Italian funding for the voluntary returns from Tunisia

Data from the project “Enhancing Response Mechanisms and Assistance to Vulnerable Migrants in Tunisia” have been published

The Oruka project submitted a series of FOIA requests to access data on the project which has been funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2021 and operated by IOM in Tunisia and is due to end in February 2025. The project has two main objectives, the first being the ”Access to short-term humanitarian assistance and to protection is available to the most vulnerable migrants in Tunisia”, and the second being the “Stranded migrants have access to durable solutions, including Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration assistance”.

The project is currently funded for a total of around EUR 6 million, as established by subsequent agreements that expanded and modified its structure. In particular, during two successive amendments, it was decided to shift funds to the second objective, i.e. to the so-called voluntary repatriation activities.

The six-monthly reports sent by IOM to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to which ASGI had access, describe an extremely critical situation. Among the people repatriated from Tunisia to their countries of origin there are women from countries with a high risk of trafficking, such as the Ivory Coast, people from countries in conflict situations, such as Sudan or Mali, and minors.

The project and its amendments

On 26 November 2021, the Director General for Italians Abroad and Migration Policies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), signed an agreement with IOM to provide the Organisation with EUR 2 million for the implementation of the project, which was to last 24 months, from 1 March 2022 to 29 February 2024. Annex 1 to the agreement (Project Proposal) details the objectives and activities of the project and the allocation of the financial resources provided by the Ministry. The overall aim of the project is to improve the “protection and assistance of migrants in a vulnerable situation in Tunisia” and this aim is embodied in two “outcomes”: 1) “Access to short-term humanitarian assistance and to protection is available to the most vulnerable migrants in Tunisia”, and 2) “Stranded migrants have access to durable solutions, including Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration assistance”.

The annex provides specific outcome indicators and the budget set for their achievement. The “number of beneficiaries receiving direct assistance and information on durable solutions such as AVRR” is set at 1,100 and the “number of migrants provided with return assistance from Tunisia to countries of origin or family reunification under the project” at 400. EUR 740,250 are allocated for return assistance, i.e. flights and other actions aimed at return, while EUR 502,200 are allocated for direct assistance and information.

The project undergoes two subsequent modifications and expansions. The first, in December 2022, provides “additional funding to IOM for a total amount of EUR 1,150,000.00”, bringing the contribution to a total of EUR 3,150,000.00. An updated project proposal is attached to the agreement. The general objectives of the project remain unchanged, but the numerical indicators have been modified; specifically, the number of migrants receiving assistance for repatriation to their countries of origin has increased to 750. In turn, the budget is amended by providing EUR 557,880 for direct assistance and information and EUR 1,404,309 for repatriation assistance.

In June 2023, the project is again modified, being its duration extended until 28 February 2025 and additional funding provided to IOM for a total amount of EUR 3,000,000.00, bringing the contribution to a total of EUR 6,150,000. The “number of beneficiaries receiving direct assistance and information on durable solutions such as AVRR” is increased to 1400 (a slight increase from the 1100 beneficiaries originally planned) and the “number of migrants provided with return assistance from Tunisia to countries of origin” is increased to 1450, compared to the 400 beneficiaries planned in 2021. The resources dedicated to repatriation assistance thus become EUR 3,210,396, while a total of EUR 757,908 is allocated to direct emergency assistance.

This situation is extremely similar to that already observed in Libya: the so-called assisted voluntary repatriation is a fundamental node of the externalisation strategy implemented by Italy and the EU in North African countries. A progressive strengthening of the structures for controlling and repressing mobility is matched by an increase in the number of return programmes to the countries of origin as a means of forcibly channelling mobility.

For people in Tunisia, in the context of the outbreak of racist rhetoric and practices detrimental to their rights, voluntary return is the only alternative to flee the violations suffered in the country, despite the fact that this exposes them to new risks in their country of origin. In this regard, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants has been extremely clear in recognising that assisted voluntary returns are “a central component of migration management policies”, and that “in general, the conditions under which migrants request assisted voluntary return do not allow for the return to be qualified as voluntary, as they do not fulfil the requirements of a fully informed decision, free of coercion and backed by the availability of sufficient valid alternatives”. The UN Special Rapporteur added that “States and other stakeholders who carry out returns under an assisted voluntary return programme to States that are not safe and in which migrants may face violations of their fundamental human rights may be in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.”.

Returns data

Departures from Tunisia to countries of origin March – August 2022
Country of Origin	Men	Women	Boys	Girls	TOTAL
Côte d’Ivoire	41	37	14	11	103
Guinea	34	4	0	1	39
Democratic Republic of the Congo	26	8	1	1	36
Chad	33	0	0	0	33
Sierra Leone	18	9	1	2	30
Gambia	17	0	0	0	17
Morocco	12	1	0	4	17
Nigeria	10	0	0	0	10
Senegal	6	2		1	9
Bangladesh	9	0	0	0	9
Cameroon	6	0	0	0	6
Liberia	2	1	1	1	5
Ghana	1	2	0	1	4
Mali	3	0	0	0	3
Congo	3	0	0	0	3
Egypt	3	0	0	0	3
Comoros	1	1	0	0	2
Benin	1	1	0	0	2
Angola	0	1	0	0	1
Niger	1	0	0	0	1
Guinea-Bissau	1	0	0	0	1
Total	228	67	17	22	334

Departures from Tunisia under the project September 2022 -February 2023
Country of Origin	Men	Women	Boys	Girls	TOTAL
Côte d’Ivoire	108	94	26	23	251
Chad	65	2	0	1	68
Guinea	31	5	4	6	46
Sudan	46	0	0	0	46
Cameroon	25	2	0	2	29
Egypt	23	0	2	0	25
Democratic Republic of the Congo	11	6	3	2	22
Morocco	10	2	2	2	16
Gambia	14	1	1	0	16
Sierra Leone	12	1	0	0	13
Senegal	5	3	0	0	8
Mali	5	3	0	0	8
Liberia	5	1	0	0	6
Nigeria	5	0	0	0	5
Ghana	3	0	0	0	3
Pakistan	3	0	0	0	3
Congo	2	0	0	0	2
Jordan		2	0	0	2
Comoros	1	0	0	0	1
TOTAL	374	122	38	36	570

Departures from Tunisia under the project March 2023 – August 2023
Country of Origin	Boys	Girls	Men	Women	Grand Total
Chad	1		74		75
Congo		1	4	1	6
Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The	2	1	43	18	64
Côte Divoire	12	19	54	62	147
Egypt	2		7	1	10
Guinea	1	1	122	4	128
Liberia			3		3
Morocco			4		4
Senegal		2	1	2	5
Sierra Leone			4		4
Grand Total	18	24	316	88	446

The documents obtained by ASGI through FOIA requests are published below.

Project proposals and arrangements

Interim reports

Data from the project “Enhancing Response Mechanisms and Assistance to Vulnerable Migrants in Tunisia” have been published

The project and its amendments

Returns data

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