Tunisia

Key Results

As a result of UNDP’s advocacy and support, the Tunisian Government committed to the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights and pledged to develop a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights to promote responsible business and decent work in Tunisia. Having received training from UNDP’s Business and Human Rights (B+HR) Academy on human rights, UNGPs and human rights due diligence, several state-owned and private enterprises started to develop action plans to fulfill their responsibility to respect human rights.

UNDP contributed to improving access to justice and security services for all through strengthening the capacity of legal aid and justice actors to deliver higher-quality legal aid services to marginalized populations, including formal institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), law practitioners and social workers;   people-centred and gender-responsive approaches to crime prevention led by community police working closely with CSOs, women and youth through local security committees (LSCs) enhanced trust between people and security institutions (ISF) in 19 localities across the country.

In 2023, UNDP in Tunisia promoted the rule of law in the country as a prerequisite for inclusive and sustainable development, with a focus on women victims of violence and other marginalized groups. 

To improve access to justice for all, UNDP supported legal aid services and strengthened the capacity of legal aid actors, including formal institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), law practitioners and social workers. Further, UNDP promoted the use of digital solutions in the justice and security sectors and conducted evaluations of justice services to advise on the application of the people-centred approach. 

UNDP made justice services more accessible by refurbishing and remodeling public areas in the district court of Ben Guerdan, in the Medenine district court, as well as in the courtrooms of the Medenine court of first instance and the Medenine court of appeal. Also, UNDP improved living conditions for the men section inmates of the Harboub civil prison in Medenine.

UNDP’s security interventions utilized community-based and gender-responsive approaches to crime prevention through the establishment of community policing model and the engagement of CSOs, women and youth. Local security committees (LSCs) enhanced confidence building between communities and local authorities in all 19 localities where they were established.

Building on the above experiences, UNDP also designed and launched a new portfolio in October 2023, focusing on increasing the relevance and impact of UNDP’s investments in governance to accelerate socio-economic development underpinned by a dedicated focus on learning for adaptation and impact.  Recognizing that concerted action across a range of sectors is essential to deliver tangible results, UNDP brought together a coalition of partners – including the Presidency of the Government; Ministries of the Interior, Justice, Economy and Planning; civil society and the private sector – to support an integrated area-based approach which will focus on strengthening justice, security and human rights, increasing transparency and integrity in the delivery of basic services and economic opportunities, as well as local development in two regions. Since the start of implementation, UNDP in Tunisia has mobilized over $23 million USD in support from eight financial partners. 

In addition, UNDP started a joint initiative with the World Bank to integrate legal aid mechanisms into the social protection system.

BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

In Tunisia, with the support of the Government of Japan, UNDP facilitated the awareness-raising campaign and a national dialogue on business and human rights (B+HR). Following a series of multi-stakeholder consultations with various ministries, human rights actors, CSOs, academia, businesses, unions and media, to discuss and assess B+HR challenges and opportunities, the Tunisian Government officially stated its commitment to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and pledged to develop a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP) to promote responsible business and decent work in Tunisia. 1 A national steering committee was established in November 2023, 2 composed of ministerial representatives, unions and CSOs to lead the NAP development process, including conducting a National Baseline Assessment on B+HR.

Meanwhile, UNDP supported the capacity building of state-owned and private enterprises on human rights, UNGPs and human rights due diligence. More than 150 representatives of 20 companies attended ten trainings delivered by the B+HR Academy, UNDP’s business and human rights training for stakeholders. After the training sessions, the companies had the opportunity to receive individual guidance on conducting human rights due diligence and further strengthen their efforts to respect human rights. As a result, many companies started to develop action plans to fulfill their responsibility to respect human rights.

Lessons learned and good practices

The year-long process of development of the new integrated governance for socioeconomic development portfolio spotlighted the crucial link between the strong rule of law and economic development. One of the key lessons learned from the process was the importance of dedicated global technical support – received from the Global Policy Network (Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, Crisis Bureau, Regional Bureaux, and Strategic Innovation Unit) -- as well as flexible funding from the Thematic Funding Windows in supporting the Country Office to design a new value proposition which tackle issues that straddle multiple mandates and organizations. 

The B+HR initiative in Tunisia has effectively elevated BHR from an issue receiving primarily “bottom-up” support to one receiving political support at a national level, with B+HR now inscribed as a formal priority of the Government.

Looking forward

UNDP’s rule of law programming will further support and promote efficient, gender-sensitive and people-centred justice and security services. A deeper analysis of the financial justice system paved the way toward a dedicated project to support the Court of Accounts that will be funded by the European Union Delegation in 2024.

With Government’s growing interest in business and human rights, UNDP in Tunisia is mobilizing resources for the continuation of its support to B+HR. The purpose is to train more businesses on human rights due diligence, promote responsible business practices, support policy development and the efforts of the Government to strengthen human rights protection.