Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - United Republic of Tanzania (Ratification: 1962)

Imprisonment involving an obligation to work. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the Government’s repeated statement that imprisonment does not involve an obligation to perform work by virtue of Part XI of the Prison Act of 1967, including in Zanzibar. However, the Committee noted that, pursuant to section 61 of the Prison Act, every prisoner sentenced to imprisonment and detained in prison shall be employed in such a manner as the Commissioner may determine, and for that purpose such prisoner shall, at all times, perform such labour, tasks and other duties as may be assigned to him/her by the officer-in-charge or any other prison officer in whose charge he/she may be. Section 50 of the Offenders Education Act of 1980 of Zanzibar contains the same provision. The Committee observed that prisoners are required to perform labour as determined by the Commissioner and assigned to him/her by the prison officer and that the consent of the prisoner is not required by both the laws. Therefore the following provisions referred to by the Committee, of which the violation is punishable by imprisonment, fall within the scope of the Convention.

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Penalties involving compulsory labour as a punishment for the expression of political views. 1. Media. In its previous comments, the Committee noted with regret that the Media Services Act No. 12 of 2016, which repealed the Newspapers Act of 1976 under Part VII on Offences and Penalties, established penalties of imprisonment for the violation of the Act. It noted that the relevant provisions are worded in terms broad enough to lend themselves to application as a means of punishment for the expression of political views or views opposed to the established political, social or economic system. These provisions include:

• -Section 50, which provides that any person who makes use by any means of a media service for the purpose of publishing information which intentionally or recklessly falsified in a manner which, or any statement the content of which, threatens the interests of defence, public order, the economic interests of the country, public morality or public health, commits an offence and is punishable by three to five years’ imprisonment.
• -Section 51, which provides that any persons who imports, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or produces any publication or any extract of it, the importation of which is prohibited, commits an offence and is punishable by three to five years’ imprisonment for the first offence, and five to ten years’ imprisonment for a subsequent offence.
• -Sections 52 and 53, which provide that any act, speech or publication with a seditious intention, including the sales, distribution, reproduction and importation of such publication, is punishable by three to five years’ imprisonment for the first offence, and five to ten years’ imprisonment for a subsequent offence. The possession of such publication is punishable by two to five years’ imprisonment for the first offence, and three to ten years’ imprisonment for a subsequent offence.
• -Section 54, which provides that any person who publishes any false statement, rumour or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace commits an offence and is punishable by four to six years’ imprisonment.

The Committee also noted that, according to the statement of the United Nations Country Team with regard to the Universal Periodic Review on Tanzania in 2015, since the Media Services Act stipulates that no person will be allowed to practice journalism unless accredited by the journalist accreditation board, its enactment will lead to the suppression of citizen journalists and other volunteer journalists working with community radio stations (A/HRC/WG.6/25/TZA/2, paragraph 40). The Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the provisions of the Media Services Act No.12 of 2016 so as to bring them into conformity with the provisions of the Convention.

The Committee notes an absence of information in the Government’s report on this point. The Committee observes that the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner published a number of news releases in 2020 on the situation of civil liberties in Tanzania. The Committee notes in particular that in a news release of 22 July 2020, three Special Rapporteurs referred to evidence illustrating the deterioration of the human rights situation since 2016, when political gatherings by opposition groups were barred with repeated arrests of opposition members, activists and critics. They observed that there exists a string of newly enacted legislation used to intimidate human rights defenders, silence independent journalism and further restrict freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association. In its news release of 17 March 2020, “Tanzania: Opposition sentences highlight continued stifling of freedoms”, the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner referred to the recent sentencing of eight senior members and one former senior leader of Tanzania's main opposition party, on charges including sedition and unlawful assembly, as a “troubling evidence of the crackdown on dissent and the stifling of public freedoms in the country”.

The Committee takes note of this information with concern. It expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to amend the above-mentioned provisions of the Media Services Act No. 12 of 2016 and ensure that persons expressing political views or views opposed to the established political, social or economic system are not subject to penalties of imprisonment involving compulsory labour, whether by restricting the scope of these provisions to situations connected with the use of violence or incitement to violence, or by repealing sanctions involving compulsory labour. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the application of the above-mentioned provisions, including any prosecutions conducted or court decisions handed down, and the penalties imposed.

2. Meetings, assemblies and organizations. Non-governmental Organizations Act. The Committee previously noted that section 11 of the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Act of 2002 requires all NGOs to apply for registration with the registrar and that, pursuant to section 13(3), this application for registration may be approved or refused. Section 14(1) of the Act provides that the registration of an NGO may be refused if, inter alia, the activities of an NGO are not for the public interest or on the recommendation of the National Council for NGOs. Section 35 of the Act provides for penalties of a fine or imprisonment (involving compulsory labour) for a term not exceeding one year, or both, for the offences of, inter alia, operating an NGO without obtaining registration. The Committee noted the Government’s statement that no convictions were made under section 35 of the NGO Act and that certain provisions of the NGO Act relating to the registration of NGOs had been ruled unconstitutional by the High Court. With reference to paragraph 302 of the General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, the Committee once again recalled that, under Article 1(a) of the Convention, the range of activities that must be protected from punishment involving compulsory labour comprises the freedom to express political or ideological views as well as the right of association and of assembly, through which citizens seek to secure the dissemination and acceptance of their views.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any information in this regard. The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the above-mentioned provisions of the NGO Act are not applied in a manner which could result in the imposition of penalties of imprisonment, involving compulsory labour, to persons who hold or express political views or views opposed to the established system.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.