Human rights group Amnesty International has slammed Tunisia for "widespread human rights violations" in dealing with refugees and migrants.

In a report issued on Thursday, it also condemned the European Union (EU) for "risking complicity" by cooperating with Tunisia in efforts to restrict irregular migration.

Tunisia is one of several North African nations along the Mediterranean the EU has cooperation deals with that provide funding, training and equipment for border control in exchange for these nations preventing migrants from crossing the Mediterranean to Europe. To this aim, the EU currently designates Tunisia as "safe."

Neither Tunisian nor EU authorities had responded to accusations detailed in the report at the time of publishing.

Report details torture, sexual violence, racial profiling

The report was based on nearly three years of research and interviews with 120 refugees from nearly 20 countries, including Guinea, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. It accuses Tunisian authorities and border control officials of committing a string of human rights abuses against migrants, while enforcing a system that "generally disregards the lives, safety and dignity of refugees and migrants, particularly those who are Black."

Accounts in the report document rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture and physical abuse, arbitrary arrests and detention, and systemic racial profiling, and forcible expulsions to unsafe countries.

"The Tunisian authorities have presided over horrific human rights violations, stoking xenophobia, while dealing blow after blow to refugee protection," said Heba Morayef, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty. "They must immediately reverse this devastating rollback by ending racist incitement and stopping collective expulsions that threaten lives."

Forcible expulsions to unsafe third countries violate the principle of non-refoulement, which under international human rights law prohibits migrants from being returned to countries where they would face serious human rights violations.

EU accused of 'complicity'

The report also accused the EU of "complicity" in failing to address these systemic violations committed under the mantle of an EU-Tunisia partnership agreement. The organization called on the bloc to ensure "effective" human rights safeguards.

"The silence of the EU and its member states over these horrific abuses is particularly alarming," Morayef stated. "Each day the EU persists in recklessly supporting Tunisia's dangerous assault on the rights of migrants and refugees … while failing to meaningfully review its migration cooperation, European leaders risk becoming complicit."

The rights group also accused the EU of "prioritizing containment" of migrants over human rights and called on the bloc to suspend cooperation and funds aimed  border control and security enforcement.

Another blow to EU migration policy?

Pressure on the EU is mounting over its cooperation with northern African states to limit migration to Europe. Critics point to serious human rights abuses and accuse the EU of offshoring border control without ensuring proper safeguards.

In September, following reports of Libyan coast guards attacking a migrant rescue ship, Amnesty International joined other human rights groups in openly calling upon the European Commission to suspend cooperation with the Mediterranean state.

"Eight years of EU support have not improved these actors' human rights records, but enabled and legitimized abuses," the NGOs stated. "Human lives must not be disregarded in the name of border control."

The incident has led to over a dozen sea-rescue organizations severing ties with Libya's coast guard and forming an independent fleet. In October, the European Commission reaffirmed that "the EU stands ready to work with Libya … in improving the human rights situation in the country."

The Central Mediterranean has long been considered the deadliest migration route in the world. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says it has documented over 1,000 deaths and disappearances along this route in 2025 so far.

Edited by: Zac Crellin