ILAC congratulates the Ombudsman of Tunisia, Mr Abdessattar Ben Moussa, for his outstanding contributions towards democracy. Mr Ben Moussa and ILAC representatives met this month in Tunis, where they reaffirmed their common goal in strengthening rule of law and public trust in the institutions of that country.
The ombudsman is an independent institution created in 1992 that aims to protect the rights of citizens as well as to transform the negative image public administration has amongst citizens. Béji Caïd Essebsi nominated Mr Ben Moussa Administrative Mediator last January. The administrative ombudsman is responsible for considering individual complaints against public institutions and communicating the recommendations to the administrative establishment in order to resolve the dispute.
Mr Ben Moussa has extensive experience in working towards a democratic and just society in Tunisia. The Ombudsman was the former President of The Tunisian Human Rights League. During his mandate, Mr Ben Moussa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 with three other members of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet. He is also the former head of the Tunisian Bar Association, an ILAC member organisation.
ILAC was invited in Tunisia to assess how to rebuild the justice system just a few short weeks after Ben Ali’s departure in 2012. As from then, the consortium has been engaged with a number of training and technical assistance programmes that aim to help rebuild the justice system. ILAC´s assistance in Tunisia seeks promoting the strengthening of rule of law and protection human rights.