Jump to a specific section of the chapter:

Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country Summary

The Republic of Tunisia reported completing clearance of all known mined areas in 2009.[1] However, Tunisia has since reported the existence of suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) containing remnants of World War II-era explosive ordnance, including residual contamination by both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines.[2] Tunisia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Tunisia has not reported having any cluster munition remnants contamination.

Since 2013, new use of improvised mines and other improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) has been reported and have caused casualties annually. The threat is mainly in mountainous areas in northwest and southwest Tunisia. Tunisia needs to clarify the type and extent of contamination in line with its Mine Ban Treaty obligations.

No risk education or victim assistance activities were reported in Tunisia during 2020. However, the government has provided warnings to people not to enter areas where armed operations were ongoing, or where improvised mines and emplaced IEDs were present. Landmine survivors were reported to have received emergency evacuation and medical care in local hospitals.

Treaty Status

Treaty status overview

* Tunisia is suspected to have residual mine contamination and improvised mine contamination.

Management and Coordination

Mine action management and coordination

There is no national body in charge of the management, coordination, and planning of mine action in Tunisia.

Risk education management and coordination

Tunisia last reported on risk education in its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report submitted in 2013. It stated that the few casualties occurring each year were resulting from explosive remnants of war (ERW) rather than landmines as mine contaminated areas were fenced off and marked. In 2012–2013, the National Guard and police were providing risk education to the civilian population in affected areas.[3]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[4]

No specific victim assistance coordination was reported in Tunisia.

The Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for promoting and implementing the rights of persons with disabilities in Tunisia. It coordinates with the Parliamentary Committee for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities and Vulnerable Categories to align existing laws with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).[5] The ministry also manages centers that provide accommodation and medical services to persons with disabilities lacking other means of support.[6]

There are no specific victim assistance laws or policies in Tunisia.

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Landmine contamination

In its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report for 2020, Tunisia reported potentially mine-contaminated SHAs located in the south (El Hamma, Mareth, and Matmata), center (Faideh and Kasserine), and north (Cap-Bon and other areas in the northwest) of the country, without specifying the size of the areas or the extent of contamination.[7] In July 2019, more than 40 landmines detonated as a result of high temperatures in Mount Chambi, Kasserine governorate, indicating a significant amount of contamination in the area.[8]

Tunisia did not report on improvised mine contamination, although incidents with casualties have regularly been reported in the media. Since 2013, incidents caused by improvised landmines and other IEDs have since been reported in Jendouba, Kasserine, and Kef governorates. These devices were reported to be rudimentary and constructed from plastic bottles or tubs filled with explosives, such as ammonium nitrate or TNT. The majority of these devices were reported to be small improvised antipersonnel mines, wired to pressure-plate triggers. There have also been reports in Tunisia of IEDs wired to phones, and larger command-detonated IEDs being used to target vehicles.[9]

In 2019 and 2020, casualties from mines, including improvised mines, continued to be reported in the mountainous western regions of Kasserine and Kef. However, casualties were also reported in Gafsa governorate, in southwest Tunisia. These mines are believed to have been laid by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) affiliated with Islamic State.[10]

ERW contamination

In 2021, Tunisia reported that in addition to mines, its World War II-era residual contamination also likely includes unexploded ordnance (UXO) such as shells and bombs.[11]

Casualties

Casualties overview[12]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Casualties in 2020: details[13]

In 2020, the Monitor recorded four mine/ERW casualties in Tunisia—a significant decrease from 19 in 2019 and 48 in 2018. The higher numbers of casualties in previous years were attributable to the use of improvised mines in Tunisia since 2013. In 2014, a total of 38 casualties were reported, compared to 20 in 2015, 65 in 2016, and 35 in 2017. Prior to that, the 2013 casualty total of 28 had represented a striking rise compared to the collective total of 10 mine/ERW casualties recorded in Tunisia for a period of more than 20 years previously, from 1991–2012.

In 2020, the Monitor recorded the first ERW casualty in Tunisia since 2006, in Kairouan governorate. Another casualty was caused by an antipersonnel landmine in Jebel Orbata, Gafsa governorate. A civilian was killed and a member of the military was injured in separate incidents in Mount Chambi and Ezzouhour, in Kasserine governorate. All three of the civilian mine/ERW casualties in Tunisia in 2020 were engaged in agricultural activities when the incident occurred.

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

The Tunisian Army, under the Ministry of Defense, is the only body authorized to undertake mine or ERW clearance in the country.

Clearance

Tunisia reported concluding clearance of all known minefields in March 2009.[14] It has not reported on the clearance of improvised mines. No clearance or survey was reported in 2020.[15]

Risk education

No mine/ERW risk education was reported in 2020, but the government reported proving warnings to people not to enter areas where improvised mines or IEDs were emplaced.[16]

Victim assistance

No specific victim assistance activities were reported in Tunisia during 2020. Mine/ERW survivors were reported to receive emergency medical care in local hospitals.[17]

Persons with disabilities faced multiple barriers to access basic services, rehabilitation, and socio-economic inclusion.

The Ibsar Foundation for the Culture and Leisure of Blind and Visually Handicapped People works to promote the rights of persons with disabilities in Tunisia.[18] Humanity & Inclusion (HI) works to ensure the socio-economic inclusion of persons with disabilities in Tunisia through vocational training and employment programs in northern, central, and southern governorates.[19]