By Elias Mhegera
THE Chairman of the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG), Justice Amir Manento has called for more researches on human rights violations in Tanzania.
He was speaking at the second day of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), on Tuesday this week, which convened representatives from the Commission, diplomatic corps, the media, CSOs, the Tanzanian Government and other stakeholders. The two events took place in the Paradise City Hotel and CHRAGG’s headquarters respectively.
“We should ask ourselves why some areas in Tanzania are notorious for certain type of human rights violations, for instance killings of persons with albinism, elderly women and widows are concentrated in the Lake Zone,” he said.
Elaborating further Justice Manento said that there are many intricate issues surrounding human rights violations which go unreported. He gave an example of the prisons where many reports are to do with the inmates in prisons but nothing is said about the warders (prison officers) whom he noted that a good number of them live in very pathetic conditions.
He noted that in some cases cultural traits acts as a barrier in delivering information on violation of human rights. For instance he highlighted that there are some males who because of male chauvinism are not prepared to report if they are humiliated by their wives because this will annoy them in the public eyes.
The session which was well attended by representatives from the mentioned organizations was one in series in preparation for the defense of the National Human Rights Report which will be conducted in Geneva early October this year.
The key issues in discussion were administration of criminal justice and access to justice, rights of persons in detention, right to life, and rights of persons with disabilities in Tanzania, right to land, property and development.
Other issues were child rights, human rights and business, freedom of expression, assembly and access to information.
Speaking at the event, CHRAGG’s Executive Secretary, Ms Mary Massay, said the quest for research and finding permanent solutions to human rights violations in Tanzania is at times hindered by the scarcity of resources.
On her part Commissioner Joaquine Antoinette De-Mello from CHRAGG said that there is a need to find more ways to deal with juvenile crime and justice in Tanzania. She claimed that this is one of the worst areas which defenders of human rights should improve.
The Friends of UPR event was attended by representatives from some embassies namely; Russian, German, Canadian High Commission and the UN.
No comments:
Post a Comment