On Tuesday , the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued a warning to the Tunisian authorities, calling on them to put an end to “racist hate speech,” especially against people of sub-Saharan African descent.

The committee expressed its "disturbation at the statements made by the Tunisian President (Kais Said) in late February" that the influx of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa represents "a source of violence and crimes" and that it is part of a "criminal arrangement" aimed at "changing the composition demographics of Tunisia.

The committee, which monitors the compliance of the parties to the International Agreement on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, considered that the Tunisian president's statements contradict the agreement.

She said she was "deeply concerned about the escalation of racist or xenophobic hate speech in Tunisia against migrants from sub-Saharan African countries on social networks and some other media, including racist hate speech by individuals and political parties."

It noted that the wave of hate speech led to acts of violence against these immigrants, including physical assaults and expulsions from their homes and jobs.

She also drew attention to reports of numerous arbitrary arrests against these immigrants, including women, children and students, "carried out by security forces within the framework of the campaign called Strengthening Security Measures and Reducing the Phenomenon of Illegal Residence in Tunisia + without any procedural guarantees."

The committee called on Saeed to immediately stop the mass arrests and detentions of migrants, release those arbitrarily detained, and allow those who choose to seek asylum to do so.

In a February 21 speech, the Tunisian president stressed that "urgent measures" must be taken to stem the flow of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to his country.

On the eighth of March, he denied any racism in his stance towards immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, stressing that the statements "cannot be explained by interpretations repeated by some malicious tongues" that described his statements as racist.

In light of this, the World Bank decided to suspend the Partnership Framework with Tunisia "until further notice."