Banjul, October 27, 2025
During the eighty-fifth ordinary public session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, held from October 21 to 30 in Banjul, the Tunisian civil society coalition presented an oral statement, read by the Committee for Justice on behalf of the Tunisian League for Human Rights and member organizations of the coalition.
This intervention took place during the exchange with Hon. Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso, during the presentation of the report of the Working Group on Extractive Industries, the Environment and Human Rights Violations.
The coalition alerted the Commission to the dramatic situation affecting Gabès, a region in southeastern Tunisia facing an environmental, health, and social disaster resulting from more than half a century of industrial pollution.
Since 1972, the phosphate processing complex belonging to the Tunisian Chemical Group has been dumping between 10,000 and 15,000 tons of phosphogypsum, a toxic residue containing heavy metals and radioactive substances, directly into the Mediterranean Sea every day.
The consequences are devastating:
According to the Stop Pollution association, 93% of marine biodiversity has disappeared;
The Gabès oasis, the only maritime oasis in the world, is threatened with extinction;
More than 300 residents, including many children, have recently been hospitalized for acute respiratory problems;
Independent studies report a sharp increase in cancer, asthma, and birth defects.
Despite this critical situation, the Tunisian authorities have taken no preventive measures, published no environmental data, and continue to downplay the severity of the crisis. The 2017 government decree, which provided for the phasing out of phosphogypsum dumping at sea, has never been implemented. In March 2025, the government even removed phosphogypsum from the national list of hazardous substances, in violation of the principle of environmental non-regression and Article 24 of the African Charter, which guarantees everyone’s right to a healthy environment.
Despite this critical situation, the Tunisian authorities have taken no preventive measures, published no environmental data, and continue to downplay the severity of the crisis. The 2017 government decree, which provided for the gradual phasing out of phosphogypsum dumping at sea, has never been implemented. In March 2025, the government even removed phosphogypsum from the national list of hazardous substances, in violation of the principle of environmental non-regression and Article 24 of the African Charter, which guarantees everyone’s right to a healthy environment.
Faced with this inaction, the inhabitants of Gabès organized peaceful demonstrations to demand their right to breathe clean air. These demonstrations were violently suppressed: a young protester lost an eye after being directly hit by tear gas, illustrating the growing criminalization of environmental defenders in Tunisia.
On behalf of the coalition, the Tunisian Human Rights League and the Committee for Justice called on the African Commission to:
- send an urgent communication to the Tunisian government;
- refer the matter to the Special Rapporteur on the environment and human rights and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders;
- consider a joint fact-finding or advocacy mission, including a field visit to Gabès;
- encourage the African Court to examine Tunisia’s responsibility for violating the rights to health, life, and a healthy environment.
The coalition emphasizes that the situation in Gabès is not an isolated case, but a warning for the entire continent. When environmental protection is sacrificed for economic interests, it is the fundamental rights of populations that collapse.