The US Congress Did Not Remove Tunisia’s Quota From 2022 Annual Budget
The Claim
The US Congress has cut Tunisia’s entire quota, estimated at $240m, from the US annual budget. A third of the allocated money goes to the military establishment.
News posted on
Emerging story
Pages and accounts on Facebook and Twitter have circulated alleged news that the US Congress decided to cut all of Tunisia’s share, estimated at $240m from the 2022 annual budget.
These accounts and pages also claimed that the alleged decision was made because Tunisia declined to vote in the United Nations Security Council to send a UN envoy to Western Sahara.
Photo Description: The photos show screenshots of two Facebook posts circulating the claim.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulated claim and found that it was fake. The US Congress did not make any decision to cut Tunisia’s quota entirely from the annual budget.
Tunisia’s quota set by the Biden Administration is estimated at $197.1m, not $240m.
Looking at official documents on the US budget allocations for Tunisia for 2019, 2020, and 2021, it appears that Tunisia had the sum of $241.4m, which means that the 2022 budget had reduced Tunisia’s share.
The US Appropriations Committee proposed that the US administration continue to give the aid allocated to Tunisia as part of the 2022 Foreign Military Financing Program in return for meeting certain conditions.
These include that the Tunisian government submits to the Committee a report within 45 days after passing the draft bill, clearly demonstrating whether the Tunisian military has participated or otherwise supported the democratic backsliding in Tunisia. The report should also prove whether the government of Tunisia is using or relying on the military to reinforce its autocratic actions. Moreover, the government should also present if it is taking reasonable steps to restore constitutional order and democratic governance, including respecting freedom of expression, association, the press, and the rights of members of political parties.
The draft bill comes against the backdrop of a session held by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Oct. 14, last month, to discuss the latest developments in Tunisia.
Tunisia and Russia abstained from voting in the UN Security Council to extend the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for another year.
