Tunisia: new Commissioners must urgently be elected to the Truth and Dignity Commission

Tunis, 21 November 2016 – Civil-society organisations in Tunisia, including ASF, are calling on members of parliament to elect new commissioners to the Truth and Dignity Commission (Instance Vérité et Dignité, IVD) without delay. The resignation of many members of the IVD is threatening to incapacitate it. This appeal is made following recommendations from the National Congress for Transitional Justice, which brought together 200 participants at the start of November. The Tunisian law of 24 December 2013 on the establishment of transitional justice provided for the creation of the Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD) as the main body responsible for steering the transitional justice process. In principle, this commission is made up of 15 members, two thirds of whom must be present at meetings and for decisions taken. However, the IVD has only had nine members since October 2016. This is a major obstacle to the work being carried out by the IVD, which, nevertheless, must come to an end within a year and a half. Civil-society organisations therefore are calling on Tunisian members of parliament to acknowledge their responsibility and appoint new commissioners without delay (see the full text of the appeal in French or in Arabic). This appeal was made following the National Congress for Transitional Justice, which was held in Tunis on 2 and 3 November. Civil-society representatives, victims, IVD members and various ministries and public bodies participated in this Congress, which concluded with a series of recommendations (PDF in French) being adopted in order to reinforce the process of transitional justice in Tunisia.

Picture: the press conference following the National Congress for Transitional Justice held in Tunis on 2 and 3 November 2016 © ASF