April 23rd, 2019 – Tunis
UN Representative threatens Refugees
After a long suffering from several diseases caused by the horrible accidents faced during his journey to escape from Libya, an Eritrean refugee passed away last Sunday, April 21st, 2019 in the hospital of Zarzis. The refugee needed a constant medical care which was neither available in the accommodation center of the UNHCR in Zarzis nor in the public hospital.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights has repeatedly warned about the difficult situation and the inhuman conditions in which the refugees and migrants are living in the region of Medenine.
The FTDES has collected testimonies and received some video clips that documented the arrogant and cruel response of the UNHCR representative “Vincent Cochetel” to the migrants who protested against the deteriorated situation of the accommodation center and their long wait to be resettled in other countries. The representative has even told the migrants literally that “he doesn’t care if they go back to Libya”.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights:
- Calls for establishing the circumstances of the refugee’s death and for informing the public opinion about the medical care he received in details since its arrival to Tunis
- Renews his claim for allocating a parcel of public or municipal land for the construction of a decent graveyard for the migrants and refugees
- Condemns the behavior of Mr. Vincent Cochetel toward the migrants and refugees and considers them inacceptable especially coming from a UNHCR representative whose mission is to protect refugees (not to send them back to a war zone).
- Holds the involved UN organizations and the Tunisian Government responsible for the catastrophic situation in Medenine and calls them to invest their logistical, material, legal and diplomatic powers to support the rights of migrants and refugees on the Tunisian soil
- Calls the Tunisian Government to put end to the European interventions and to determine its policies concerning migration and asylum according to the ratified international conventions in order to maintain the dignity of migrants and refugees on the Tunisian soil
Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights
Abderrahmane Hedhili
