Agreement between the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the Republic of Tunisia concerning German war graves in Tunisia
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY and THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA Anxious to gather together in a single place of honor the mortal remains of the German war dead of the Second World War buried in Tunisian soil, Wishing to ensure the care and maintenance of this place of honor, Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Agreement, German war dead shall mean members of the German armed forces and persons of German nationality who died in Tunisia in connection with events of the Second World War.
Article 2
(1) The German war dead buried in Tunisia shall be reinterred in a place of honor on a site yet to be determined, the construction of which shall be subject to the prior approval of the Tunisian government.
(2) The government of the Tunisian Republic shall cede the necessary land for this purpose to the government of the Federal Republic of Germany for permanent free use in accordance with the provisions of this agreement. However, the land shall remain the property of the Tunisian government.
(3) It guarantees the protection of this area and the place of honor.
(4) It keeps the area around the site free from any influences that could affect the peace of the dead and the dignity of the place of honor.
Article 3
(1) Should the grounds of the place of honor be needed for another use in the future due to urgent public interest, the government of the Republic of Tunisia shall provide another suitable site for the same purpose and shall bear the costs of reburial of the dead as well as the construction and development of the new place of honor.
(2) The selection of the new site, its construction and development, and the implementation of the reburial shall be carried out by mutual agreement.
Article 4
The exhumation and reburial of the German war dead in the place of honor designated in Article 2, as well as its construction and development, shall be carried out by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany at its expense, in agreement with the government of the Tunisian Republic and in accordance with applicable Tunisian regulations.
Article 5
The Government of the Republic of Tunisia shall provide the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany with copies of all documents in its possession concerning German war dead and war graves and concerning the identification of the dead.
Article 6
(1) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is authorized to import into Tunisia and, if necessary, re-export, during the time required for the exhumation and re-interment and the construction of the memorial, goods, including equipment, tools and works of art, that are needed for the exhumation and re-interment of the dead and for the construction and development of the memorial, duty-free, exempt from fees and charges, and free of import conditions of any kind.
(2) Taxes on fuel and internal taxes of any kind on motor vehicles, as well as purchase tax and other taxes of any kind on goods required for official purposes in the implementation of paragraph 1, shall not be levied or shall be reimbursed.
(3) The exemptions and facilities provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be granted upon request.
Article 7
(1) The repatriation of German war dead from Tunisia to Germany shall be subject to the prior authorization of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Government of the Republic of Tunisia shall only grant such repatriations upon presentation of this authorization. In the event of repatriations, the legal provisions applicable in both countries concerning the transportation of corpses shall be observed.
(2) Applications for the transfer of German war dead to other states shall be forwarded by the Government of the Republic of Tunisia to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany before their approval in order to have the identity of the dead person to be transferred established.
(3) All costs of exhumation and transfer shall be borne by the applicant.
Article 8
(1) The Government of the Republic of Tunisia consents to the German Commission for the Care of War Graves (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.) undertaking, on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, the technical implementation of the tasks arising from this Agreement. The Government of the Republic of Tunisia shall grant this organization every possible facility.
(2) The Volksbund may, in agreement with the Tunisian government, send specialists to Tunisia to carry out its tasks and set up the necessary work rooms for the required period of time. The government of the Tunisian Republic shall be informed in advance of the persons who will be sent to Tunisia for this purpose.
Article 9
The technical implementation of this Agreement shall be the direct responsibility of the organization referred to in Article 8 and the competent Tunisian authorities.
Article 10
The Government of the Republic of Tunisia shall facilitate in every way the visit to the place of honour, in particular by relatives of the fallen.
Article 11
Subject to the consent of the competent authorities in Berlin, this Agreement shall also apply to the State of Berlin, unless the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany makes a reciprocal declaration to the Government of the Republic of Tunisia within three months of the entry into force of the Agreement.
Article 12
The Tunisian government shall, upon application, be granted reciprocal facilities in the Federal Republic of Germany corresponding to those provided for in this Agreement for the purpose of erecting and maintaining a place of honor for Tunisian military personnel who fell and were buried on German soil during the war of 1939-1945.
Article 13
This Agreement shall enter into force on the day of its signature.
DONE at Bonn, this twenty-eighth day of March in the year one thousand nine hundred and sixty-six, in four original copies, two in the German and French languages, each text being equally authentic.
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany: Signature
For the Government of the Republic of Tunisia: Signature