CPJ joins call for UN Human Rights Council to address crackdown in Tanzania

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 29 other civil society groups yesterday wrote to the member and observer states of the United Nations Human Rights Council urging them to address the deteriorating situation for human rights, including freedom of the press, in Tanzania during the upcoming 39th session of the council in September.

Since 2015, journalists and bloggers in Tanzania, as well as human rights defenders and members of the political opposition, have been targeted with draconian legislation and both legal and extra-legal measures by the government. Under these conditions, freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association have been deeply eroded.

The letter

 

To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland

Excellency,

Ahead of the 39th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council (“the Council”), which will be held from 10-28 September 2018, we write to call on your delegation to deliver statements, both jointly and individually, to address the ongoing crackdown on civic space and human rights back­sliding in the United Republic of Tanzania.

Considering the rapidly declining environment for human rights defenders (HRDs), civil society, jour­na­lists, bloggers, the media and dissenting voices in Tanzania, we, the undersigned non-governmental organisations (NGOs), make a joint appeal to Member and Observer States of the Council. At the 39th session, States should urge the Tanzanian Government to change course, cease any form of intimidation, harassment and attacks against HRDs, journalists, bloggers, and opposition members and their suppor­ters, and amend restrictive laws and regulations with a view to bringing them in line with international human rights standards.

Since 2015, Tanzania has implemented newly-enacted draconian legislation and applied legal and extra-judicial methods to harass HRDs, silence independent journalism and blogging, and restrict freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

We call on your delegation to make use of the following agenda items[1] to raise concern, jointly and individually, and to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Tanzanian authorities:

    General debate (GD) under item 2, following the High Commissioner’s update;

    General debate under item 3, in relation to reports of the High Commissioner and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR);

    General debate under item 4;

    General debate under item 10; and

    Interactive dialogues (IDs) with the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances.

    Additionally, bilateral and collective engagement in multilateral fora such as the Council and at the embassy level, in Tanzania, should be used to raise relevant issues with the Government.

Through these opportunities for dialogue, your delegation can help the Council fulfil its responsibility to “address situations of violations of human rights […] and make recommend­ations thereon” and to “contribute, through dialogue and cooperation, towards the prevention of human rights violations and respond promptly to human rights emergencies.”[2]

The 39th session should be leveraged to help prevent a further deterioration of the human rights situation in Tanzania and send the Tanzanian Government a message that the international com­munity expects it to uphold its citizens’ human rights, in line with its obligations and the country’s history of openness, engagement, and respect for human rights.

We thank you for your attention to these pressing issues and stand ready to provide your delegation with further information.

Sincerely,

    African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)

    Africans Rising for Justice, Peace & Dignity

    ARTICLE 19

    Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE)

    Association for Progressive Communications (APC)

    Caucasus Civil Initiatives Center

    Сenter for Civil Liberties – Ukraine

    CEPO – South Sudan

    CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

    Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) – Uganda

    Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

    Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

    Conectas Human Rights – Brazil

    DefendDefenders (The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)

    FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

    Freedom House

    Global Witness

    HAKI Africa – Kenya

    Human Rights Concern – Eritrea

    HURISA – South Africa

    International Civil Society Center

    JOINT Liga de ONGs em Mocambique – Mozambique

    Ligue Burundaise des droits de l’homme Iteka – Burundi

    Observatoire des droits de l’homme au Rwanda – Rwanda

    Odhikar – Bangladesh

    Réseau Ouest Africain des Défenseurs des Droits Humains/West African Human Rights Defenders Network (ROADDH/WAHRDN)

    Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

    Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC)

    World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

    Zambia Council for Social Development (ZSCD) – Zambia

[1] See the annex for more detailed proposals for action, as well the report and letter referenced in footnotes 3 and 4.

[2] UN General Assembly resolution 60/251, paras. 3 and 5(f).