A new report from the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) found that "17,322 irregular migrants" with Tunisian nationality reached Italy's coasts in 2023, "including over 4,000 minors." The data was released as part of FTDES' annual report on protests, irregular migration, suicide rates, suicide attempts and violence, on February 13.

Islam Gharbi, a member of FTDES' department on migration, stressed that the number of sea arrivals from Tunisia dropped by 4.5% in 2023 compared to 2022 (18,148 migrants), while the number of undocumented migrants in the same year leaving Tunisian ports, but from other countries originally, increased by 65% overall compared to 2022.

In that year, the country took over from Libya as the most popular jumping off point for migrants trying to reach Europe over the Mediterranean.

Number of dead, missing migrants on the rise, report says

According to Gharbi, the number of migrants who were reported dead or missing on Tunisia's coasts increased in 2023 to reach 1,313 people of different nationalities, while the number of migrants who have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean has risen to 1,793.

In 2023, Tunisian authorities foiled over 6,000 "irregular migration attempts" and arrested 80,000 irregular migrants on Tunisian coasts, 18% of whom were Tunisian citizens, the official said.

FTDES data revealed that, in January 2024, 258 Tunisian migrants reached Italy's coasts, down nearly 25% from the same month in 2023. Moreover, in January, a reported 26 attempts of irregular migration were foiled by Tunisian authorities and 395 migrants were prevented from reaching the Italian coasts from Tunisia, Gharbi concluded.

'Determination to strengthen relations confirmed'

In a statement on Wednesday (February 14), Tunisian Interior Minister Kamel Feki, said he had been in touch with his Italian counterpart, Matteo Piantedosi, to discuss the results of a meeting the two had with their Libyan counterpart in November 2023.

During the phone conversation, "the ministers examined the current situation and cooperation perspectives, as well as partnership programs between the interior ministries of the two countries, in particular in the sectors of the fight against irregular migration and organized crime."

The phone call, according to the statement, "represented a new opportunity for both sides to confirm their determination in continuing to strengthen these relations, thus reflecting the depth and solidity of secular ties between the two countries, at the service of the two populations."

The conversation also focused on efforts made by both sides to support "Tunisian security units in the fight against the organizations involved in human trafficking and in operations of irregular migration between the two countries."

The ministers moreover "highlighted the need for constant cooperation in this regard to facilitate the voluntary return of irregular migrants with the assistance of the appropriate UN organizations", the statement concluded.