Head of state: Jakaya Kikwete
Head of government: Mizengo Peter Pinda
Head of Zanzibar government: Ali Mohamed Shein
The authorities restricted the rights of freedom of expression and assembly. Violence against women continued and perpetrators were rarely held to account. Mtabila camp hosting some 37,000 Burundian refugees was closed.
Background
Tanzania embarked on a constitutional review process, after the 2011 Constitutional Review Act was amended in February. President Kikwete established the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) in April, and in May commissioners were sworn in. The review process was due to be completed by October 2013.
Freedom of expression – media
Tanzania continued to regulate the media with laws incompatible with its Constitution and international law. The
Head of government: Mizengo Peter Pinda
Head of Zanzibar government: Ali Mohamed Shein
The authorities restricted the rights of freedom of expression and assembly. Violence against women continued and perpetrators were rarely held to account. Mtabila camp hosting some 37,000 Burundian refugees was closed.
Background
Tanzania embarked on a constitutional review process, after the 2011 Constitutional Review Act was amended in February. President Kikwete established the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) in April, and in May commissioners were sworn in. The review process was due to be completed by October 2013.
Freedom of expression – media
Tanzania continued to regulate the media with laws incompatible with its Constitution and international law. The
Newspaper Act and Penal Code were used to suppress media freedom, despite calls from journalists to review these laws.
Freedom of assembly and excessive use of force
Tanzanian police and other security forces used excessive force to disperse protesters.
In February, police arrested 16 human rights defenders, including 14 women, for holding an unlawful assembly. They were released the same day. The defenders were part of a group of around 200 activists taking part in a public demonstration in the capital, Dar-es-Salaam, calling for the government to resolve the doctors' dispute.
Violence against women and girls
Sexual and other forms of gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, remained widespread. Older women were vulnerable to attack on the basis of allegations of witchcraft. Few perpetrators were brought to justice. The practice of female genital mutilation remained prevalent in some areas of the country.
Refugees and asylum-seekers
Following a meeting between the governments of Tanzania and Burundi and UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, the decision was made to close Mtabila camp – home to some 37,000 Burundian refugees – on 31 December. In July, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared that refugees in Mtabila camp would lose their refugee status when the camp closed.
In November, UNHCR reported that around 1,000 people per day were being assisted to voluntarily return to Burundi.
Death penalty
The courts continued to impose death sentences. No executions were carried out. A petition challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty filed by civil society in 2008 remained pending.
Copyright notice: © Copyright Amnesty International
www.refworld.org/country,,,,TZA,,519f516657,0.html
---
Related: 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom - Tanzania
Freedom of assembly and excessive use of force
Tanzanian police and other security forces used excessive force to disperse protesters.
In February, police arrested 16 human rights defenders, including 14 women, for holding an unlawful assembly. They were released the same day. The defenders were part of a group of around 200 activists taking part in a public demonstration in the capital, Dar-es-Salaam, calling for the government to resolve the doctors' dispute.
Violence against women and girls
Sexual and other forms of gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, remained widespread. Older women were vulnerable to attack on the basis of allegations of witchcraft. Few perpetrators were brought to justice. The practice of female genital mutilation remained prevalent in some areas of the country.
Refugees and asylum-seekers
Following a meeting between the governments of Tanzania and Burundi and UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, the decision was made to close Mtabila camp – home to some 37,000 Burundian refugees – on 31 December. In July, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared that refugees in Mtabila camp would lose their refugee status when the camp closed.
In November, UNHCR reported that around 1,000 people per day were being assisted to voluntarily return to Burundi.
Death penalty
The courts continued to impose death sentences. No executions were carried out. A petition challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty filed by civil society in 2008 remained pending.
Copyright notice: © Copyright Amnesty International
www.refworld.org/country,,,,TZA,,519f516657,0.html
---
Related: 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom - Tanzania
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