Human rights activists in Tanzania have condemned the latest amendment to the Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement Act in the country.
They argued that the amendment will ultimately prevent organisations from filing cases on behalf of victims, as the environment, according to them, is where accountability mechanisms and access to justice for victims are already fragile.
Development Diaries observed that the rights experts feared that the changes to the law gravely limit the ability of civil society and individuals to defend the rights of vulnerable individuals, groups, and communities and violate the right to freedom of association.
‘The amendments, which were fast-tracked through parliament without meaningful consultations, are the latest in a string of newly enacted draconian legislation used to intimidate human rights defenders, silence independent journalism, and further restrict freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association’, they said.
The rights activists also said that the latest legislation further illustrated the deterioration of the human rights situation since 2016, when opposition political gatherings were barred with repeated arrests of opposition members, activists, and critics.
They said, ‘Under government orders, multiple newspapers, radios and online TVs that expressed criticism of the president and government have also been heavily fined and/or suspended. Covid-19 has further compounded pre-existing human rights concerns, notably regarding the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information’.
They accused the government of not meeting its commitments on information sharing and transparency after it stopped releasing statistics on Covid-19 cases at the end of April, with the President, John Magufuli, declaring the country virus-free in early June.
Several internet-based broadcasters have been suspended and fined for allegedly transmitting ‘false’ and ‘misleading’ information on the country’s approach to managing Covid-19.
Similarly, a newspaper’s licence was suspended, while police raided a training organised by the Tanzanian human rights defenders coalition.
Source: OHCHR
Photo source: DEMOSH
