A migrant rights group said at least 13 Tunisians are missing after a boat carrying migrants bound for Italy sank off the Tunisian coast.
Mostafa Abdelkebir, head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, said on January 4 that two people were rescued from the boat, which departed early on January 2. One survivor told local rescue crews they had been adrift at sea for hours after the vessel capsized. The second survivor is in critical condition.
Tunisia has long been a major departure point for migrants seeking to reach Europe, but the number of people attempting the crossing has dropped sharply over the past two years due to a crackdown and tighter maritime controls supported by the European Union (EU). The North African country has also served as a key gateway for people from across Africa trying to reach Europe, many aboard overcrowded or unseaworthy boats.
In July 2023, 46 human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued a joint statement criticizing an EU-Tunisia deal aimed at curbing migration. They said the agreement provided Tunisia with funding to enforce border controls for the EU, leading to “reckless and violent interceptions at sea” of refugees, “collective and summary deportations,” and “complicity in and normalization of serious human rights violations.” They called on the EU to suspend funding for migration and border control operations involving Tunisian security forces.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 35,000 people have gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014. The Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights has previously estimated that around 10,000 Tunisians have disappeared at sea while trying to reach Europe since 2011.
