EU’s Ashton On Tunisia Ratifying Key International Human Rights Instruments

By Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission

Following the ratification of the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court on 24 June 2011, I warmly welcome the ratification by Tunisia on 29 June 2011 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the ratification of the International Convention for the protection of all persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Ratification of the first Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The three international instruments , to which Tunisia has now acceded , are crucial to prevent torture and degrading treatments, to provide access to remedy for violation of civil and political rights, and to ensure that the crime of enforced disappearance constitutes a crime against humanity. This important step is a clear signal of Tunisia’s willingness to further open its human rights records to the scrutiny of the relevant international mechanisms, and to ensure full respect of human rights, while the country continues its efforts towards democracy.
I am confident that it will contribute to deepening of our bilateral relations.