Kamel Jendoubi (Arabic: كمال الجندوبي; born 8 August 1952 in
Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
) is a Tunisian politician and
human rights activist
A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...
.
Biography
Jendoubi holds a degree from the
IAE Paris
IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School (also known in French as IAE Paris, short for Institut d'administration des entreprises de Paris) is a public business school, part of the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, University of Paris 1 Panthéon ...
and a Master of Advanced Studies from
University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
.
He is a member and the president of several human rights organizations, including the
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network since 2003.
In 2011, he was elected by the High Authority for the achievement of the objectives of the revolution, political reform and democratic transition as the President of the Independent
.
In October 2012, Kamel Jendoubi was again in charge of organizing elections of 2013, following a
troika
Troika or troyka (from Russian тройка, meaning 'a set of three' or the digit '3') may refer to:
* Troika (driving), a traditional Russian harness driving combination, a cultural icon of Russia
Politics
* Triumvirate, a political regime rul ...
agreement on the future political regime. However, the voting was postponed and Chafik Sarsar, a university lecturer in
constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
, was finally elected president of the new independent Higher Authority for elections.
On 23 January 2015, in the government of
Habib Essid, he was appointed as help to the prime minister,
Head of Government of Tunisia
The president of Tunisia, officially the president of the Republic of Tunisia (), is the executive head of state of Tunisia. The president exercises executive power with the assistance of a government headed by the prime minister in a president ...
, for Relations with Constitutional Institutions and Civil Society. On 6 January 2016, he also became responsible for human rights.
On 5 December 2017, he was appointed by the
to lead a group of international and regional experts to investigate on human rights violations in
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
.
Education
Kamel Jendoubi enrolled at the
University of Tunis
Tunis University (, ) is a public university in Tunis, Tunisia. It was founded in 1960 on the basis of earlier educational establishments.
The University of Tunis is a member of the Mediterranean University Union (UNIMED) and of Agence univers ...
in the late 1960s to pursue studies in
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
and
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
. A year later, in 1971, he moved to Paris, but failed to enroll in medical school. He therefore pursued pharmacy studies.
During this time, he got to know many Tunisian immigrants and decided to leave his studies for the benefit of his human rights activities. In 1979, Kamel Jendoubi, after a short return to Tunisia, returned to France to resume studies in mathematics this time, before reorienting again, In Paris after IAE he started at Sorbonne.
Smear campaign
Jendoubi was the target of a smear campaign reportedly launched by the government of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, which sought to tie him to the
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
and Islamic extremist groups. As part of the effort, the UAE government employed the services of
Alp Services SA, a Swiss private intelligence firm. Alp manufactured false news stories about Jendoubi which were added to articles about him on
English Wikipedia
The English Wikipedia is the primary English-language edition of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. It was created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger on 15 January 2001, as Wikipedia's first edition.
English Wikipedia is hosted alongside o ...
and
French Wikipedia
The French Wikipedia () is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...
.
Honours and awards
* Commander
Order of the Republic (Tunisia)
The Order of the Republic is an order of Tunisia, founded 16 March 1959.
Some major recipients Grand Cross National
* Mohamed Ennaceur
* Beji Caid Essebsi.
Foreign
* : Abdelaziz Bouteflika
* : Carlos Menem
* : Gamal Abdel Nasser
* : Anwar Sad ...
, 2011.
* Hermès Prize for the Promotion of
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
and Exchange of Information in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
.
Publications
* ''Que vive la République ! Tunisie (1957-2017)'', Tunis, ed. Alif, 2018
* ''Tunisie dix ans et dans dix ans'' (collective work), Tunis, ed. Leaders, 2021
* ''La Tunisie vote, Récit d’un acteur engagé'', Tunis, ed. Nirvana, 2021
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jendoubi, Kamel
Tunisian politicians
People of the Tunisian revolution
Tunisian human rights activists
Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni
1952 births
Living people