Human rights in Tanzania

Particular attention should be drawn to the widespread marginalization of the girl child in different spheres of life, including education, and the total exclusion caused for many by early and forced marriage.

According to a 2005 World Health Organization survey, 41 percent of ever-partnered women in Dar es Salaam have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a partner.

... [T]he Government would be urged to reconsider its policy by which the notion of indigenous peoples is unrecognized and to take steps to ensure their right to practice their own culture in parity with the majority population.

The Government should also consider developing human rights-based standard operating procedures for evictions, clearly setting it out as a matter of last resort to resolve disputes over land use between public interests, private investors, and pastoralists.

[4]: ¶ 36, page 7  Denmark was concerned by the denial or curtailing of indigenous people's rights to ancestral lands, resulting in numerous forced evictions.

Group arrests in connection to peaceful assemblies, non-attendance to HIV patients, as well as forcible evictions of persons due to their sexual orientation by local and religious communities have been reported.

[3]: ¶ 27, page 7 During the UPR, Sweden noted that the "criminalization of sexual minorities contributed to the stigmatization and vulnerability of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons".

... [D]espite the Government has put in place the HIV/AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act 2008 and the Employment and Labour Relations (Code of Good Practice) Rules 2007, HIV/AIDS-related discrimination remains institutionalized in the workplace in both the public and private spheres.

[3]: ¶ 28, page 7 The UNCT said, Commercial sex workers are another group at risk of social exclusion and harsh treatment by law enforcement.

Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in March 2013 that prosecutions for these crimes are rarely successful with only five known cases of convictions out of the 72 murders of people with albinism documented in Tanzania since 2000.

Therefore, the Government should explore alternative ways of protecting people with albinism, including options that promote social inclusion and tolerance.

... [A]n important recommendation is that the Government increase access to and availability of basic emergency obstetric care services, skilled health workers – currently attending less than 50 percent of live births – as well as supplies.

Reports suggest that this restrictiveness costs the lives of many women and girls seeking to conduct the act secretly, without professional guidance and under unhygienic conditions.

Many laws also permit the imposition of forced or compulsory labor as a punishment for a range of offenses, including the expression of political views and the failure to engage in socially useful work.

Besides, justice is further delayed by prolonged investigations by the police, the courts' adjourning of cases based on flimsy technical grounds, and the non-appearance of witnesses.

On the mainland[,] the law allows judges and magistrates to grant parole or impose alternative sentences such as community service ..., but these options were rarely used.

[7]: pages 4–5 Detainees charged with criminal matters generally waited three to four years for trial due to a lack of judges to hear cases, an inadequate judicial budget, and the lengthy time required to complete police investigations.

[7]: pages 4–5 During the UPR, the United States expressed concern about reports of arbitrary arrests, excessive use of force by police and the military, and corruption in law enforcement.

[4]: ¶ 61, page 10 Tanzania expressed support for the U.S. recommendations to, "Implement a national action plan to combat corruption, including enhanced laws and enforcement, more resources dedicated to anti-corruption bodies, a review of law enforcement compensation, and a nation-wide educational campaign...." and to provide human rights training to security forces.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local news agencies documented several cases of police officers mistreating, beating, and causing the deaths of civilians.

The Legal and Human Rights Center (LHRC) announced that police brutality, domestic violence, and extrajudicial killings rose during [2013].... ...

In October[,] several members of parliament (MPs) and local NGOs raised concerns about alleged human rights abuses related to a controversial anti-poaching campaign initiated by the government.

... On December 20, President Kikwete dismissed four cabinet ministers ... in response to continued parliamentary concern....[7]: pages 1–2 The constitution and law prohibit ... [torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment], but there were reports that police officers, prison guards, and soldiers who abused, threatened, and otherwise mistreated civilians, suspected criminals, and prisoners faced limited accountability.

... On June 19, Human Rights Watch and the Wake Up and Step Forward Coalition released a report including several detailed allegations of torture and abuse of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ... individuals while in police custody.

In June, LHRC reported that Sungusungu militias were responsible for the death of four people during the year in Shinyanga, Mbeya, and Iringa regions.

The Government should further be concerned about reports from the independent 2010 general election monitors, which point to instances of intimidation against these radio stations as a means to hinder broadcasting voters' education programs.

Another important recommendation for the Government would be the fast-tracking of freedom of information legislation; code of ethics for advertisements; and the introduction of public broadcasting in Zanzibar.

Over 50 percent of children have been subjected to physical violence – being punched, kicked, slapped, whipped, or threatened with a weapon – by their teachers before the age of 18.

[12] Between October 2019 and August 2020, Tanzanian authorities and intelligence services soberly torture and abused at least 18 Burundian refugees and asylum seekers.

After the president Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a disputed third term in 2015, more than 1.5 lakh Burundian refugees live in camps in Tanzania to avoid violence in Burundi.