"The fight against corruption is of capital importance," Tunisia's Minister of Justice Hafedh Ben Salah told IDLO. Mr Ben Salah, whose portfolio includes Human Rights and Transitional Justice, said one could not "rebuild and renovate on unhealthy foundations". He was speaking days after a national parliamentary election whose conduct came in for global praise, and minutes after taking part in the launch of an IDLO-sponsored corruption awareness guide.
Ensemble contre la corruption et les autres infractions économiques et financières en Tunisie both explains the concepts at stake and directs citizens towards the institutions and NGOs best able to handle their complaints. Launched at the Ministry's headquarters of the Bardo in Tunis, the bilingual (French and Arabic) brochure galvanized representatives of Tunisia's newly empowered civil society to demand that officials and magistrates associate them in the fight against corrupt practices.
Ensemble contre la corruption reflects the close partnership between IDLO and the Pôle Judiciaire Financier, the country's key judicial body tasked with fighting graft and money laundering. The full legacy of Tunisia's former autocratic regime, under which theft had become institutionalised, is still being unearthed and investigated.
"We cannot build a state based on the rule of law if such practices persist," Mr. Ben Salah added. "IDLO has allowed us to train a large number of specialized magistrates, and this impact has been (...) positive on their outlook and sensibility. We certainly hope this cooperation will continue," Mr Ben Salah concluded. "One does not change tack when one is halfway there."
