Tunisia was once a pioneer, leading the way for democracy in the Middle East and North Africa region. Today, this democracy is in steady decline.
Last week came the demise of the government agency overseeing people’s right to access information. The dissolution of the Instance Nationale d’Accès à l’Information (INAI) undermines transparency, accountability, and civic participation in Tunisia. With this decision, the government has stripped citizens, journalists, and civil society groups not only of an effective mechanism to demand answers from the government, but also a means of holding authorities to account.
Since 2021, most of the country’s independent institutions, including the media regulatory body, the electoral commission, judicial institutions, and the anti-corruption authority, have been dissolved, stripped of independence, or brought under direct executive control, systematically eroding the checks and balances of power.
Launched in 2016, the INAI has been a cornerstone of democratic reform. It enabled people to request information – from data on the environment and migration to government documents setting out new legislation to emails and transcripts of communication between officials, lobby groups and private companies.
On paper, Tunisia is one of 140 countries worldwide with legislation in place guaranteeing the right to request and access information from public bodies. Now, with its official dismantling comes the sad acknowledgment that democracy in Tunisia has crumbled.
The ability to hold governments to account is key to building freer, more open societies.
ARTICLE 19 and partners will continue to advocate for everybody’s right to know and to freely express themselves without fear of discrimination and intimidation, in Tunisia, and around the world.
