- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The youth-led upheaval in Tunisia has opened wide the doors to transformation of the Tunisian state and society and the building of a new social contract among Tunisians. Tunisian citizens, as individuals, civil society or the private sector, seek to build a state based on a common vision of democracy, social justice, equality, equity and prosperity that are enshrined in law and demonstrated in everyday interactions.
With global and regional support, UNDP in Tunisia is well-positioned to provide innovative support to national actors in finding solutions to the intricate governance and development challenges facing the country. UNDP Tunisia is ready to act decisively – and rapidly – in support of an as yet-fragile political transition through a broad programmatic approach that goes beyond successful electoral processes or quick-impact employment creation schemes.
UNDP’s transition strategy has been built gradually, since the fall of the previous regime, through extensive consultations with the Tunisian interim government, the three independent national commissions, civil society organizations (CSO), politicians, the private sector and the media, as well as with UNDP development partners, including key bilateral and multilateral partners in Tunis.
A) Tunisia faces a number of immediate challenges:
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July, 24th 2011 – Election for a Constituent Assembly. A road map for the political transition was announced in early March by the interim government (IG), clarifying the sequence of political events that will pave the long road to full-fledged democracy and which foresees the election of a Constituent Assembly (CA) on July 24th, as a major milestone for the democratic transition process, and first authentic electoral competition in Tunisia since independence. Given the short timeline, the challenge will be to organize free and fair elections that will lead to a new constitution that truly represents the interests of all the Tunisian people.
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Security and stability throughout the transitional process, and after. Unstructured political confrontations can quickly degenerate into outright violence; the pressing socio-economic demands that also fuelled the revolution have now gained prominence in the public debate and triggered an avalanche of social protests in all sectors of society; and recent events such as the Libyan crisis and tensions at the border have compounded this volatile situation and has shown how necessary it is to take concrete action and measures to ensure that security issues do not hamper the progress to democracy.
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Economic crisis and expected increase of unemployment. Most observers expect unemployment to rise substantially in 2011, due to very low and even possibly negative growth and the return of large number of Tunisian workers from Libya. The tourism sector has witnessed decreases in arrivals from both Europe and Libya and the health sector is also suffering from the Libyan crisis- the private sector is suffering from a drop of clients, while the public sector is bearing a novel burden due to the increasing arrival of destitute wounded Libyans and Libyans with chronic conditions. An immediate priority to prevent an economic crisis from undermining support for the democratic transition requires consideration to be given to a substantial investment in a comprehensive economic package to stabilize the economy and lay the foundation for accelerated, job-creating growth.
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The vital contribution of women and youth to the political process and the re-writing of the Country’s social contract. Through the democratic process, women seek equality in political, social and economic life and to win the long-standing fight on inheritance rights. Young people are attempting to use their revolutionary credentials to claim their rights to be part of decision-making.