Coalition-Building
Case Study: IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group
(Published in 2009)
Context
In Tunisia, the government walks a narrow line between cultivating an appearance of openness designed to attract travelers to the lucrative tourism industry, and carefully monitoring local and foreign media and organisations that could seek to expose the country’s suppression of human rights, freedom of expression and democratic pluralism.
Much of this is due to the tight leash kept on the independent media by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who has been in power for more than 20 years and routinely wins elections by more than 95 percent of the vote, making it difficult for opposition candidates to run freely.
Although Tunisia has ratified all major international treaties for the protection of human rights, the government’s actions continuously contradict the commitments outlined by the treaties and articulated by officials.
The authorities have been known for targeting independent journalists and human rights defenders, both on- and offline. At the time of writing, that harassment has worsened, with telephone and online communications routinely monitored and blocked. Internet censorship – as well as targeted hacking of the websites of alternative media such as Kalima Tunisie and Tunis News – has also increased.
Publishing independently is also difficult. Although “officially” anyone in Tunisia is free to create a publication, Article 13 of the Tunisian Press Code states that a receipt must be obtained from the Ministry of the Interior prior to the public release of any material. One journalist commented, "Without the direct political support of the Presidential office, it is now impossible to create a newspaper.”
IFEX's advocacy work in Tunisia has been the most successful and most sustained campaigning project undertaken by IFEX members in collaboration - largely due to the longevity of IFEX's Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG) - which is made up of 20 IFEX members who have been working together since 2004 to bring attention to the free expression situation in the country.
When it was announced in December 2003 that Tunisia would host the UN-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in November 2005, free expression advocacy organisations were up in arms. Given the well-documented human rights situation in this North African country, something needed to be done.
So, members of the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) established TMG to monitor and advocate for freedom of expression in the country before, during and following the Tunis WSIS.
Campaigning began at the IFEX General Meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan in June 2004, when 31 members of IFEX signed an open letter to the UN Secretary General.
Later that month, Tunisian government officials and government-sponsored "non-governmental organisations" (GONGOs) sought to suppress any discussion of human rights at the Tunis Summit Preparatory Committee meeting.
The government's outright attempt to thwart free expression officially solidified the TMG coalition. Since then, it has become a major voice in local and international spheres for free expression in Tunisia.
Composition and Coordination
The coalition has a diverse base of 20 members from both international and regional organisations that work closely with Tunisian civil society groups. TMG members campaign to raise awareness of free expression violations in Tunisia and to support independent journalists, writers and civil society activists in their struggle to end censorship and repression.
Most individual groups’ activities can be incorporated under this broader objective. This flexibility facilitates the pooling of financial and human resources, which have made sustaining the coalition’s long-term campaigns possible.
But working in a coalition can be challenging, having to coordinate actions by a large group, within different time zones and operating in different languages. So TMG decided to centralise operations by establishing a Chair’s Committee. Consisting of four groups, the committee makes key decisions about budgets, events, official letters and joint actions; the other TMG members are also free to participate. Communications across the entire coalition are facilitated by a list-serv.
The IFEX Clearing House also provides coordination support to the coalition, with a dedicated TMG coordinator on staff, as well as a Tunisian rights activist and journalist acting as TMG consultants.
Rohan Jayasekera, associate editor of Index on Censorship and TMG chair, says of the Chair's Committee, “The personal connections between key individuals make for quick and flexible responses…. The work is shared fairly widely without too much need for hands-on management.”
Media and Online Communications Strategy
TMG has routinely used the international media to draw attention to free expression violations in Tunisia. The coalition has compiled a mailing list of more than 200 media, government and intra-government contacts. Individual TMG members also have their own media contacts, particularly in France and the Arab world, where news has been published or been the focus of television interviews.
Extensive media coverage brought the case of one of Tunisia's most famous human rights defenders to the forefront of political conversation and contributed to his early release.
In July 2007, Mohamed Abbou was freed after spending more than two years in jail for an article published on the Internet comparing Tunisian prisons to the notorious Abu Ghraib in Iraq. TMG had been campaigning heavily for his release, working with Tunisian IFEX member the Observatory for Freedom of the Press, Publishing and Creation (OLPEC), and other international NGOs worldwide. Along with journalistic coverage, TMG members also spread their message through online media with a viral web campaign, which involved circulating a ‘Free Mohamed Abbou’ banner in three languages. The media coverage also assisted TMG in raising the case while lobbying political officials, particularly around key UN meetings.
The campaigning not only propelled Abbou to the status of internationally prominent rights activist, but also raised global awareness about political prisoners in Tunisia.
International lobbying and awareness-raising
Direct Lobbying
Direct lobbying has been a key component of the TMG strategy. Letters to the UN Secretary General, the French government and the European Union (EU) request action at the international level. Thanks to the lobbying, a response was received from the UN Secretary General and meetings have since been held with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, as well as French officials.
Joint Action Statements
The TMG also organises joint statements and appeals, which reach international networks through IFEX and individual TMG members. These TMG-driven campaigns culminated in the release of journalist Slim Boukhdhir and comedian Hédi Ouled Baballah in 2008 who were imprisoned on trumped up charges that were unrelated to their writing or public speaking. According to OLPEC, once TMG issued a joint action on Baballah's case the authorities realised that he had significant international support and he was quickly released.
Human Rights Instruments
At the 8th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2008, TMG members International PEN, the International Publishers Association (IPA), and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) made an oral submission on Tunisia on behalf of TMG. They called attention to the banning of books, jailing of dissidents such as Boukhdir and the inability of independent media to publish freely. One month later, Boukhdir was freed - eight months into a one-year sentence. He credited international organisations, including TMG members, for his early release.
In-country fact-finding missions
TMG members have organised five fact-finding missions to Tunisia, as well as a significant presence at the WSIS itself.
During these missions, TMG has engaged in dialogue and lobbying with more than 300 individuals and over 50 organisations and institutions. These range from members of the government and opposition, public officials, and government-supported organisations to independent civil society organisations, human rights defenders, journalists, publishers, librarians and private broadcasters.
These missions have offered TMG members an opportunity to investigate and monitor the state of free expression on the ground. By meeting with officials and civil society, the TMG has been effective in gaining credibility and drawing attention to its advocacy for the protection and defense of free expression in the country.
Monitoring and Reporting
As TMG became more recognisable in the international community, it became increasingly difficult for the Tunisian government to ignore the findings of TMG reports, which are widely circulated in English, French and Arabic.
“The Tunisian government knows now that TMG is watching them and alerting the international community,” says Sihem Bensedrine, Secretary General of OLPEC. “Even if the Tunisian government is criticising these reports, they always take into account the findings.”
TMG members also independently monitor and document the free expression situation. These organisations issue alerts and analyses on key cases and free expression issues through the IFEX Action Alert Network. Evidence of human rights abuses also serves as the basis for TMG’s campaigns.
In a specific instance, TMG member the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) published a lengthy report on Egyptian newspapers accepting paid advertisements from the Tunisian government, which prompted independent media in Egypt to review their coverage of Tunisia.
Advocacy Events and Speaking Tours
In 2007, TMG tried a new tactic by bringing Tunisian rights activists to Washington for a one-day human rights forum. The Tunisian authorities were still able to wield their power to muzzle dissent: while six activists participated in the event, others were not so lucky and were prevented from travelling; and of the 60 people who attended, about a quarter were from the Tunisian Embassy or were government supporters. Still, those activists who attended met strategic members of the U.S. government, including Congress, and a variety of U.S. human rights organisations.
A similar approach was tried in December 2008: TMG held a special panel during WAN's Arab Press Forum in Beirut on the increased censorship and harassment facing journalists and civil society activists in Tunisia. Abbou and Lotfi Hidouri of OLPEC were prevented from travelling – Hidouri was even detained. Again, a team of at least seven government representatives and journalists was sent to disrupt the event, proving once again that the government continues to fear the prospect of rights activists being heard outside Tunisia. A smear campaign was also spread through government media about a Tunisian human rights defender who spoke at the event. Nonetheless, there was extensive coverage in the Lebanese and regional media about Tunisia's human rights situation.
Factors Behind the Success
Overall, the collective nature of the TMG campaign has contributed to its numerous successes and resulted in a noticeable impact on Tunisian authorities.
Jayasekera notes, "The strength of the TMG is not just from international partners, but the regionally-based groups in Egypt and Lebanon, for example, which are striving towards free expression. It is striking that freedom of expression is the main thing missing in Tunisia. We call on Arab journalists to offer increased support towards this end.”
A diverse variety of advocacy initiatives – including missions, trial monitoring, extensive reports, letters to the UN and EU, joint actions and lobbying – has made TMG an effective coalition and resulted in increased international awareness of TMG and the situation in Tunisia.
Extending TMG from a temporary alliance into a permanent collaborative advocacy effort with long-term campaigns and goals has greatly contributed to the success of its efforts. Individuals and groups involved have solidified working relationships over time, making it easier to share the workload, avoid duplication and strengthen their lobbying efforts.
Perhaps most importantly, the permanence of the coalition and the diversity of its members help to debunk claims by the Tunisian government that TMG lacks objectivity, thereby giving the coalition’s voice significantly more credibility on the international stage, which in turn reduces local members’ vulnerability to repression by Tunisian authorities.
Read more about the TMG.
Members of the TMG are:
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Egypt: www.anhri.net
ARTICLE 19, UK: www.article19.org
Bahrain Center for Human Rights: bahrainrights.org
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Egypt: www.cihrs.org
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression: www.cjfe.org
Cartoonists Rights Network International: www.cartoonistrights.com
Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights: www.eohr.org
Index on Censorship, UK: www.indexonline.org
International Federation of Journalists: www.ifj.org
International Federation of Library Association and Institutions: www.ifla.org/faife
International PEN - Writers in Prison Committee, UK: www.pen-international.org.uk
International Press Institute, Austria: www.freemedia.at
International Publishers' Association, Switzerland: www.internationalpublishers.org
Journaliste en Danger, Democratic Republic of Congo: www.jed-afrique.org
Maharat Foundation, Lebanon: www.maharatfoundation.org
Media Institute of Southern Africa, Namibia: www.misa.org
Norwegian PEN: www.norskpen.no
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, France: www.wan-ifra.org
World Press Freedom Committee, USA: www.wpfc.org
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters: www.amarc.org
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