HIBAPRESS – Shafiq Anouri
The Moroccan Organization for Human Rights expressed today, Monday, its "absolute and unconditional" solidarity with the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, following the decision to freeze the association's activities for a month, for reasons it considered "baseless and fabricated, not based on any serious legal justifications that justify taking this arbitrary administrative decision."
The Moroccan Organization for Human Rights said in a solidarity statement, a copy of which was received by HIBAPRESS, that this decision reflects "the deterioration of the human rights situation in Tunisia in general, and the increasing restrictions on serious human rights associations, foremost among them the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women." The Moroccan organization affirmed its "full solidarity with it in the face of these harassments that aim to undermine its leading role in defending women's rights and promoting the values of democracy and equality," noting that "any targeting of it or any attempt to restrict its human rights activities is a targeting of all human rights movements in general and women's movements in particular, not only in Tunisia, but throughout the entire Maghreb region, and thus poses a serious threat to the democratic gains that have been achieved thanks to the struggles of Tunisian civil society over the decades." The Moroccan Organization for Human Rights considered that the decision issued by the Tunisian authorities "clearly contradicts the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, especially Article 22, which stipulates that "everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others," and no restrictions may be imposed on this right unless they are provided for by law and constitute a necessity in a democratic society." It also affirmed that the decision "contradicts the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which emphasizes the need to enable women to participate in public and civil life without obstacles or discrimination," and "explicitly affects what Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stipulates." It pointed out that "the restrictions on civil human rights associations such as the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, which expresses critical positions defending rights, is a direct violation of human rights," announcing its full and unconditional support and solidarity with "the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women against all forms of restrictions to which it is exposed." The Moroccan Organization for Human Rights demanded that the Tunisian authorities immediately reverse all illegal decisions that aim to restrict human rights and civil work in Tunisia, calling on them "to respect freedom of organization and expression, and to ensure a safe environment for the work of independent human rights associations, foremost among them the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, and to respect freedom of expression and organization and ensure the exercise of these rights without restrictions." The organization stressed that "Maghreb solidarity between human rights organizations has become an urgent necessity to confront the human rights setbacks witnessed by some countries in the Maghreb region," calling on the Maghreb human rights movement to "activate the mechanisms of Maghreb solidarity in a way that ensures the fortification of human rights gains and the addressing of any potential setbacks."
