The Republic of Tunisia (or Tunis in the local form) is found in North Africa bordering Algeria and Libya. The country has an extensive coastline along the Mediterranean Sea with nearby islands, such as Lampedusa, which is Italian territory, only 70 miles away, demonstrating a close proximity to Europe. Tunisia was a French colony and gained independence in 1956. The country is made up of 11 million people and its capital is Tunis. 99.5% of the population is Muslim, mainly Sunni and 0.2% is Christian. The country is officially a republic with a President as Chief of State and a Prime Minster as Chief of Government, who leads the unicameral legislative branch known as the Chamber of the People's Deputies. Its economy is based on tourism, foreign investments and exports, particularly textiles and apparel, food products, petroleum products, chemicals, and phosphates.

A member of the OSCE Mediterranean Partners, Tunisia’s partnership with the OSCE dates back the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, which recognized the close relationship between European security and Mediterranean security. In 1994, a contact group was formed to formally involve the southern Mediterranean countries with the OSCE.  As Tunisia has made efforts to improve its democracy, it has enthusiastically used the resources available to it as an OSCE partner. In 2011, Tunisia invited more than seventy OSCE observers to its first democratic elections, who concluded that the elections had provided genuine choice for the voters.  In 2012, Tunisia requested that ODHIR carry out projects supporting democratic structures in the area, and ODIHR supported Tunisia in undertaking key electoral and legislative reforms, consolidating democratic institutions, and increasing the participation of women in public life.  Since 2012, ODIHR has served as a consultant for Tunisia’s Ministries of Justice, Interior, Human Rights, Transitional Justice, the Election Management Body and the National Constituent Assembly. ODIHR has also reviewed many pieces of Tunisian legislation.  Twenty-four Tunisians have attended the OSCE Border Management Staff College and in 2014, the OSCE ran an assessment of Tunisia’s needs for an effective export control regime for small arms and light weapons.