A Call for the Release of Dr. Moncef Kartas
To:
The Secretary-General of the United Nations
The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Government of the Republic of Tunisia
We, the undersigned, call for the immediate release of Dr. Moncef Kartas, who has been unlawfully detained by the Tunisian authorities since 26 March 2019. As a member of the Panel of Experts of the United Nations (UN) Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1973 (2011) concerning Libya, Dr. Kartas enjoys immunity under the UN Convention on the Privileges and Immunities (1946). This includes immunity from arrest or detention. The UN Secretary-General has confirmed in multiple notes verbales to the Tunisian authorities that at the time of his detention, Dr. Kartas was performing his official mission. The detention of Dr. Kartas by the Tunisian authorities is, therefore, a serious violation of Tunisia’s international obligations. Further, his detention is a direct impediment to the work of the Committee, having occurred at the same time that the Panel of Experts is preparing its interim report.
Dr. Kartas, a dual national of both Germany and Tunisia, is being investigated for the premeditated betrayal of secrets concerning Tunisian national security to foreign states or their associates. A conviction for such crimes could lead to the death penalty. Only the UN Secretary-General has the right to waive the immunity for experts such as Dr. Kartas. Tunisia, a signatory to the Convention since 1957, has not presented any request for or evidence justifying a waiver of his immunity. No evidence has been presented for the alleged cooperation of Dr. Kartas with foreign states or their associates in the betrayal of secrets pertaining to Tunisian national security. The detention of Dr. Kartas on spurious grounds, and in violation of his immunity, raises serious questions over the state of the rule of law in Tunisia.
Dr. Kartas enjoys the highest reputation within the research community and amongst international and non-governmental organisations. We, the undersigned, personally know and value Dr. Kartas as a committed researcher and practitioner with impeccable ethical and professional standards. Dr. Kartas has consistently demonstrated his commitment to promoting the rule of law and security, particularly in North Africa and in Tunisia. Since 2016, Dr. Kartas has investigated breaches of the UN-imposed embargo on arms to Libya for the UN Panel of Experts. Through this work, Dr. Kartas seeks to contribute to peace and security in Libya, which in turn directly serves the interests of Tunisia’s national security. Dr. Kartas has worked and published widely on issues of conflict transformation and armed violence reduction for many years. He led a multi-year project focused on understanding and mitigating armed violence in North Africa for Small Arms Survey, a Swiss non-governmental organization, during which he regularly briefed senior officials in the Tunisian defence, interior and foreign ministries. He has also regularly provided training and advice to Tunisian and Libyan security officials on strategy and policy development.
We express full solidarity with Dr. Kartas and his family. We reiterate that Dr. Kartas is being illegally detained and call upon the United Nations Secretary-General, the Member States of the Security Council Libya Sanctions Committee, and, in particular, the German government, to condemn the actions of the Tunisian government and to undertake all efforts to secure his immediate release. We call upon the Government of Tunisia to respect the immunity afforded to Dr. Kartas under international law and to release him immediately.
1. Naji Abou Khalil, Consultant, Former member of the UN Panel of Experts on Libya
2. Sharhabeel Al Zaeem, Senior Partner, Al Zaeem & Associates Attorneys at Law
3. Omar Al-Shahery, Senior Cyber Intelligence Analyst, National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA)
4. Anna Alvazzi del Frate, Director of Programmes, Small Arms Survey
5. Rita Amthor-Kartas, Wife of Moncef Kartas
6. Nils Anders, Chief Analyst on Terrorism, UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)
7. Scott R. Anderson, Fellow, The Brookings Institution
8. Ali Arbia, Researcher, Small Arms Survey
9. David C. Atwood, Consultant, Small Arms Survey
10. Aslı Ü. Bâli, Professor of Law, University of California Los Angeles
11. Christelle Balustre-d’Erneville, Translator
12. Souhail Belhadj, Researcher, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
13. Eric Berman, Director, Small Arms Survey
14. Thomas Biersteker, Professor of International Security, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
15. Linda Bishai, Director of Research, Evaluation & Learning, American Bar Association
16. Ricardo Bocco, Professor, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
17. Marina Caparini, Senior Researcher and Director, Governance and Society Programme, SIPRI
18. Jovana Carapic, Researcher, Small Arms Survey
19. Benoit Challand, Associate Professor, Sociology, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence
20. Houssem Cheikhrouhou, Tunis
21. Amely Cheminel, Student
22. James Cohen, Executive Director, Transparency International Canada
23. Barbara Corcoran, Conference and Events, Yale Law School
24. Joshua Craze, Researcher, Small Arms Survey
25. Omar Dajani, Professor of Law, McGeorge School of Law
26. Savannah de Tessières, Former Coordinator of the UN Panel of Experts on Libya
27. Renee DeMatteo, Senior Conference and Events Manager, Yale Law School
28. Olivia Denonville, Publications Coordinator, Small Arms Survey
29. Emilia Dungel, Communications Coordinator, Small Arms Survey
30. Issandr El Amrani, Middle East and North Africa Regional Director, Open Society Foundations
31. Hasnaa El Jamali, Project Associate, Small Arms Survey
32. Owen Fiss, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law, Yale Law School
33. Mary Fitzgerald, Libya Researcher
34. Nicolas Florquin, Research Coordinator, Small Arms Survey
35. Steve Fry and Sihem Kortas, Founder & Managing Partner, Essential Jet Solutions
36. Vincent Geisser, Professor, Sciences Po Aix-en-Provence
37. Claudio Gramizzi, Head of Regional Operations West Africa, Conflict Armament Research
38. Sharan Grewal, Postdoctoral Fellow, The Brookings Institution
39. Janis Grzybowski, Assistant Professor in Political Science, Université Catholique de Lille
40. Xavier Guignard, Lecturer, Sciences Po Paris
41. Kathrin Hansen, Friend
42. Wibke Hansen, Head of Analysis, Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), Berlin
43. Farrah Hawana, Lecturer in International Politics & Security, Aberystwyth University, UK
44. Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, University of Princeton
45. Bradley Hayes, Sterling Professor of Law, Yale Law School
46. Matt Herbert, Senior Fellow, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
47. Holger Hoffmann and Family, Friends
48. Stephanie C. Hofmann, Professor of Political Science, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
49. Aiko Holvikivi, PhD Candidate, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
50. Zuzana Hudáková, Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for International Studies, Sciences Po Paris
51. Jonas Hult, Human Rights Consultant
52. Matt Johnson, Editor, Small Arms Survey
53. Oliver Jütersonke, Head of Research, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
54. Ben King, Independent Consultant
55. Adel Kartas, Brother of Moncef
56. Masayo Kondo Rossier, Lead, Humanitarian-Development Nexus, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
57. Kazushige Kobayashi, Post-doctoral Researcher, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
58. Keith Krause, Professor, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
59. Anthony Kronman, Sterling Professor of Law, Yale Law School
60. Wolfram Lacher, Senior Associate, German Institute for International and Security Affairs
61. William Lawrence, Professor of Political Science, George Washington University
62. Jonah Leff, Director of Operations, Conflict Armament Research
63. Darryl Li, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago
64. Chiara Loschi, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Vienna
65. Chibli Mallat, Professor of Law, University of Utah
66. Tamer Mallat, Lawyer, New York
67. Fiona Mangan, Independent Consultant
68. Andrew F. March, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
69. Nancy McDonald, Senior Technical Specialist, Global Communities
70. Justine McGowan, Advisor, CARE
71. Leanne McKay, Independent Consultant
72. Meriam Meddeb, former colleague and friend
73. Mark Micalleff, Senior Fellow, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
74. Alexander Ochs, Founder & Director, SD Strategies
75. Soli Ozel, Visiting Fellow, Yale Law School
76. Mathieu Pellerin, Research Associate, Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri)
77. Duncan Pickard, Associate, Debevoise & Plimpton
78. Gisbert Pöppler, Friend
79. Mihaela Racovita, Lisbon, Portugal
80. Luca Raineri, Research Fellow, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa
81. Aziz Rana, Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
82. Sandra Reimann, Head of Finance & Administration, TRIAL International
83. Mara Redlich Revkin, Robina Foundation Fellow , Yale Law School
84. Audrey Reeves, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Virginia Tech, USA
85. Tuesday Reitano, Deputy Director, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
86. Christelle Rigual, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
87. Dennis Rodgers, Research Professor, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
88. Kristof Rüdt von Collenberg, Friend
89. Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Oxford
90. Gabriella Sanchez, Florence, Italy
91. Wael Sawah, Editor-in-Chief, The Syrian Observer
92. Habib Sayah, Director, Complexity
93. Yezid Sayigh, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
94. Rahul Schwenk, Founder & Partner, good friends Public Affairs
95. Mark Shaw, Director, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
96. Steven Spittaels, Former Coordinator of the UN Panel of Experts on Libya
97. Francesco Strazzari, Associate Professor, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa
98. Samir S. M. Sumaida'ie, Former Interior Minister of Iraq, former Iraqi Ambassador to the US
99. Nedal Swehli, Executive Director, Diwan
100. Jérôme Tubiana, Researcher, Paris
101. Bibi van Ginkel, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute/International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, The Hague
102. Judith Vorrath, Senior Associate, German Institute for International and Security Affairs
103. Frederic Wehrey, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
104. Patrick Weil, Directeur de recherche, Université de Paris 1, CNRS
105. Achim Wenmann, Senior Researcher, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
106. Isabelle Werenfels, Senior Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs
107. Thorsten Wetzling, Head of Research, Stiftung Neue Verantwortung