Suleiman Bouhas case: Tunisia fails to respect its international obligations to protect refugees
After the undersigned organisations learned of the disappearance of Algerian political activist Suleiman Bouhafs (54) in Tunisia under mysterious circumstances. Eyewitnesses reported that cars with unknown license plates arrived on 25 August at the house where the Algerian activist lives and took him to an unknown destination. On Sunday, Algerian media sites announced that Suleiman Buhafs was handed over by the Tunisian authorities to their Algerian counterpart, where he will be presented before the Algerian justice.
Suleiman Buhafs came to Tunisia, where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees granted him refugee status under number 255-15C0059, September 2020. The international protection that Suleiman Buhafs obtained obliges the Tunisian authorities, signatories of the 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol and the 1984 Convention against Torture, not to return him under duress.
The signatory organisations :
Expresses its indignation at the dangerous precedent set by the Tunisian State of handing over a refugee benefiting from international protection to the authorities of his country, who are prosecuting him on the basis of his political stance.
It calls on the Tunisian State to respect its international commitments in this delicate circumstance and to ensure the protection of human rights and the rights of refugees.
It considers that the establishment of friendly relations with a friendly country should not be at the expense of respect for international obligations and human rights.
Signatory organisationsSuleiman Bouhas case: Tunisia fails to respect its international obligations to protect refugees
After the undersigned organisations learned of the disappearance of Algerian political activist Suleiman Bouhafs (54) in Tunisia under mysterious circumstances. Eyewitnesses reported that cars with unknown license plates arrived on 25 August at the house where the Algerian activist lives and took him to an unknown destination. On Sunday, Algerian media sites announced that Suleiman Buhafs was handed over by the Tunisian authorities to their Algerian counterpart, where he will be presented before the Algerian justice.
Suleiman Buhafs came to Tunisia, where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees granted him refugee status under number 255-15C0059, September 2020. The international protection that Suleiman Buhafs obtained obliges the Tunisian authorities, signatories of the 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol and the 1984 Convention against Torture, not to return him under duress.
The signatory organisations :
Expresses its indignation at the dangerous precedent set by the Tunisian State of handing over a refugee benefiting from international protection to the authorities of his country, who are prosecuting him on the basis of his political stance.
It calls on the Tunisian State to respect its international commitments in this delicate circumstance and to ensure the protection of human rights and the rights of refugees.
It considers that the establishment of friendly relations with a friendly country should not be at the expense of respect for international obligations and human rights.
Signatory organisationsSuleiman Bouhas case: Tunisia fails to respect its international obligations to protect refugees
After the undersigned organisations learned of the disappearance of Algerian political activist Suleiman Bouhafs (54) in Tunisia under mysterious circumstances. Eyewitnesses reported that cars with unknown license plates arrived on 25 August at the house where the Algerian activist lives and took him to an unknown destination. On Sunday, Algerian media sites announced that Suleiman Buhafs was handed over by the Tunisian authorities to their Algerian counterpart, where he will be presented before the Algerian justice.
Suleiman Buhafs came to Tunisia, where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees granted him refugee status under number 255-15C0059, September 2020. The international protection that Suleiman Buhafs obtained obliges the Tunisian authorities, signatories of the 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol and the 1984 Convention against Torture, not to return him under duress.
The signatory organisations :
Expresses its indignation at the dangerous precedent set by the Tunisian State of handing over a refugee benefiting from international protection to the authorities of his country, who are prosecuting him on the basis of his political stance.
It calls on the Tunisian State to respect its international commitments in this delicate circumstance and to ensure the protection of human rights and the rights of refugees.
It considers that the establishment of friendly relations with a friendly country should not be at the expense of respect for international obligations and human rights.
Signatory organisations
