While many challenges remain, Tunisians have nonetheless inspired millions of people around the world to stand up to oppression and make their voices heard.   

As an active member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), WAN-IFRA has campaigned alongside Tunisian and international partners for a number of years to defend the right to freedom of expression in a country ruled by brutal dictatorship. 

Please find below a selection of articles and press releases produced by WAN-IFRA staff analysing the situation over the past year and keeping track of IFEX-TMG's work in the country:

23 October 2011 –  As Tunisia is preparing to hold historic elections on 23 October, the profound reform of the media sector is yet to take place, despite genuine initiatives taken and valid recommendations made by competent groups and voices. Yet, time is of the essence to effectively support freedom of expression by adopting a series of positive measures and setting high standards for the future.

14 June 2011 – If Tunisians are to play an informed part in the transition phase and beyond, they need a free and independent media and a strong, democratic and open civil society to hold power to account, according to the new report from the International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 21 IFEX members in which WAN-IFRA is actively involved. 

19 May 2011 –  Decades of government-imposed restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of media through censorship, imprisonments, and pressure on media outlets and journalists have left the Tunisian media landscape in urgent need of reform, with the promotion of freedom of expression as a founding cornerstone, say members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 20 IFEX members.

16 April 2011 – (February 2011) In its seventh formal mission to Tunisia, and the second visit since deposed President Zine El Abedine Ben Ali fled the country on 14 January, a delegation from the International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), of which WAN-IFRA is an active member, spent over a week meeting a wide range of old and new stakeholders as part of the ongoing assessment of the state of freedom of expression in the country. IFEX-TMG is a coalition of 20 IFEX members who have been monitoring the freedom of expression situation in Tunisia since 2004.

1 March 2011 –  The International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 20 human rights and freedom of expression organisations of which WAN-IFRA is an active member, has been working since 2004 to draw attention to the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia. In light of the momentous recent events that ousted President Zine Abedine Ben Ali and brought his repressive 23-year regime to an end, WAN-IFRA travelled to Tunis as part of a delegation of IFEX-TMG representatives to take stock of the immense challenges that lie ahead for the media.

16 February 2011 – In the aftermath of the momentous events that brought Tunisian President Zine Abedine Ben Ali’s repressive 23-year regime to an end, a delegation of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG) travelled to Tunis in early February to assess what is needed to rebuild the independent press in Tunisia and ensure freedom of the press and freedom of expression are successfully established.

On 16 June 2011, IFEX-TMG, along with WAN-IFRA, presented a report entitled “The Scars of Oppression Run Deep: Assessing the Critical Requirements for Freedom of Expression in Tunisia’s Democratic Transition” to national and international media and local civil society groups at a press conference held in Tunis. It provides a sample of opinions gathered from a broad cross-section of over 60 media professionals, civil society advocates and authorities interviewed in Tunisia during the course of the IFEX-TMG mission that took place from 9 to 16 April.

The report can be read in full here.