Tunisia
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report -2005
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
March 2005
Volume I: Drug and Chemical Control
Tunisia is not a significant drug producing country nor is it a drug transshipment country. Tunisia is not involved in the production, trading and transit of drug precursor chemicals. The government has an active youth demand reduction education program and encourages NGOs' counternarcotics educational activities. During 2004, the government started enforcement of a new money laundering law, created a new department within the Ministry of Interior to root out corruption among police and customs officers, started building the region's first drug rehabilitation center for addicts and continued to punish drug dealers and consumers with maximum sentences as provided under the law. Tunisia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, and its domestic law contains provisions mandated by the Convention.
Tunisia is not a drug producing country and does not produce drug precursor chemicals. The government claims to have totally eradicated cannabis cultivation. However in previous years, there were unconfirmed reports of continued illicit cannabis cultivation in northern Tunisia. Before independence, cannabis cultivation for local use was legal. Tunisia is not a significant drug transshipment country; individual smugglers carry small amounts of hashish from Morocco and Algeria to Europe. Most drugs that enter the country from Algeria or Morocco are for local consumption. The government does not publish figures for narcotics consumption. However, Tunisian media reports on a daily basis on drug-related crimes for warning and prevention. NGOs active in the field report drug consumption is limited, but has increased in recent years, primarily in high schools, universities, and tourist resorts.
Policy Initiatives. On March 17, 2004, the GOT appointed a magistrate to head a newly created inspection department for police and customs officers. The department included in its mandate investigation of narcotics-related corruption. Tunisia has inter-ministerial committees to oversee drug control matters, but lacks a comprehensive counternarcotics master plan. Tunisia enacted a comprehensive penal code and other laws related to drug enforcement in 1992 and updated in 2003; these laws bring Tunisia into conformity with the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Tunisia has adequate legal and law enforcement measures in place to accomplish the 1988 UN Drug Convention objectives.
Accomplishments. The Government of Tunisia (GOT) gives a high priority to counternarcotics law enforcement. Tunisian law contains provisions mandated by the 1998 UN Drug Convention. Tunisia does not have an applicable bilateral narcotics agreement with the USG but is part of narcotics-related multilateral bodies. Tunisian media routinely report on drug seizures (mostly hashish), arrests of drug abusers, and convictions of traffickers. Hard drugs remain difficult to find or buy in Tunisia.
Law Enforcement Efforts. The agency with primary responsibility for counternarcotics law enforcement is the "Surete Nationale." Tunisian authorities did not make publicly available comprehensive information on counternarcotics law enforcement. Media increasingly report on law enforcement efforts. Based on publicly available sources, Tunisia averages 20 seizures annually totaling approximately 580 kilogram of narcotics. Sentences for narcotics cases are a combination of prison time and a fine, depending on the amount and type of drug. The most severe punishment is reserved for drug traffickers, who can receive 10 to 20 years plus a fine of 20,000 to 100,000 dinars ($16,300 to $81,300).
For example, the media reported on the following cases during the month of December 2004: Customs officials interdicted four foreigners with 30 kilogram of heroin; Police arrested 11 drug sellers and users and sized 110 grams of drugs (Tunisian courts sentenced them to six years in prison and a fine of 5,000 dinars, equivalent to $4,700; Tunisian courts sentenced two Tunisian traffickers from the Algerian border area to 28 years in prison; prison guards confiscated 130 psychotropic pills smuggled into prison; local police in a Tunis suburb arrested five for drug use.
Corruption. Tunisia has taken legal and law enforcement measures to prevent and punish public corruption, including corruption committed by senior government officials. In 2004, the Ministry of Interior established a special department to address corruption by police and customs officers. A special magistrate with investigative power heads the new department. To minimize corruption in the customs service, the government routinely transfers regional customs officials and reassigns senior national-level customs officers. As a matter of government policy, the Government of Tunisia and its senior officials do not engage in, encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. During 2004, Tunisia had no publicized cases of public narcotics-related corruption.
Agreements and Treaties. Tunisia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Tunisia is also a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Crime and its protocols against migrant smuggling and trafficking in women and children.
Cultivation/Production. There are no current, confirmed reports of cultivation of cannabis. In previous years, some cannabis was reportedly grown in insignificant amounts in northern Tunisia.
Drug Flow/Transit. Tunisia is not a major drug transshipment country. There are regular reports of individual hashish smugglers from Morocco and Algeria who transit Tunisia en route to Europe. An unsubstantiated report indicated increasing transit of heroin from Libya through Tunisia to Europe. There are no reports of synthetic drugs trafficked through Tunisia in 2004.
Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). Tunisia has no official numbers on drug abuse; however, an informal estimate indicates that Tunisia has roughly two thousand drug abusers, primarily school dropouts and jailed drug users. Tunisian officials reported a rising trend of abuse of illicit drugs, including: cannabis, heroin, cocaine, and volatile substances. The majority of Tunisian drug users consume a form of cannabis.
The GOT conducts drug education programs in schools and encourages NGOs to conduct complementary educational programs. Tunisia's Ministry of Health has yet to develop a comprehensive rehabilitation policy. Addicts are generally imprisoned and currently receive little rehabilitation assistance. In 2005, the government will start construction on the first specialized substance abuse rehabilitation center and halfway house for drug addicts in Tunisia.
Bilateral cooperation. DOD Headquarters European Command provided $322,600 in humanitarian aid for construction of the Sfax rehabilitation center.
The Road Ahead. The U.S. will continue to work closely with Tunisia to improve narcotics law enforcement. The U.S. supports Tunisian efforts to comply fully with the 1988 UN Drug Convention, and it seeks Tunisian support for U.S. international counternarcotics initiatives.
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