Rights group: Tunisia of neglecting missing persons file

The Tunisian Forum on Economic and Social Rights said yesterday that the Tunisian government has neglected the file of more than 500 illegal Tunisian migrants who are missing in Italy.

“The current government is betting on the time factor to obscure the file of illegal Tunisian migrants, who went missing in Italy between 2010 and 2012,” the forum’s President, Abderrahmane Hedhili, told a press conference on Tuesday.

He added that successive governments have not considered this issue or raised it during negotiations on migration with the European Union.

Read: Tunisia and Italy increase cooperation on migration

Hedhili said the Tunisians follow-up committee which collects information and coordinates with the Italian authorities on the missing persons has delayed the completion of investigations into their fate.

President of El-Maseer Association for Mediterranean Youth and the mother of a missing person, Munira Ben Chafra, said she has travelled more than once to Italy and met with the Italian president and Parliament Speaker, both were cooperative.

I have confirmation that a number of missing young people are alive, but the Tunisian authorities have not taken serious action to determine their fate

she told the Anadolu Agency.

According to official Tunisian data issued in January, the fate of up to 509 Tunisians is unknown after they illegally crossed the maritime border.