12 October 2020, Index number: AFR 56/3051/2020.
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Tanzania has been independent since 1961 with President John Magufuli as the country’s fifth president, elected into office in October 2015.
On 28 October 2020, Tanzanians go to the polls in general elections. Under President Magufuli’s administration, the state has used a raft of repressive laws to restrict the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association – online and offline.
This report shows how from January to September 2020 the government has ramped up this repression against political opposition parties, critical media outlets, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights defenders and activists. The repression has had a chilling effect on debate. It will constrain civic engagement and prevent scrutiny of the authorities’ human rights record, including in the context of the elections.
Following on from Amnesty International’s October 2019 report, The Price We Pay – Targeted for Dissent by the Tanzanian State, these two reports show how the human rights situation has deteriorated over the last five years.
Frequent changes to laws, and the regulations that give effect to them, make it hard to keep up with Tanzania’s ever shifting legal landscape. Cumulatively, such changes have significantly eroded the rule of law and undermined respect for human rights, as incumbent President Magufuli runs for his second and final constitutional term of office.
Before the start of the election campaign period, opposition politicians faced arbitrary arrest and detention, as police applied public assembly laws in a selective and partisan way.
Opposition activities continue to be severely restricted, while politicians from the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and public officials disregard the same law and operate freely. In a positive step, Tundu Lissu, a leading opposition leader, was able to return from exile in July 2020 to stand as presidential candidate for the Chadema opposition party. He had previously fled the country in 2017 after an attempted assassination.
However, opposition politicians continue to report physical attacks and the police’s failure to promptly, thoroughly, transparently and effectively investigate these means that Tanzania’s elections take place amidst an escalating crackdown on human rights and repression of opposition leaders and candidates, who continue to fear for their safety and security.
In the lead-up to the elections, NGOs perceived to be critical of the government have been threatened with suspension, suspended or denied clearance to conduct election-related activities. NGOs face the dilemma of disclosing extensive details about their activities and funding, potentially compromising human rights work and staff security, or risking deregistration. Some have scaled back work and are self-censoring. This will reduce scrutiny of the authorities’ human rights record, including ahead of the elections.
Tanzania’s government has also cracked down on media freedom, including in the context of the authorities’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have suspended media outlets, limiting the public’s right to information, and exerting a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom. In a further attempt to restrict human rights in the context of the elections, foreign journalists must now be accompanied by a government minder when carrying out their official duties and political parties have been warned that meeting foreign diplomats may violate laws governing political parties.
Reducing avenues for civic organizing, access to information, and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly before, during and after the elections, revised internet regulations now criminalize planning or supporting protests “which may lead to public disorder”. These sweeping and overly broad provisions hold internet users responsible for the conduct of protests, even if they do not directly participate, which would dissuade people from online activism.
This report is based on 29 telephone interviews including with affected persons and their families, lawyers, politicians, journalists, and representatives of NGOs conducted remotely between 20 April and 28 September 2020 and reviews of videos, photographs, official statements, court documents and media reports.
On 2 October 2020, Amnesty International sent letters to the Attorney General, Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Justice and the Minister of Home Affairs requesting official responses to the specific concerns that we investigated regarding the extent to which Tanzanian authorities have used legal and administrative restrictions to undermine respect for human rights enshrined in the Constitution of Tanzania and regional and international human rights law, as the country heads towards its general election in October 2020. At the time of writing, Amnesty International had received no response to the letters sent to the government officials.
Ahead of the forthcoming elections, Amnesty International calls on the authorities to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the human rights of everyone including the rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and movement. The authorities must end arbitrary arrests of opposition politicians, allow media outlets and NGOs to operate freely, and permit independent observers to monitor and speak out about human rights issues.
It is also essential that the government ensures accountability for election-related human rights violations, as part of a broader human rights reform to turn the page on the government’s increasing repression and crackdown on the civic space.
Amnesty International urges the international community including the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC) to put pressure on the Tanzanian authorities to respect, protect, promote and fulfil human rights before, during and after the elections, including by publicly speaking out against human rights violations and abuses and raising concerns about these violations and abuses in their engagement with the government.
The UN and Tanzania’s development partners have been relatively muted on the human rights situation in Tanzania, and must increase their engagement, publicly and privately, at this critical juncture.
7. CONCLUSION
Amnesty International calls on inter-governmental organizations, including the UN, AU, SADC and EAC, to put pressure on the Tanzanian authorities to respect, protect, promote and fulfil human rights before, during and after the elections, including by publicly speaking out against human rights violations and abuses and raising concerns about these violations and abuses in their engagement with the government.
8. RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1 TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
• Publicly commit that your government will respect, protect, promote and fulfil human rights before, during and after the elections, will not tolerate any human rights violations and abuses, and will ensure prompt, thorough, transparent and effective investigation of any allegations of violations and abuses and bring suspected perpetrators to justice;
• Publicly condemn all threats, intimidation, harassment and attacks against opposition politicians, religious leaders, human rights defenders, activists, NGOs, media outlets, journalists, and online users;
• Publicly recognize and defend the importance and legitimacy of the human rights work of human rights defenders, activists and civil society organizations, and ensure that they can carry out their work freely and independently without any fear of reprisals;
• Ensure the urgent repeal and review of all repressive laws and regulations and bring any such laws and regulations in conformity with Tanzania’s constitution and international human rights obligations and commitments;
• Publicly commit that your government will domesticate the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and end intimidation and harassment of associations lawfully carrying out their mandates to defend other people’s rights;
• Ensure that your government’s decision to withdraw Tanzania’s declaration to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights is immediately rescinded and that individuals and NGOs can enjoy direct access to the Court to challenge any violations of human rights against your government.
8.2 TO MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS
LAWFARE
• Ensure the immediate and unconditional release of anyone detained solely for peacefully expressing political and religious views or other beliefs;
• Ensure prompt, thorough, impartial, transparent, and effective investigations into allegations of political violence, and other human rights violations and abuses including cases of arbitrary arrest of members of the political opposition and other government critics so that anyone suspected to be responsible is brought to justice in fair trials;
• Publicly commit to ensure that the authorities will allow everyone, including opposition politicians, religious leaders, human rights defenders, activists, NGOs, media outlets, journalists, and online users to freely exercise their human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisals;
• Publicly commit to ensure that the authorities will observe and respect international human rights standards related to the use of force, crowd control and policing, including the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, and the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials.
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AFR5630512020ENGLISH.PDF