Berlin, 10 February 2026. In their statement published today, 39 search and rescue and human rights organisations strongly urge the Members of the European Parliament to reject the proposed EU-wide list of so-called safe countries of origin. The NGOs appeal, specifically focused on Tunisia, is launched in connection to today’s vote in the European Parliament. The organisations stress that designating Tunisia as a safe country of origin stands in stark contradiction to the human rights situation on the ground and undermines the right to asylum 

Together with other organisations, SOS Humanity – active in search and rescue in the Central Mediterranean – is calling on the European parliamentarians to take into account the anti-democratic state transformation of the north African partner of the EU: the crackdown on civil society, involving violence against migrants and refugees.  

“We are deeply concerned that the EU is attempting to extend its policy of preventing asylum at the EU-border in the Mediterranean to Europe,“ says Marie Michel, political expert of SOS Humanity. “For years we have been witnessing the EU’s ruthless deterrence strategy of outsourcing its border management: violent pull-backs of refugees fleeing north African coasts. By classifying sates like Tunisia as a safe country of origin, people on the move are deprived of their right to protection even if they were lucky enough to have reached the shores of the apparently safe place of Europe. This is cynical and a violation of the right to asylum.” 

Civil and human rights organisations in Tunisia are equally worried about the deteriorating situation within the country, including the rampant repression against political opponents; the crackdown on judicial independence and the media and gross human rights violations against Tunisian nationals. “Reclassifying Tunisia as a ‘safe country’ effectively grants the authorities a renewed green light to continue their repressive approach,” says Romdhane Ben Amor, Spokesperson for the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. “This does not only target migrants and refugees but also facilitates tighter control over public space through the ongoing criminalisation and stigmatisation of political, civil, and union activism. With the police and judiciary under firm control, those who manage to flee still face the threat of expulsion and deportation.” 

The general director of the German human rights organisation Pro Asyl, Karl Kopp stresses that the concept of “safe countries of origin” legitimises violence and persecution in these countries: “By classifying countries as “safe countries of origin,” the EU Parliament, as co-legislator, is awarding a kind of human rights seal of approval to governments that rule authoritatively in their own countries and violate human rights. The situation in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Turkey is being glossed over, and the EU is completely discrediting itself on human rights issues. It is abandoning people who are persecuted in these countries.” 

Demands of the NGOs to the EU 

The search and rescue and human rights organisations stress in their statement that they have been witnessing over the past years the human cost of the migration agreements between the EU and Tunisia: more human rights violations of refugees and migrants and more deaths at sea. As a consequence, they call on the European Parliament to uphold EU law, international obligations, and act in solidarity with people who have to seek protection – and therefore reject the proposal of an EU list of ‘safe countries of origin’.   

Please find here the full statement of the NGOs and the names of the signatories.