South Programme

Introduction

The programme "Regional Support to Reinforce Human rights, Rule of Law and Democracy in the Southern Mediterranean" (South Programme IV) is a joint initiative, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the latter. Building on the achievements and lessons learned from the past three phases, Phase IV, covering the period March 2020 – February 2022, aims to continue supporting democratic reforms in the Southern Mediterranean region, namely Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Palestine*.

More specifically, the South Programme IV aims at:

Strengthening and pursuing efforts towards a common legal space between Europe and the Southern Mediterranean region;
Supporting the effective implementation of human rights, the respect of rule of law and improving democratic governance through improved institutional capacities;
Combating violence against women in the region;

Strengthening and expanding regional co-operation to address global challenges such as fighting economic crime and trafficking in human beings.

* This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of Council of Europe and European Union member States on this issue.

Anti-trafficking activities in Morocco and Tunisia

In Morocco, bilateral anti-trafficking activities are in progress thanks to voluntary contributions from Liechtenstein, Norway and Spain. These include the recent launch of the Council of Europe HELP course for judges on combating trafficking in human beings.

In Tunisia, the PAII-T — Projet d’Appui aux Instances Indépendantes en Tunisie, or PAII-T/component 7, is a European Union/Council of Europe Joint Programme covering the bilateral dimension of anti-trafficking activities. The key activities organised in conjunction with the National Authority for Combating Trafficking in Persons (INLTP) regard the following:

National Referral Mechanism for Victims of Trafficking in Persons in Tunisia
Capacity building in the fight against trafficking in persons
Regional Platform (Southern Mediterranean) to combat trafficking in human beings
COVID19: Assistance to trafficking victims during general confinement in Tunisia

Click here to see all the tools developed in this framework

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