Protesters Target Tunis UNHCR Headquarters Demanding Mass Migrant Deportations

A small group of Tunisians marched through central Tunis on June 7, protesting the presence of undocumented sub-Saharan African migrants and calling for their deportation along with the departure of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from the country.

The demonstration ended peacefully outside the heavily guarded UNHCR compound in the Lac district, where security forces kept protesters at a distance.

The rally, which followed a similar protest in Tripoli, Libya, days earlier, highlights growing frustration in North African transit states over irregular migration. Protesters waved Tunisian flags, carried signs, and chanted slogans as they moved through city streets before gathering opposite the UNHCR offices. Organisers described the action as a stand for national sovereignty and resources amid economic hardship.

Tunisia has become a key transit point for migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, attempting the dangerous central Mediterranean crossing to Europe. Many end up stranded due to tighter border controls and EU-backed efforts to stem irregular flows. As of early 2026, Tunisia hosts more than 10,600 registered refugees and asylum-seekers, including people from Sudan, Syria and other conflict zones. UNHCR’s asylum procedures in the country have been suspended since June 2024 at the government’s request, leaving many in legal limbo.

The protests echo remarks made by President Kais Saied in February 2023, when he described “hordes of illegal migrants” from sub-Saharan Africa as a threat to Tunisia’s Arab-Muslim identity. That speech triggered a wave of evictions, job losses, racially motivated attacks and collective expulsions, with some migrants pushed into desert border areas with Algeria and Libya, where deaths were reported. Subsequent years have seen repeated security raids on migrant camps near Sfax and Tunis, arbitrary arrests and pushbacks, according to human rights monitors.

In Libya, hundreds blocked UNHCR offices in Tripoli on June 4, erecting barriers and chanting “Libya for Libyans” and “No to settlement.” Protesters accused the agency of seeking permanent resettlement rather than temporary protection or voluntary returns. UNHCR and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) rejected the claims as disinformation spread on social media, stressing their work focuses on evacuations and assisted returns in a country facing its own instability and large transient migrant population.

Tunisia’s economic challenges, including high unemployment and inflation, have sharpened public sentiment. Many Tunisians argue that undocumented migrants strain limited jobs, housing and services. Humanitarian organisations, however, have documented ill-treatment, detention and forced returns, warning of rising xenophobia and “Afrophobia.” International labour and rights groups have called for protection of vulnerable migrants and de-escalation.

Libya has faced repeated international condemnation for reports of migrant detention centres and open-air auctions where sub-Saharan Africans have been bought and sold for forced labour or ransom, as documented by the UN, IOM and media investigations dating back to 2017 and persisting in various forms amid the country’s instability.

Similar patterns of exploitation, including forced labour and trafficking of Black African migrants, have been reported in parts of Tunisia, though on a lesser scale. Human rights organisations argue that while legitimate concerns over irregular migration exist, the current tensions risk reviving racial prejudices rooted in painful chapters of history.

The EU-Tunisia partnership, which includes financial support to curb irregular migration, has also faced criticism for potentially enabling abuses while doing little to tackle root causes such as conflict and poverty in countries of origin. Observers view the coordinated protests in Tunisia and Libya as symptoms of broader pressure on transit nations, where local populations feel overwhelmed and international migration management appears stalled.

With the summer Mediterranean crossing season underway, tensions are expected to rise. The demonstrations underscore the urgent need for regional cooperation on legal pathways, development assistance and humane border management, as thousands continue to risk the journey north.