Freedom of expression and opinion in the Tunisian Constitution

Mehdi BENCHELAH

The adoption of Article 30, which guarantees the freedom of expression,1 and of article 31 regarding the freedom of information2 on 6 January 2014 by members of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) gathered in the Bardo, old Beylical palace, followed by the vote for article 48 of the new Constitution, which restricted the legal limitations for all fundamental rights (an imperative basis for proportionality and essential to a democracy,)3 mark the end of an open and participative process that lasted almost two years, a process that is, in many ways, unique in the Arab world. These articles are as follows:4

Article 30 The freedoms of opinion, thought, expression, information and publication are guaranteed. It is prohibited for these rights to be subjected to prior control.

Article 31 The State guarantees the right to information and access to information.

Article 48 The law establishes the restrictions relating to rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and their implementation, without detriment to their essence. Its limits are only implemented in case of necessity justified by a civil and democratic State and with the purpose of protecting the rights of others or for reasons of public security, national defence or public health and general moral values, meanwhile respecting the principles of proportionality between these limits and their justification. The jurisdictional bodies ensure the protection of rights and freedoms from any violation. No amendment must be detrimental to the human rights or freedoms stated in this Constitution.5

For the first time in Tunisia's modern history, an elected democratic assembly, representing diverse political sensitivities, has agreed to guarantee the right to the freedom of expression and opinion – a standard which is in compliance with widely-accepted international standards. The United Nations Human Rights Committee highlighted the importance of both of these rights: "The freedom of opinion and the freedom of expression are two conditions essential to the complete development of individuals. They are essential for any society.6 They constitute the basis for any free and democratic society. The two rights are closely connected, the latter constituting the driving force for exchange and development of opinions.”7

The freedom of expression occupies a unique position within the corpus of fundamental rights. Indeed, the freedom of expression, and associated freedoms – the freedom of opinion, freedom of the press or media, freedom of information, artistic freedom, or freedom of publication, for example – all

1 Article 30 was adopted by 173 votes in favour, 9 abstentions et 0 votes against 2 Article 31 was adopted by 170 votes in favour, 4 abstentions, 2 against 3 Article 48 was adopted by 164 votes in favour, 5 abstentions et 6 against 4 Articles 30, 31 and 48 respectively became articles 31, 32 et 48 in the final text of the Constitution 5 Unofficial translation from Arabic to English conducted by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) 6 See communications no. 1173/2003, Benhadj c. Algeria, views adopted on 20 July 2007, and no. 628/1995, Park c. Republic of Korea, views adopted on 5 July 1996. 7 General observation no. 34. 102nd session. Geneva, 11-29 July 2011

1 together have the characteristic of being a single right, while also guaranteeing and promoting all the other fundamental rights. Once the freedom of expression is done away with, it is typical that other fundamental rights fall to the wayside. On the other hand, when freedom of expression is guaranteed, the scope of other rights tend to progressively broaden within the society thanks to the free transmission of information, images, ideas, proposals, and to the free political debate that stems from these freedoms amongst members of the society.

Despite some blunders, the Tunisian Republic's Constitutional text, whose final draft was adopted on 26 January 2014 by 200 votes in favour, 12 against, and 4 abstentions, represents a remarkable and encouraging change that places Tunisia ahead of other countries in the Arab world in terms of democratic transition and the protection of fundamental rights, particularly with regards to the freedom of expression and opinion.

The Constitution specifies that prior censorship of the freedom of expression is strictly prohibited, which rules out the possibility of a law advocating for the systematic control of the press a priori. Moreover, the Constitution also protects the right to information, and the right to access public documents. Unlike the 1959 Constitution, the restrictions to fundamental rights, provided for by article 49 of the Constitution of 14 January 2014, fulfil the triple condition of being provided for by a law, aimed at protecting rights of others, national security, public order, health and public morals, and are necessary for the protection of these interests. This implies the ongoing respect to the principle of proportionality. In theory, any legislation that violates these principles would be deemed unconstitutional, and could thus be invalidated by the future Tunisian Constitutional Court whose statutes guarantee independence. Regarding this matter, and many others, the 2014 Constitution marks a profound break from the 1959 Tunisian Constitution that failed to prevent the authoritarian abuses of Ben Ali's regime. Indeed, the latter set out that: "Freedom of opinion, expression, press, publication, assembly, and association are guaranteed and implemented in the conditions provided for by the law."8 No restrictions were provided in the 1959 Constitution against oppressive laws against the freedom of expression, effectively making it very easy for Ben Ali's regime to silence any dissenting voices by means of the 1975 Press Code and the Penal Code fabricating issues with the media and journalist who were broadcasting information deemed to be anti-establishment.9

Moreover, the Tunisian Constitution of 14 January provides for the creation of an Audiovisual Communication Body responsible for regulating audiovisual media, including the method of appointment:

Article 127 The body for audiovisual communication is responsible for regulating and developing the audio-visual communication sector. It ensures the guarantee of freedom of expression and information, and the establishment of a pluralist and upstanding media sector. The body shall benefit from regulatory power in its field of competency. It must be consulted on draft laws pertaining to its remit. The body shall comprise of nine independent, neutral, competent and upstanding members, who shall undertake their mission for one six-year mandate. One third of their members shall be replaced every two years.

8 Constitution of the Tunisian Republic, 1st June 1959, article 8. 9 Study on media development in Tunisia, UNESCO, 2011. Page 27.

2 The body's regulatory power, its area of competence – the audiovisual media sector – and the method for the appointment of its members through the qualified majority of the members of the Parliamentary Assembly – should contribute to giving it the means for protecting the freedom of expression and information and the establishment of free, independent, and pluralist media that is in compliance with international standards.10

Recognizing the fundamental importance of the freedom of expression, international law enshrines this freedom through Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted on 10 December 1948: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of borders."

Articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), adopted on 16 December 1966 in New York, also enshrine the principle of freedom of expression and precisely define the restrictions that can be applied to this freedom:

Article 19 1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. 2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of borders, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. 3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore by subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as provided by law and are necessary: a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; b) for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals.

Moreover, the ICCPR defines the limit where this protection stops:

Article 20 1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law. 2. Any advocacy for national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.

The Human Rights Committee, made up of 18 independent legal experts, is responsible for judging whether the laws of States that are party to the treaty are in compliance with the ICCPR and its optional protocols. The UDHR, the ICCPR, and the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee make up the basis for what is commonly referred to as international law.

One of the major challenges of post-revolution Tunisia was to equip itself with a legal framework that guaranteed the freedom of opinion and expression in line with international standards, in order to avoid past mistakes and to pave the way for a true democratic transition. As the Constitution establishes the foundation and framework for any national legal system, it was essential, in the case of Tunisia, at this pivotal moment in its history, to provide all the possible expertise and technical support

10 http://www.un.org/en/events/pressfreedomday/windhoek.shtml. Windhoek Declaration. Article 1

3 regarding this matter, as such expertise was crucial for the country's successful transition. This assistance was aimed to benefit the public authorities, in particular the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) in charge of drafting the new Constitution, but also the vibrant civil society, particularly those associations concerned with the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is the only agency of the United Nations System in charge of defending the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. Its mandate, as defined by its Constitution approved by vote on 16 November 1945, calls on the Organisation to support "the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image."11

The Organisation's role in Tunisia was to support the democratic transitional process by being at the disposal of policymakers and representatives of civil society regarding their expertise in the promotion of human rights and democratic values. To strengthen its presence and support, the Organisation opened a Project Office in Tunis in January 2012. Its activities were mainly focused around the promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of the media.

UNESCO's work on the legal framework was done in coordination with both the United Nations system, particularly with the agencies involved in the constitutional process, and with a group of technical and financial partners who supported the media sector,12 whose role surrounded the coordination of all the actors in Tunisia in this field in an attempt to avoid duplication, strengthen collaboration, and reinforce dialogue with international players. UNESCO and UNDP or OHCHR attended all the meetings with the leaders of the NCA together in order to better coordinate the United Nations' support for the constitutional process.

To sensitise political decision-makers to the importance of the freedom of expression and freedom of the press, and to mobilise civil society on this matter, on 3 May 2012, UNESCO organised the International Conference on the World Press Freedom Day in Tunis in cooperation with national authorities. The event, which brought together over 800 people, half of whom were Tunisian, placed the freedom of expression at forefront of discussion, and facilitated many exchanges between international media professionals, their Tunisian counterparts, and political leaders. For example, Mrs Farida Laabidi, President of the NCA's "Rights and Freedoms" commission who was responsible for drafting the articles of the new constitution pertaining to fundamental rights, was a panellist in a workshop. The conference enabled the adoption, by all participants, of the Carthage Declaration13 that defended the freedom of expression, of the press, and of information, as well as the safety of journalists.

Following the conclusion of the Conference on the World Press Freedom Day, UNESCO and the NCA organised a two-day workshop on international standards with regards to the freedom of expression, information, and of the press with members of the "Preamble and Fundamental Principles" and "Rights and Freedoms" commissions, in charge of drafting the first two chapters of the Constitution. The purpose of the workshop was to present international standards as well as examples from the South African and Indonesian Constitutions, two countries that experienced democratic transitions, the first following the end of the Apartheid system, and the latter following Sukarno's rule. The presentations by

11 Article 1. 2 http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15244&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 12 http://www.appui-media-tunisie.com/?page_id=544 13 http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/WPFD/carthage_declaration_2012_en.pdf

4 UNESCO experts were held in a room of the old Bardo palace, decorated with the Republic's coat of arms and large mirrors, in the presence of Mrs Farida Laabidi, President of the "Rights and Freedoms" commission, Mr Habid Kheder, General Rapporteur of the Constitution, and approximately forty other members of the two commissions in question. Several legal experts attached to the NCA and members of the press were also able to attend the debates. The sessions were moderated by Mr Ali Radhouane Ghrab, a Professor of constitutional law at the Gabes institute.

Three international experts – Joseph Thloloe, Press Ombudsman of South Africa, Bambang Harymurti, Vice-President of the Indonesian Press Council and Editor-in-chief of Tempo weekly news magazine, and Toby Mendel, President of the Canadian "Centre for Law and Democracy" – presented to the members of both commissions the standards of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and different constitutional models that protect the freedom of expression and the right of access to information. They also discussed the specific challenges faced by countries emerging out of dictatorial or authoritarian regimes in guaranteeing these kinds of fundamental rights.

With over 50 years of experience as a journalist, director of press companies, and as a defender of freedom of the press, Joseph Thloloe retraced the process that brought South Africa to the adoption of the 1996 Constitution following the fall of Apartheid, which guarantees democratic principles and the right to freedom of expression. The plight of Mr Thloloe, who spent many years in prison and was then banished from his country under the rule of Apartheid for having defended the freedom of the press, was particularly compelling for Tunisian deputies, many of whom have lived through the same or similar ordeals – prison and exile – under Ben Ali's regime. Speaking to the members of the NCA, Mr Thloloe declared: "I must admit that I am envious. You have the possibility of writing the future Constitution of your country on a blank page. It is a unique privilege, a magnificent task." After having presented the principles included in the South African Constitution that guarantee the freedom of expression and the precise definition of its restrictions, and the description of the self-regulatory mechanisms of the press that are now in place in his country, Mr Joseph Thloloe concluded that: "The level of freedom authorised in a given country is measured by the number of opinions that you do not share, but that you respect nonetheless. If you decide to control them, you fall back to a zero level of freedom."

Bambang Harymurti, Vice-President of the Indonesian Press Council, explained the manner in which his country succeeded, after several unsuccessful attempts, in adopting constitutional amendments that guaranteed fundamental democratic principles, specifically the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. He explained that "our efforts to establish a democracy in Indonesia ended in failure on two occasions; we hope that you will be more vigilant and more intelligent than we were!." Mr. Harymurti, who, himself, was imprisoned for publishing reports on corruption in his country, warned members of the Tunisian NCA of the importance of inscribing these principles in the wording of fundamental law as clearly and precisely as possible: "The freedom of expression and the freedom of the press make up the first line of defence of the democracy. If these rights are suppressed, the others will also disappear. This is the reason why the Indonesian population is so attached to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press and why we would rather die than give up these rights."

Toby Mendel, for his part, highlighted the need to guarantee the right to freedom of opinion and expression for all, and the need to prohibit censorship of the media without a prior judicial decision to be included in the Constitution. He also explained the importance of establishing the independence of regulatory bodies for private and public audiovisual media in the future Constitution.

5 The experts' presentations were followed by many questions and a heated debate between members of the NCA commissions. The issues of religious blasphemy and the role of freedom of the press in the transition period within which Tunisia was living were discussed at length. Recalling the international standards on matters of freedom of expression (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Tunisia in 1969, and the decisions of the United Nations Human Rights Committee), the experts recommended "that it be prohibited to deliberately call for hatred on the basis of nationality, race or religion, that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, but that criticism of religion or beliefs be protected so long as it does not constitute incitement." To illustrate the importance of guaranteeing the freedom of expression, Mr Bambang Harymurti finished his presentation by recalling a parable by the Muslim mystic Djalal ad-Din Rumi: "Several people entered a dark house where there was an elephant. Unable to see the elephant, they felt it with their hands. Each of them had the impression of dealing with something completely different. Then, they gave details of the characteristics they perceived, and realised, little by little, that they were in the presence of an elephant." And Mr Harymurti concluded: "These people's statements varied according to what they had perceived. In the same way, in a society, it is the freedom of expression that allows us to overcome our limited perceptions and to reach a more accurate vision of reality."

At the NCA's request, recommendations that comply with the international standards were drafted by the UNESCO experts.14 These recommendations, once translated to Arabic, were sent to the members of the "Preamble and fundamental principles" and the "Rights and Freedoms" commissions to enrich their work.

The general rapporteur of the Constitution, Mr Habib Kheder, then stated: "For the Constituent, it was beneficial to speak with the UN structures concerned with constitutional matters and to hear their opinions. This enabled clarification of the reasons for which such and such drafting option was selected. These encounters have contributed to improving the constitutional text. The events during which the members of the NCA had the opportunity to hear the experts and to ask questions were a plus in our experience. To summarise, the activity with UNESCO contributed to the improvement and consolidation of the constitutional text."15

Furthermore, in September 2012, UNESCO simultaneously published a detailed study of the media sector in Tunisia, according to indicators of media development. The UNESCO study analysed the Tunisian legal framework, and put forward several recommendations for the new Constitution. UNESCO's study was translated into Arabic, and widely distributed to members of the NCA, political decision makers, and to members of Tunisian civil society.16

The technical assistance work was followed by advocacy work with political policymakers, including by means of visits by high-level speakers. On 2 and 3 April 2014, UNESCO invited Mr. Frank La Rue, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Expression and Opinion to Tunisia, to take part in a conference on "normative and institutional guarantees of freedom of expression," organised by the Council of Europe, the International Organisation of La Francophonie, and the Arab Institute for Human Rights.

14http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/news/recommendations_assembly_tunisia_ fr.pdf 15 Interview with the author in Tunis, September 2014. 16 Study on media development in Tunisia, UNESCO. September 2012.

6 This visit, closely coordinated with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Tunis,17,enabled the Special Rapporteur to meet representatives of civil society, the media, and several ambassadors in Tunisia. The Rapporteur was also able to hold bilateral talks with Moncef Marzouki, the President of the Republic, Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, and the President of the Constituent Assembly, Mustapha Ben Jaafar, during which he recalled the major principles of freedom of expression and especially the principle of universality. More specifically, Mr. La Rue appealed for the new Constitution to include strong provisions able to guarantee the freedom of expression and the freedom of information in compliance with international standards, and repeated UNESCO's key recommendations. During this visit, Mr. Ben Jafaar, President of the NCA, gave public assurances that the new Constitution would fully guarantee freedom of expression, and that nobody in the country would be above criticism.18

Following several months of waiting and long negotiations, a Constitutional draft was officially made public on 1st June 2013, born from a long and difficult compromise between the different political viewpoints represented in the Constituent Assembly. Although it included a number of advances on matters regarding the freedom of expression, several provisions still fell short of international standards. UNESCO cooperated with the Centre for Law and Democracy to produce a comprehensive analysis of the matters relating to freedom of expression in the 1st June Constitutional draft and to propose a number of recommendations.19

The Constitutional draft included the main guarantees for freedom of expression:

Article 30 The freedom of opinion, thought, expression, information and publication shall be guaranteed. The freedom of expression, information and publication may only be limited by a law that protects the rights of third parties, their reputation, their security and their health. It is prohibited for these rights to be subject to prior control.

Article 31 The right of access to information is guaranteed on condition that national security and rights guaranteed by the Constitution are not compromised20.

Article 48, for its part, stated the restrictions to all rights and freedoms, including restrictions to the freedom of expression:

Article 48 The law establishes the restrictions relating to rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and their implementation, without detriment to their essence. The law is only adopted to protect the rights of others or for reasons of public security, national defence or public health. The jurisdictional bodies ensure the protection of rights and freedoms from any violation.21.

17 http://hcdh-tunisie.org/visite-du-rapporteur-special-des-nations-unies-sur-la-promotion-et-la-protection-du- droit-a-la-liberte-dexpression-et-dopinion-en-tunisie-a-linvitation-de-lunesco/ 18 http://allafrica.com/stories/201304040337.html 19http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/news/tunisian_constitution_unesco_comme nts_en.pdf 20 Unofficial translation for Arabic to English conducted by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) 21 Idem

7 Amongst all the articles on fundamental rights, Article 30 on the freedom of expression was the only one to provide a specific restriction, which sent out a contradictory message. The members of the Constituent Assembly seemed to be indicating that freedom of expression was different from other liberties, and that a specific barrier needed to be built to contain it.

Furthermore, Article 48 of the 1st June draft did not provide all the conditions needed to comply with international law. The imperative of "necessity" in a democracy was missing. This provision makes it possible for the Supreme Court to invalidate laws regarding fundamental rights that would be destructive to freedom.

Another important matter was the creation of a constitutional body in charge of the media:

Article 124 The information body is responsible for regulating and developing the information sector. It shall ensure the guarantee of freedom of expression and information, the right of access to information and the establishment of a pluralist and upstanding media sector. The body must be consulted for draft laws pertaining to its area of competency. The body shall comprise of nine independent, neutral, competent, experienced and upstanding members, who shall undertake their mission for one six-year mandate. One third of their members shall be replaced every two years22.

In this respect, two matters were problematic in light of international best practices. On the one hand, the body was in charge of both media regulation and access to information held by public bodies, two different tasks that must, in principle, be assigned to separate bodies. The constitutional court was responsible for regulating print and internet media, which does not keep with international standards. Indeed, written media and the internet are, in principle, governed by self-regulatory systems that bring together journalists, media owners, and civil society representatives within press councils.

Finally, the method of appointing members of the body through a simple majority of the members of the Assembly, risked not sufficiently guaranteeing its independence and thus its ability to regulate the audiovisual sector according to democratic principles:

Article 122 The constitutional bodies shall strive to reinforce the democracy. They are granted a legal personality and financial and administrative autonomy. They shall be elected by the Assembly of the People to whom they shall present their annual report and to whom they are accountable. All the bodies of the State shall undertake to assist them in fulfilling their mission. The law shall govern the composition and organisation of these bodies, as well as methods for controlling them.

UNESCO's analysis and recommendations consequently advocated for a series of amendments to make the Constitution to fully compliant with international standards. Other international actors, such as the Council of Europe's Venice Commission, for instance, advocated for similar recommendations.23 UNESCO specifically recommended that the Information body should only be

22 Idem 23 http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-REF(2014)010-e

8 responsible for regulating audiovisual media. According to international best practices, the written press and internet media must indeed be subject to a self-regulation system. They must also not be subject to a licensing system of by a regulator.24

Together, UNESCO and the UNDP then planned Mr. Guy Berger's visit to Tunis, Director of UNESCO's Division of Freedom of expression and Media Development, who, in June 2013, attended a conference on media reform, organised by the Presidency of the Republic at the Assembly, to meet Mrs. Mehrezia Laabidi, Vice-president of the NCA.25 During this interview, Mr. Berger shared UNESCO's main recommendations on the constitutional draft. He also emphasised that according to international standards, any limit placed upon the freedom of expression must be an exception to the rule. He also suggested that the mandate of the media regulation authority provided for in the Constitution should only apply to audiovisual media, and not to all media.

UNESCO's key recommendations on the freedom of expression have also been included in the “Observations on the 1st June Constitutional draft in light of international commitments of Tunisia” by the United Nations in Tunisia. At the request of the Ministry for Human Rights, these observations were verbally presented, and then conveyed to the commission representatives of the Constituent Assembly and to the rapporteur of the Constitution by the United Nations Resident coordinator in Tunisia.

Conscious of the issues regarding the matters of freedom of expression, Tunisian civil society has, for its part, been extremely active in sensitising political decision-makers to the need for amendments to the draft Constitution. A meeting that was organised at the initiative of the organisation ARTICLE 19 on the 1st November 2013 between foreign partners and the civil society was significant.26 The meeting, which took place at the headquarters of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (Syndicat National des Journalistes Tunisiens - SNJT), led to "concrete proposals that took account of judicial analyses of the new constitutional draft and of recommendations made by ARTICLE 19, the Venice Commission, Reporters without borders, UNESCO, and by Tunisian constitutionalists." These proposals were relayed to the consensus committee and to the expert committee responsible for finalising the constitutional draft, to the members of the NCA, and to influential political and social players. The meeting was followed by several action pleas.

The Constituent entered the final drafting stage in December 2013. It is important to remember that the crucial role played by the consensus committee in reaching a version of the Constitution that was accepted by all parties represented in the NCA. The commission was, without a doubt, one of the key players in ensuring the successful development up of the final Constitution of 26 September 2014. As a kind of "mini parliament," made up of representatives from all the parliamentary groups, and of independent deputies who met in closed session, the commission succeeded in synthesising divergent positions and securing acceptance of the amendments needed to bring the constitutional draft into compliance with international standards and commitments in Tunisia. The contributions made by the

24http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/news/tunisian_constitution_unesco_comme nts_en.pdf 25 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single- view/news/entrenching_freedom_of_expression_in_tunisia/back/18256/#.VTkUZCFViko 26http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37327/en/Tunisia:%20Civil%20society%20representatives%20 call%20for%20the%20revision%20of%20articles%20concerning%20freedom%20of%20expression%20in%20the%2 0new%20constitution

9 civil society, especially by eminent Tunisian constitutionalists, were crucial for the Commission's works,27 particularly for the drafting of Article 49 of the Constitution, and the remaining modifications regarding the Body for audio-visual communication.

It is now up to the legislator, political players, Constitutional court judges, and civil society leaders to bring to life the Constitution of 26 January 2014 in order for its principles to constitute the pillars for the protection of fundamental human rights in Tunisia. The legal provisions of the Tunisian Constitution, as well as its consensus development process, provide a positive and encouraging indication for the future.

UNESCO's contribution to the constitutional process was made possible thanks to funding by the Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Norway.

27 Author's interview with one of the members of the consensus committee in Tunis. September 2014

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