Backgrounder - Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet

Backgrounder

The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet was formed in September 2013 during a major political and social crisis marked by the assassination of two parliamentarians, massive demonstrations and calls for the resignation of the government and the dissolution of the legislature.

The Quartet established a road map with conditions, making possible the national dialogue that began in October 2013. This initiative is considered to have prepared the ground for Tunisia’s first democratic constitution, which took effect in January 2014, and for the organization of general and presidential elections in December 2014.

The organizations that make up the Quartet follow, with their official representatives.

• The Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail [Tunisian general labour union]—Houcine Abassi, Secretary General—was established in 1946 and is the main central labour body in Tunisia and the first union in the Arab world.
• The Union Tunisienne de l’Industrie, du Commerce et de l’Artisanat [Tunisian confederation of industry, trade and handicrafts]—Ouided Bouchamaoui, President—is a federation of employers founded in 1947 and is the main Tunisian business group.
• The Ligue Tunisienne pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme [Tunisian human rights league]—Abdessatar Ben Moussa, President—was established in 1976 and was the first Tunisian organization to join the International Federation for Human Rights; it is also the oldest human rights league in Africa and in the Arab world.
• The Ordre National des Avocats de Tunisie [national Tunisian order of lawyers]—Mohamed Fadhel Mahfoudh, President—has played a key role in the struggle for respect for the rule of law in Tunisia since being founded in 1958.

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Hon. Stéphane Dion Global Affairs Canada Government and Politics