A/HRC/19/4 16. As to children’s rights and quality of education, despite the achievements that had been recorded in attaining universal primary education, the quality of education remained a national concern. 17. With regard to refugees, Tanzania had maintained a track record as a host country to many refugees. Recently, the Government had facilitated voluntary repatriation of refugees as a result of the normalization of the political situation in their countries of origin. Tanzania was working out the modalities for the relocation of naturalized refugees, which was intended to relocate them away from designated areas with a view to integrating them into the Tanzanian community. The Government appealed to the international community for assistance in that endeavour. 18. As for the freedom of the press, the Government was determined to review laws governing freedom of the press in Tanzania. However, Tanzania was a country where freedom of the press is highly respected. This was evidenced by a large number of privately owned print and electronic media houses. 19. With regard to the issue of receiving complaints and treatment by police, the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) continued to play the role of an oversight body with the mandate to receive and investigate complaints on human rights violations in the country. 20. Tanzania had established a department within the Ministry for Home Affairs which dealt with complaints from the public against the police. In addition, the Inquiries Act permitted the President of Tanzania to establish a committee to conduct investigations into serious complaints. The Parliament also had a mandate to raise an alarm to establish a committee to investigate matters related to human rights violations. 21. Regarding access to justice and prison conditions, Tanzania had increased the number of courts, judges, magistrates and State attorneys. Furthermore, it had implemented the civilianization of the criminal prosecutions programme with a view to separating prosecutions, which previously had been carried out by the police, from investigations. Currently, the police conducted investigations while the prosecution was conducted by State attorneys from the Office of the Attorney General. At the same time, alternative sentencing, such as the imposition of fines and community services, as well as the building of new prisons and renovations of old ones, had been major priorities, intended to reduce crowding in prisons. 22. Regarding ratification of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), Tanzania had neither ratified the Convention nor its Optional Protocol, but was considering ratification bearing in mind the fact that the death penalty was still applicable in the country. Torture was prohibited under article 13(6) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977. 23. Public opinion was still divided on the death penalty. For that reason, Tanzania had not acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 24. Concerning the issue of indigenous people, there was no consensus definition of indigenous peoples in Tanzania. Generally, all ethnic Tanzanians were regarded as indigenous. The position of the Government was that there were special groups that needed special protection within the country. Those included the Maasai, Hadzabe and Barbaig. The Government had taken various measures to provide political, social and cultural amenities to such groups in the fields of health, politics, employment and education. 25. Regarding forced evictions and toxic spillage into drinking water, the Constitution guaranteed the right to property, and land laws prevented forced evictions and provided for compensation where land was used for public interest. As for water control, the National 5

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents