20 human rights organizations criticize the policies of the UNHCR in Tunisia

More than 20 human rights organizations in Tunisia have criticized the policies of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Tunisia, and said they are implementing the EU's agenda of exporting borders rather than protecting refugee rights.

The organizations' criticisms come at a time when dozens of refugees - including children and women - are carrying out a sit-in in front of the UNHCR office in the capital, protesting the organization's failure to respond to their demands and leaving them facing the unknown after long periods of waiting for their status to be settled and resettled in a third country.

The refugees - who come from sub-Saharan Africa - traveled hundreds of kilometers from southern Tunisia, where shelters funded by the UNHCR used to house them before many of them were closed.

The protesters have been sleeping on the sidewalk adjacent to the UNHCR headquarters since last Monday, and they have been forced to sleep in the open.

Before that, they held a sit-in for about two months in front of the UNHCR office in Zarzis (southern of the country).

In their joint statement, the organizations said that the UNHCR provided alternatives that do not meet the minimum standards of living for asylum seekers, in addition to the lack of appropriate assistance, the slow study of files, and the shortcomings in accessing basic services;

Such as health care, education, livelihood, legal, financial, and psychosocial support.

The statement stated that "the policy of closing the doors in the face of the plight of men, children and women who seek asylum and leaving them to live in the open for long periods does not achieve raising awareness of the suffering of refugees, defending their rights, and coordinating efforts to support them."

The statement continued that the only response of the organization was a provocation to the demands of the refugees, as it said, "We are not a travel agency" in response to their protest.

Thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa flock to Tunisia to cross clandestine migrations by sea towards the European Union, and many of them end up in shelters or drowned.

The organizations said that "the Commission is more diligent in protecting EU policies rather than protecting the rights of refugees."