicated monitoring mechanisms have been deployed to further ensure adherence to human rights’ standards in EU funded projects related to migration and security. All this information serves as basis for dialogue with the authorities and guide the implementation of EU actions.
The Commission is committed to the respect of human rights and attaches great importance to transparency and accountability and remains fully committed to engaging with the European Parliament on its activities in Tunisia.
- [1] https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/document/download/005e7241-6726-4c5e-b822-3b51c28a8819_en?filename=contribution-agreement-annex-ii_en.pdf