Migrants left stranded as Tunisia tries to keep them from reaching Europe

Sub: IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

Migrants stranded in Tunisia, near the Mediterranean coast, face dire conditions as they seek to reach Europe.
Tunisia’s coast guard has ramped up efforts to prevent crossings with European support.

Details:

Encampments like Kilometer-19, notorious for violence, have grown as police push migrants out of cities.
Tunisia’s measures, bolstered by a 1 billion euro deal with the EU, have significantly reduced the number of migrants reaching Italy.
However, the increased migrant presence in Tunisia has led to local backlash, xenophobic rhetoric, and calls for expulsions.
The EU’s focus on limiting migration continues to clash with the humanitarian crisis unfolding on Tunisia’s coastline.

EU- Tunisia Deal:

This financial support from the EU comes under the Memorandum of Understanding on a strategic and global partnership (MoU) concluded between the European Union and Tunisia in Tunis on 16 July 2023.
The MoU is based on five pillars: macroeconomic stability, economy and trade, the green energy transition, people-to-people contacts, and migration and mobility.
Under this deal, Tunisia agreed to tighten border controls in exchange for aid.

Tunisia:

Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares maritime borders with Italy through the islands of Sicily and Sardinia to the north and Malta to the east.
Tunisia is home to Africa’s northernmost point, Cape Angela.
Capital and largest city: Tunis, located on its northeastern coast.
Tunisia was inhabited by the indigenous Berbers.
It is a member of the United Nations, La Francophonie, the Arab League, the OIC, the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement, the International Criminal Court, and the Group of 77, among others.
It maintains close economic and political relations with some European countries, particularly with France, and Italy, which geographically lie very close to it.
Tunisia also has an association agreement with the European Union and has also attained the status of a major non-NATO ally of the United States.