27/01/2011 Session
Strasbourg, 27.01.2011 – Following the vast protest movement in Tunisia, which put an end to Ben Ali’s 23 years of rule over the country and led to the composition of a new government on 17 January, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called on “Tunisia’s political forces to start democratic reforms without delay” so as not to fail the people’s expectations. One of the essential measures it has called for is a comprehensive constitutional reform, to be introduced with a view to “creating genuinely representative political institutions, and to consolidating the rule of law and the judiciary”.
In a resolution adopted today at the end of an urgent debate based on a report by Anne Brasseur (Luxembourg, ALDE), PACE suggests that the provisional Tunisian authorities should rapidly set a date for “free and fair elections fully in line with international standards”.
The parliamentarians also encourage the Tunisian authorities to “intensify and broaden co-operation with the Council of Europe and to take advantage of its experience in the transition of their country towards democracy”. This can be achieved for example by acceding to Council of Europe legal instruments open to non-member states or by taking full advantage of Tunisia’s membership of the Venice Commission in the future constitutional reform process. The recently established Partner for Democracy status also provides a concrete framework for co-operation.
The Assembly “condemns unequivocally the use of violence against protesters, regrets the loss of dozens of lives, and expresses its sympathy to the families of the victims and those injured”.
Even if the main causes for the events in Tunisia have their origin in Ben Ali’s policies, “Europe also has its share of responsibility since it failed to condemn the nature of the regime, preferring to take advantage of its apparent stability to carry out its business,” stresses the Assembly.
PACE will follow political developments in Tunisia closely and has undertaken to strengthen its dialogue with the Parliament, particularly with the new institutions following the forthcoming elections.