UN Human Rights office slams Tanzania’s withdrawal from African Court

Dar es Salaam. The United Nations Human Rights office on Tuesday asked the government of Tanzania to reconsider its decision to withdraw from a key provision of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR).

The UN agency made the call on December 3, a day when the government confirmed its intention to withdraw from Article 34(6) of AfCHPR Protocol which gives allows citizens and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to directly access the court.

“We regret the decision by Tanzania to block individuals and NGOs from taking cases to African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” said the UN Human Rights office whose chief is the former Chilean president Ms Michelle Bachelet. “We urge [the government] to reconsider. The Court is crucial for justice and accountability in Tanzania.” 

Neither the legal and constitutional affairs minister nor foreign affairs minister was immediately available for comment on whether the government will heed the call. 

The latest call from the leading UN entity on human rights adds to the pressure from lawyers, rights activists and civil societies organisations (CSO) which have been pressurising the government to reverse course, saying the move will have serious implications for the country’s human rights commitments.

The government says that it was withdrawing from the protocol because it has been “implemented contrary to the reservations,” an excuse lawyers slammed as flimsy as there are no reservations in depositing the declaration.

“Tanzania chose to concede and there are no reservations whatsoever. They didn’t even say what these reservations were in their notice of withdrawal and it is understandable because there are not any,” Former TLS president Fatma Karume told The Citizen earlier this week.