Human rights a dream that may never come true in Tanzania

For a country to be said as respecting and promoting human rights, it must before all ratify and domesticate all international human rights instruments. Tanzania as a dual system state did allot as far as ratification of international human rights instruments are concern. Domesticating and making pro-human rights laws in any country can only be termed as preliminary stage of ensuring enjoyment of human rights at National level. According to Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) country human rights reports; having pro-human rights laws in place is just one step towards effective protection.

The second and most practical step is creation of machineries for coordinating or supervising implementation of the laws enacted to address the human rights. In Tanzania the remedial bodies or enforcement machineries include the police, prisons, and judiciary it must also include human rights institutions with specific statutory powers to enforce human rights. The Tanzanian government has actually stepped in all these stages we have enacted the international bill of right which include the Universal Declaration of Human Right (UDHR) which has standards for human right as it is started in article 1 and 2 of UNDHR.

There are reports on excessive use of force, police corruption and impunity, law pay contribution to perceived corruption in certain units, as reported widely by citizens and press. In Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete’s regime, police as one of country’s apparatus has proven to deprive the citizens with basic human rights from their brutal operations.Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Tanzania acceded in 1976, prohibits cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of all persons.

Lack of Political wills, politicians are considered to be the society’s mirror of which to be looked upon for the construction of a stable, effective and committed society but they have proved to be a bad example, being the one who provoke and deprive citizens of their basic rights from their opinions as well as their actions. For example: The Tanzania’s Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda in parliament. Jenerali reports that Pinda surprised everyone when he stated it was the Tanzanian government’s policy ‘to beat, beat and beat’ those who are seen to be troublesome in Tanzania. Pinda’s remarks are legally unacceptable on domestic and international level.

There are still some prevailing challenges in ensuring the protection and promotion of human right in Tanzania as both the horizontal and vertical violation of human rights has been noticed. The vertical violation this is; the government violates citizens’ right and the horizontal violation refers to violation of human rights among individuals themselves for instance the massive killing of albino. Another insight is, all the machinery for protection and promotion of human rights are not free and independent they receive order from the government this has led to a number of violations of human rights by police