Tanzania: Status and activities of independent human rights organizations; whether Defenders of Human Rights currently functions; whether the government continues to withhold registration from the African Human Rights and Justice Protection Network
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 18 August 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | TZA34949.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Tanzania: Status and activities of independent human rights organizations; whether Defenders of Human Rights currently functions; whether the government continues to withhold registration from the African Human Rights and Justice Protection Network , 18 August 2000, TZA34949.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad7e28.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW) reported in 1998 that the Tanzanian Human Rights Education Society and the Defenders of Human Rights in Tanzania had claimed that the government continued "to impede the formation of local human rights groups either through delay of action on their registration applications or by hampering their efforts to monitor violations of human rights" (June 1998). Country Reports 1999 updates this information and reported that
[t]he Government has obstructed the formation of local human rights groups. Persons seeking to register human rights NGO's, such as the Defenders of Human Rights in Tanzania and the Tanzania Human Rights Education Society, complained that the Ministry of Home Affairs continued to delay action on their applications ... This hampered their access and efforts to monitor violations of human rights. The Government continued to refuse registration of the African Human Rights and Justice Protection Network on the grounds that it was politically oriented. The Government had withheld registration from the NGO Defenders of Human Rights in Tanzania for more than 3 years before finally denying it registration in during the year. In June the Government reinstated the National Women's Council, an NGO that it had deregistered in 1997.
Government officials have said that international human rights groups are welcome to visit the country. Amnesty International visited during the year. There were discussions, both within the Government and among NGO's, concerning the formation of a human rights commission; however, there are sharp differences on how independent it should be. There had been no action on this matter by year's end (Feb. 2000, Section 4).
More recent information on the status of these organizations could not be found among the resources consulted by the Research Directorate.
While not functioning solely as human rights organizations, there are NGOs operating on the mainland which have human rights elements in their mandate. These include the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), and the Women's Legal Aid Centre (WLAC) (FES Tanzania 23 Nov. 1998). The following information on the activities of LHRC was found on the Website of the Southern African Human Rights NGO Network (SAHRINGON),
The Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) is a private, voluntary non government, non partisan and non profit making organisation
[Its mission is] to create legal and human rights awareness among the general public and in particular the underprivileged sections of the society through legal literacy, human rights training, provision of legal and to indigents end those cases with public interest or can advise law reforms, information dissemination through publications and radio programmes, research on sensitive and to spread issues, networking and alliance building with other institutions which share the mission with LHRC.
Activities
[Fulfilling specific objectives] involves the training of some strategically placed persons from identified target groups on basics of laws which directly effect their daily lives or are likely to effect them. The aim of such training sessions is to prepare the community members to become activists in their own cause, and be able to organise themselves, identify and articulate their problems and interests and pursue them through legal and non legal means.
Legal Aid Clinic
The main objective of the Legal Aid Clinic is to provide legal aid services to those by indigence or any other person who cannot afford the lawyer's fees in the market. Through this service, clients are counselled, reconciled where possible, Court documents are drafted for them and in some instances represented in Courts (9 Mar. 2000).
The Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), which represents members of the legal profession, has been involved in the process of constitutional reform currently underway in Tanzania (TANGO 26 July 2000; The Guardian 25 Jan. 2000).According to a report in The Guardian, the TLS argued that in constitutional changes tabled in January 2000, the government had failed to "address the key issues such as those relating to the powers of the president, the sovereignty of the people , and the guaranteeing of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual" (ibid.).
The Women's Legal Aid Centre (WLAC) works to
Raise legal and human rights awareness of the general public;
provide legal aid to needy women and children;
train specific groups of people to serve as paralegals;
prepare and publish legal education materials related to women and children's rights;
lobby and advocate for equitable change in gender relations; and
network with other organizations which have similar activities (23 Nov. 1998).
In June 2000, the WLAC published the Tanzania Non-Governmental Organizations Shadow Report: On the Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit On Social Development, a portion of which focuses on human rights issues.
Several organizations based in Dar es Salaam also exist which focus on issues related to freedom of the press and freedom of expression, including the Media Council of Tanzania, The Tanzanian Press Centre and the MediaInstitute of Southern Africa-Tanzania Chapter (MISA) (FES Tanzania 23 Nov. 1998). In April 2000, MISA, in collaboration with Article 19's East and Southern Africa Office, published a report titled Media Law and Practice in Southern Africa No. 13: Tanzania Mainland detailing legal and institutional obstacles to the full enjoyment of freedom in the media.
With respect to Zanzibar specifically, Article 19 reported that The Societies Act (1995) gives "draconian powers to the Zanzibar Registrar of Societies and the relevant Minister to register or deregister all organizations covered by the Act" (Apr. 2000) and Country Reports 1998 reported opposition leaders complaining that the Zanzibar government was "even more" restrictive than the Union government in registering NGOs (Feb. 1999).In January 2000, Amnesty International reported that a recent attempt by Zanzibaris to register a human rights organization in Zanzibar was denied by the island government. While there is a functioning NGO Resource Centre in Zanzibar, supported by the Aga Khan Foundation, which attempts to build the capacity of local NGOs and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) through training, networking and information dissemination (AKDN n.d.; AKFC 16 Aug. 2000), further information on the status and activities of human rights organizations in Zanzibar could not be found within the time constraints of this response.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.Please see the list of additional sources consulted in researching this information request.
Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). n.d."Special Report on East Africa."
Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) [Ottawa]. 16 August 2000. Interview with AKFC representative.
Amnesty International (AI) [London]. January 2000. "Tanzanian: Prisoners of Conscience Face Treason Trial in Zanzibar."AFR 56/01/00.
Article 19 [London]. April 2000. Zanzibar: Democracy on Shaky Foundations.
Article 19 [London] and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) [Namibia]. April 2000. Media Law and Practice in Southern Africa No. 13: Tanzania Mainland.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999. February 2000. United States Department of State.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. February 1999. United States Department of State.
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Tanzania (FES Tanzania) [Dar es Salaam]. 23 November 1998. "Civil Society: Tanzanian NGOs."
The Guardian. 25 January 2000. "Tanganyika Law Society Objects: 'Constitutional Changes Premature, Partisan, Inadequate."
International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW). 1998. "IWRAW to CEDAW Reports on Slovakia, Nigeria, Panama, Tanzania, Republic of Korea and Peru, Part 9 of 14." (NEXIS)
The Southern African Human Rights NGO Network (SAHRINGON) [Zambia]. 9 March 2000. "Member's Profiles."
Tanzanian Association of NGOs (TANGO) [Dar es Salaam]. 26 July 2000. Semezana.
Women's Legal Aid Centre (WLAC) [Dar es Salaam]. June 2000. Tanzania Non-Governmental Organizations Shadow Report: On the Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit On Social Development. < http://www.ms-dan.dk/Kampagner/Solidaritet2000/socsummit/tanzshadow.htm> [Accessed 17 Aug. 2000]
Amnesty International, Annual Report 1999
Human Rights Internet, various publications
Immigration and Nationality Directorate [UK]
Internet Sites including:
The Express Online
The Guardian
Post Express Wired
Non-documentary Sources:
Unsuccessful attempts to contact three other sources.