Tunisia: Transitional Justice Committee Created

The creation of a structure for the Independent National Committee for Transitional Justice was officially announced on November 15th during the first meeting of National Union of Tunisian Journalists in which it presented its objectives and work mechanisms. The coordinator of this committee indicated that it will aim to create a pressure group to enforce transitional justice in Tunisia to try criminals and compensate victims, which is a necessity to restore faith in the justice system for many Tunisians.

Mr. Ayachi Hammami, a member of the committee, indicated that Tunisian society has failed in establishing a system of transitional justice, and he highlighted the necessity of taking action and exercising pressure on the current government in order to hold crime perpetrators accountable for human rights violations. Mr. Lotfi Azzouz stated that the committee will speak in favor of the non-applicability of statutory limitation on torture crimes, adding that it will ensure that crime perpetrators get the punishment deserved. If internal appeals to Tunisian justice are exhausted, the committee will take it upon itself to appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the reparations of victims.

Mr. Adel Haj Salem indicated that along with infringement on civil rights, the committee will also assist victims of failing social and economic policies. The committee’s founders all agree that their sphere of action will not only deal with the 23 years of the Ben Ali era but also include that of Bourguiba’s, stressing that its competence will be a real stimulus for the establishment of a Ministry of Transitional Justice.  The Independent National Committee  for Transitional Justice includes 14 organizations and national associations, most notably: the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights, the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, the group of “25 Lawyers” (an association of Tunisian lawyers formed to ensure the independence of the judiciary), UGTT (General Union of Tunisian Workers), the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, the Association of Tunisian Magistrates and the National Network for Fighting Corruption.

Source: TAP   http://www.tunisia-live.net/2011/11/16/transitional-justice-committee-created/