Universal Periodic Review 39th Session
Review of Tanzania - Third Cycle
5 November 2021
By: Marc Gancedo/ GICJ
Tanzania’s Status of Ratifications in a Human Rights Context
Summary of Pre-UPR Submissions
In preparation ahead of the Thirty-ninth session, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review received two reports in accordance with Human Rights Council Resolutions 5/1 and 16/21, compiled by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The first report constitutes a compilation of information contained in reports of treaty bodies and special procedures and other relevant United Nations documents whereas the second report summarises the submissions of 36 stakeholders.
Compilation of UN Information on the United Republic of Tanzania
International obligations and cooperation with international human rights mechanisms and bodies: United Nations support had been provided for the preparation of the reports on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, however, those reports had yet to be submitted. In 2017, the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism stated that the United Republic of Tanzania had yet to ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted that the State had yet to accede to the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
National human rights framework: The Independent Expert on albinism stated that a review of the Witchcraft Act and the Traditional and Alternative Medicines Act would be included in the second National Human Rights Action Plan (2018–2022).
Equality and non-discrimination: The United Nations country team stated that the enforcement of gender discriminatory policies remained a major impediment to achieving gender equality. It also stated that the criminalization of same-sex relations had led to discrimination and increased the vulnerability and social marginalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, negatively impacting their access to social services.
Development, the environment, and business and human rights: The United Nations country team noted improvements in tackling corruption through initiatives that had included strengthening the presence and capacity of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau and the Zanzibar Anti-corruption and Economic Crimes Authority, and the adoption of legislative and regulatory frameworks. The United Nations country team stated that the key obstacles to addressing environmental and climate change challenges were weak policy and institutional frameworks, inadequate financing, weak coordination among stakeholders and limited adoption of innovative technologies and practices.
Human rights and counter-terrorism: The United Nations country team stated that the development of the National Strategy and Action Plan for Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism (2020/21–2024/25) had commenced in 2017, but had not been submitted for Cabinet approval until 2021, hindering the provision of support by the United Nations country team to prevent violent extremism.
Right to life, liberty and security of person: In 2021, the Human Rights Committee requested the United Republic of Tanzania to respond to reports of arbitrary arrests and detention of political opponents, activists, protestors and dissenting journalists, and to provide information on the steps taken to ensure that all allegations of arbitrary arrest and detention were promptly and effectively investigated and that the perpetrators were brought to justice. The United Nations country team stated that, although female genital mutilation was criminalized, the practice remained widespread. The Independent Expert on albinism stated that the combination of measures taken by the United Republic of Tanzania and civil society had led to a decrease in the number of reported attacks against persons with albinism in the country but the root causes of such attacks had not been fully addressed.
Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law: The United Nations country team stated that concerns remained at continued interference with the independence and impartiality of the judicial system. The recent amendments to the Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement Act, which required anyone seeking legal redress for human rights violations under the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania to prove that they had been personally affected, prevents organizations from filing cases on behalf of victims, in an environment where accountability mechanisms and access to justice for victims were already fragile.
Fundamental freedoms and the right to participate in public and political life: In a communication addressed to the United Republic of Tanzania, dated 9 July 2018, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and other special procedure mandate holders expressed concern at the growing restrictions placed on the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and of association and the right of peaceful assembly, including through the adoption and subsequent implementation of a legislative arsenal severely impinging on the right to freedom of expression. In the same communication, the experts expressed concern about the Cybercrime Act (2015), the Statistics Act (2015), the Access to Information Act (2016), the Media Services Act (2016) and the Electronic and Postal Communication (Online Content) Regulations (2018). Those laws, which had been adopted without consultation with civil society, provided the executive branch with overly broad discretionary powers to restrict the right to freedom of expression. The Human Rights Committee requested the United Republic of Tanzania to provide information on the compatibility with article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of: (a) the amendments made to the Non-Governmental Organizations Act of 2002; (b) the Guidelines for Coordinating Non-Governmental Organizations, issued in 2020; and (c) the amendments made to the Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement Act of 1994. The Human Rights Committee requested the United Republic of Tanzania to report on the progress made in ensuring that the laws governing the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, including the Political Parties Act (Amendment) of 2019, were fully in line with article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Prohibition of all forms of slavery: In 2018, some 336,000 people had been living in conditions of modern slavery; there had been no improvements in absolute numbers since 2013.
Right to work and to just and favourable conditions of work: The United Nations country team stated that, despite the enactment of the Employment and Labour Relations Act (2019), the Labour Institutions Act (2019) and their accompanying regulations, favourable conditions of work had yet to be achieved. The minimum wage in the private sector had not yet been reviewed, despite the operationalization in 2013 of the Labour Institutions Wage Order. The United Nations country team stated that, despite the development of the National Strategy on the Elimination of Child Labour (2018–2022), which contained strategies for, inter alia, the social integration of child labourers and their reinsertion into schools, child labour laws remained largely unenforced.
Right to social security: Over 90 per cent of the population, including almost all informal sector workers, self-employed and unemployed persons, did not have social protection coverage.
Right to an adequate standard of living: The United Nations country team stated that the implementation of the National Social Protection Policy, the Zanzibar Social Protection Policy and the second phase of the Productive Social Safety Net had benefited 13.5 million people living below the basic needs poverty line and had contributed to poverty reduction. The United Nations country team stated that access to drinking water had increased steadily. However, improved sanitation facilities were accessible to less than half of the population and there had been a marginal increase in open defecation practices in the rural mainland.
Right to health: The United Nations country team stated that in 2019, nearly 80 per cent of births had taken place in health facilities. While there had been a reduction in the under-5 and neonatal mortality rates, the actual number remained constant due to a population increase. The United Nations country team stated that about half of the women and girls aged between 15 and 49 years who were either married or in a union were unable to make decisions about their own health care and their use of contraception and were unable to refuse sexual intercourse. One in three pregnancies was unintended and nearly two thirds ended in abortion. Most abortions were unsafe, despite abortion being legal under specific circumstances. The United Nations country team stated that during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, the United Republic of Tanzania had not imposed a lockdown. It had initially shared public information about the spread of the virus, but had stopped doing so in May 2020, after which statements had been issued in June 2020 indicating that COVID-19 had been eliminated in the country. In 2021, the Human Rights Committee requested the United Republic of Tanzania to respond to concerns about the failure of the authorities to take prompt and effective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to indicate what measures the State intended to take in that regard.
Right to education: The United Nations country team stated that progress had been made in attaining universal primary education through the introduction of a fee-free education policy in 2016, which had increased enrolment to 95.7 per cent in 2020, with no significant gender disparities. However, a ban on pregnant girls and young women from attending school or taking exams allegedly still remains in place. Moreover, the quality of education, access to infrastructure, assistive devices and learning materials and lack of certification for learners remained serious challenges. The Independent Expert on albinism recommended that the United Republic of Tanzania ensure the provision of reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities. The United Nations country team stated that schools had been closed for three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that period, 2.5 million children, including refugee children, had continued their learning at home, facilitated by educational programmes on the television and the radio. In the wake of the back-to-school campaigns, 97 per cent of children had returned to school.
Women’s rights: Noting the existing regulatory framework to increase women’s access to productive resources, the United Nations country team stated that women continued to have low access to resources and were disproportionately represented in the informal sector. Under customary law, a woman had no right to her husband’s land on his death. A woman might require her husband’s consent to reap economic benefits from land acquired in his name. The United Nations country team stated that, although all sexual offences against women and girls were criminalized under the Penal Code, there was no specific provision for marital rape and domestic violence. While the Law of Marriage Act (1971) prohibited the use of corporal punishment against a spouse, the Penal Code did not contain any corresponding provision for punishing perpetrators of domestic violence.
Children’s rights: Noting the 2016 ruling of the High Court that marriage under the age of 18 years was unconstitutional, as upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2019, the United Nations country team stated that the revision of the Law of Marriage Act was still at an early stage. The United Nations country team stated that corporal punishment of children at home and in schools remained prevalent and was a major disincentive to learning and a cause of school dropout. The country team observed that the United Republic of Tanzania had noted the recommendation to prohibit all forms of corporal punishment that had been made at the previous review, in 2016.
Rights of Persons with disabilities: The United Nations country team stated that a draft national action plan for persons with albinism had been awaiting approval from the Prime Minister’s Office since early 2020. The Independent Expert on albinism recommended that the United Republic of Tanzania, inter alia, enforce the quota established by the Persons with Disabilities Act (2010), under which persons with disabilities were expected to account for 3 per cent of the payroll of companies employing more than 20 people.
Rights of Minorities and indigenous peoples: In a communication addressed to the United Republic of Tanzania, dated 11 October 2019, four special procedure mandate holders expressed concern about alleged violence, forced evictions and harassment affecting Maasai communities and the alleged failure to protect the rights of the Maasai to their traditional lands, territories and resources, as well as their rights to health, food and water, among others.
Rights of Migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons: UNHCR stated that there were significant inconsistencies between the Refugees Act (1998) and the 2003 Refugee Policy. The latter, which was the most widely applied, contained restrictive measures including limits on self-reliance opportunities for refugees, an enforced encampment policy and the requirement for refugee education in the curriculum of the country of origin. UNHCR stated that cases of refoulement were regularly reported. The United Nations country team stated that, despite requests from the Secretary-General of the United Nations and from UNHCR to suspend the voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic, the process had continued.
Rights of Stateless persons: UNHCR encouraged the United Republic of Tanzania to extend birth registration to all refugees born in the country irrespective of their age in order to prevent statelessness. The United Nations country team stated that the United Republic of Tanzania had halted the issuance of birth certificates to refugee children on public health grounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Summary of Stakeholder Submissions
International obligations and cooperation with international human rights mechanisms and bodies: The recommendations made in the previous review that would contribute to the eradication of torture were not implemented. The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons had yet to be ratified. The State under Review had not submitted its overdue reports to the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, despite supporting a recommendation to do so at the previous review.
National human rights framework: since the enactment of the Constitutional Review Act in 2011, the State under Review had been on course to draft a new Constitution. The draft Constitution had set out important provisions that address some of the shortcomings in the national laws, including those relating to the acquisition of citizenship. However, the referendum to adopt the draft Constitution had been postponed.
Equality and non-discrimination: SMPF stated that the State under Review had a secular legal and judicial system for both criminal and civil cases. However, certain civil cases, such as those relating to marriage, divorce, and inheritance, could be referred to the Islamic courts (Kadhi’s courts), which could lead to a discriminatory outcome for women. COC-Nederland stated that despite the efforts made by the State under Review, sexual minorities had continued to experience stigma, discrimination and violence in the form of verbal and physical abuse, mob justice and corrective rapes.
Development, the environment, and business and human rights: the State under Review had implemented part of the National Development Vision 2025 and national strategies for growth and poverty reduction, as well as policies for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Indigenous communities are threatened by climate change because of their reliance on nature for their livelihoods, coupled with their poor political representation and high poverty rates. The State under Review had focused on industrialization without giving due consideration to the precautions that needed to be taken in compliance with the Environmental Management Act of 2004.
Right to life, liberty and security of person: The State under Review had abstained from all eight resolutions in the United Nations General Assembly calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, including the most recent resolution adopted on 16 December 2020. The relevant recommendations from the previous review relating to persons with albinism had been partially implemented.
Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law: the Judiciary had suffered from underfunding and corruption. Judges were political appointees and the Judiciary did not have an independent budget. Children who did not have a fixed address were often remanded in custody because they did not have parents or guardians to whom they may be entrusted. Budget constraints made it difficult for police and the justice system to ensure that rights of those children held custody. Despite recommendations on improving access to justice being followed, people in rural areas still faced many barriers.
Law enforcement officers had repeatedly arrested individuals without a warrant of arrest, sometimes in a manner amounting to an abduction or enforced disappearance. On top of this, Tanzania had withdrawn its declaration accepting the competence of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to receive cases from individuals and non-governmental organizations.
Fundamental freedoms and the right to participate in public and political life: religious freedom was restricted, including by the passage of legislation in 2019 that amended The Societies Act. The Authorities had threatened to revoke the registration of religious organizations that mixed religion and politics. The 2020 World Press Freedom Index had shown that the State under Review had dropped 49 places in ranking from 75th place in 2015 to 124th place in 2020.
Despite constitutional guarantees, many repressive laws had undermined the freedom of expression. In 2018, the East African Court of Justice had found that multiple sections of the Media Services Act of 2016 had restricted press freedom and freedom of expression.
Freedom of expression online has declined since the previous review. The Regulations of 2020 had aggravated the crackdown on the freedom of expressions and required the registration of bloggers, online discussion forums, and radio and television webcasters. Human rights defenders had been subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, prosecution, intimidation, harassment and threats. Those working with, or belonging to, the LGBTIQ+ community had been targeted for harassment and physical abuse. On 24 October 2020, ahead of the presidential elections, the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority had ordered telecom service providers to suspend access to bulk short messaging services and bulk voice services. Despite supporting a recommendation at the previous review to respect freedom of association and assembly and to maintain a safe and enabling environment for political parties, Tanzania had ramped up repression of political opposition parties and had interfered with many opposition party assemblies. The 2020 elections were the first election since 1995 that had been conducted without the assistance of UNDP, as UNDP had not been requested to provide such assistance.
Prohibition of all forms of slavery: HKC stated that despite the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2008, the State under Review has continued to be a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking. Guidelines for supporting victims of trafficking had been adopted and an anti-trafficking secretariat had been established.
Right to privacy and family life: Although the Data Protection and Privacy bill that had been tabled in 2014 had not been passed, mass data collection exercises, including biometrics, had been rolled out by the National Identification Authority, the National Electoral Commission and by telecommunications companies. The lack of a substantive policy protecting the family constituted a failure to recognise the role of the family in attaining human development.
Right to work and to just and favourable conditions of work: it was stated that the criminalization and regulation of activities relating to sex work was a profound violation of the rights of sex workers.
Right to an adequate standard of living: Despite a number of positive changes, pastoralists and other villagers continued to face various forms of violations of their rights, including unlawful evictions aimed to give way to economic activities such as tourism, hunting, farming, and mining in pastoral and hunter-gatherers land without these people being adequately compensated or given alternative settlements.
Right to health: for the period 2019-2020, only 7.8 percent of the total budget had been allocated to the health sector, well short of the 15 percent pledge made in the Abuja Declaration. Due to fear of COVID-19 infection, some pregnant women had chosen to avoid pre-natal care in clinics and deliver their babies at home, risking complications during their pregnancies and childbirth. HRW stated that the State under Review had prevented LGBT persons from accessing health care, including by banning community-based organizations from providing HIV and public health services. Cancer was a leading cause of death among persons with albinism, yet the provision of skin cancer prevention and treatment services continued to be a challenge. The State under Review had refused to publicise information and data regarding the impact of the pandemic. After initially publicising a few cases, there was a subsequent ban on reporting about infections and death rates.
Right to education: Resources have been insufficient to accommodate the increase in school enrolment. Schools experience a shortage of teachers and instruction guides and have failed to provide inclusive education for all children especially those with disabilities, indigenous children, children living in remote and rural areas, and displaced children. The COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted the education calendar, affecting the learning of 15.4 million students, especially those preparing for their national examinations.
Women’s rights: stakeholders shared that the national plans had not captured gender equality issues and gender policies and strategies had lacked appropriate budgetary allocations. HKC stated that marital rape was not considered a crime and there was also no law explicitly prohibiting domestic violence. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in a reduction of prevention and protection efforts, social services and care for women and girls.
Children’s rights: Despite initiatives taken, including the formulation of the National Plan of Action to end Violence against Women and Children 2017/18-2021/22, there were concerns, including the increase in the incidents of violence against children. Even though Child Marriage has been ruled unconstitutional the Law of Marriage Act has yet to be amended. The worst forms of child labour had not been addressed and gaps existed in the legal framework. Children in the street experience sexual violence and the ensuing discrimination from health care professionals.
Rights of Persons with disabilities: HRW stated that the State under Review had committed to protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. However, inhumane practices of confining persons with intellectual and psychological disabilities had continued to exist due to inadequate support and mental health services, as well as widespread beliefs that stigmatized such persons.
Rights of Minorities and indigenous peoples: The Wildlife Conservation Act, no 5 of 2009, which considered hunter-gatherers to be poachers while engaging in sustainable traditional livelihood on their ancestral land, was evidence of this discrimination sanctioned by law. In addition, the National Livestock Policy of 2006 did not recognise pastoralism as a mode of livelihood.
Rights of Migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons: AU-ACHPR denounced the increasing pressure on Burundian refugees by the authorities to provoke forced departures and called on the authorities to put an end to such practices.
Rights of Stateless persons: it was stated that there was a lack of statistics on stateless persons, or those at risk of statelessness. The issuance of national identification cards was likely to expose more people to the risk of being stateless, as the strict vetting processes had made it difficult for people to obtain national identification cards. Referring to a relevant supported recommendation from the previous review, JS7 stated that there remained a need to sensitize the people on the importance of birth registration.
Interactive Dialogue of the Universal Periodic Review of Tanzania
The third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of Tanzania took place the 5th of November. The representative of the United Republic of Tanzania took the floor and inaugurated the Interactive Dialogue by presenting the country report to the stakeholders. The report provided information on a wide-array of issues including: national human rights programmes, political and civil rights and the rights of children, women and minorities.
The ensuing debate with the participating delegations was centred around the issues that headline the following paragraphs.
Political, civil and health rights
The eroding freedoms of expression and political participation became the focus of most of the intervening delegations. Tanzania’s refusal of the allegations of attacks on human rights defenders committed by the government proved insufficient to silence the shared concern of the large majority of the countries present. The western delegations voiced in unity their concern that the population had seen their freedom of expression severely restricted since the last review of the UPR. The delegations as shown in the summary of stakeholders, pointed at the COVID-19 outbreak as the main cause for the worsening of political, civil and health rights. Algeria asked for Tanzania to secure the protection of journalists and Austria urged the government to end enforced disappearances. The UK and the US, troubled by the government’s descent into tyranny, urged Tanzania to end the prosecution of political opponents, ensure fair trial of those arrested and undertake a reform of the political process that will ensure free elections in the future.
Moreover, Tanzania’s neighbouring countries expressed their deep concern at the fact that Tanzania had stopped monitoring COVID-19 cases and declared the virus ‘defeated’ not only because it was far from being true but because it undermined the regional effort to contain the spread of the virus. Uganda, Angola, Botswana shared their apprehension urging the government of Tanzania to reconsider its actions and to resume the monitoring of the virus and the transparent sharing of information.
Tanzania disregarded the apprehension reiterated by the delegations concerning the rising abuse of political and civil rights. It denied all the allegations of political crackdown by stating that the country follows Anglo-Saxon common law in which the presumption of innocence is protected, thus implying that any and all arrests of dissident political figures were made in full compliance of the law. The delegate continued elaborating on this by claiming that nobody had been persecuted for their political beliefs. He further stated that Tanzania, as a “child of the UN”, shared the same values of the United Nations and was committed to see them fulfilled.
Right to life
The right to life, although to a lesser degree, was also given due attention. The still existing death penalty was discussed and Tanzania pointed to the lack of executions in the last 25 years as the reason it had not been abolished. It was also pointed out that one would only be sentenced to death if guilty of murder or treason and that any other crime would not be punished by the death penalty. Despite Tanzania’s reluctance to resort to the death penalty, it must be noted that the country has yet to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming to the abolition of the death penalty, which Uruguay urged Tanzania to ratify.
Children’s and women’s rights
The delegate of Tanzania shared that the country is implementing a National Plan to end violence against women and children.
In regards to the rights of children, many delegations denounced the social scourge that child marriage continues to be in the country despite the legislation adopted. Even though child marriage was the main issue discussed regarding children’s rights, Kenya also urged its neighbouring country to put an end to child labour. The discussion of child marriage and child labour were overshadowed by the accusations of political prosecution and consequently no reference was made by Tanzania to such problems for the whole duration of the Interactive Dialogue.
Apart from child marriage, the other main issue concerning women was female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation has been significantly reduced but the country is far from reaching its goal of ending violence against women and children in all its forms, including female genital mutilation, by 2030. There is still a wide gap between legislation and custom and the practice is remarkably more pervasive in rural areas. Adding to this stigma, pregnant young women face serious challenges in their education as they are banned from attending school while still pregnant and their education is therefore interrupted to the very least if not completely terminated. The delegation of Tanzania claimed that these were wild speculations explaining that pregnant girls are not expelled but changed to another system while lactating and later brought back. No further detail was provided by the state under review as to what the other system was and how it differed from the conventional one.
Rights and protection of minorities: LGBTQ+ and people with albinism
The rights of minorities received a great deal of attention during the Interactive Dialogue which tackled the dangerous living conditions in which albino and LGBTQI+ people find themselves in. The attitude of Tanzania’s government towards these two issues stands out in great contrast, being committed towards the betterment of the harsh conditions that people with albinism face and being completely opposed to ending the criminalization and prosecution of LGBT+ people.
People with albinism
Despite the progress made as a result of the legislation passed and the general pro-activity shown by Tanzania, much remains to be done to ensure the safety and well-being of albino people. Tanzania’s delegation declared that cases of violence of people with albinism had been reduced in 2018 and 2019 as the country continued to make progress. However, as shown by the reports summarised in the previous paragraphs, there is still a gap between the measures adopted and the reality on the ground. Aware of this, Algeria demanded Tanzania to improve access to justice for people suffering from albinism. Congo reiterated the general concern among the delegations for the safety of people with albinism who are still victims to the superstitions and practices of some sectors of the population. The policies aimed at educating those who practice witchcraft with the bodies of people with albinism have yet to reach some sectors of society, mainly in isolated rural areas. The root cultural causes that lead to the prosecution of people with albinism and the trafficking of their bodies remain to be addressed by government policies.
LGBTQI+ people
The living conditions of LGBT+ people in Tanzania remain a source of grave concern for human rights defenders and the larger international community. However, homosexuality is still a great tabu in Tanzania’s society. The government has taken no steps to ensure the human rights of this minority and refuses to accept any of the recommendations made. The delegation of Tanzania was transparent in stating that same sex relations continue to be criminalized and expressing the government’s lack of willingness to see this change. Tanzania reiterated their determination to prosecute them in accordance with local customs that do not tolerate such relations and treats them as crimes. To the calls of the delegations that condemned the criminalization of same-sex consenting relationships, the delegations responded also referring to some of the other issues discussed. The delegate of Tanzania raised several eyebrows stating no right of freedom is absolute and that some restrictions are acceptable on matters of public health and public morality and on matters of securing a secular state.
Position of Geneva International Centre for Justice
As Tanzania’s young democracy continues to decay, we bear witness to yet another case of democratic backsliding that followed the spread of COVID-19 in 2020. Geneva International Centre for Justice is deeply troubled by the fact that many of the world’s young weaker democracies are becoming increasingly authoritarian as a result of the lack of transparency and accountability that the epidemiologic crisis has brought forth.
GICJ remains disturbed by the rapid erosion of political and civil rights that endanger the development of the country into a consolidated democracy. We demand the government of Tanzania to prove its commitment to human rights by ratifying the many international conventions it has yet to ratify, specially those relating to civil and political rights. Furthermore, we urge the country to enhance its cooperation with its neighbouring countries to better coordinate covid measures as they would, if successful, allow for a general improvement of human rights. Finally, we call for the government of Tanzania to place greater importance on consent. Consent is key in understanding what constitutes a violation of human rights as female genital mutilation and child marriage are both violations that stem from lack of consent. Knowing this, we urge the government of Tanzania to reconsider its attitude towards consenting same-sex relationships as arguments of public morality carry no weight.
It is crucial that the UN provides special attention to the oversight of cases such as the one of Tanzania so as to ensure that no country takes advantage of the current health crisis and backtracks its human rights progress.
Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice
