MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Tanzania
11.12.2018 - (2018/2969(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Cristian Dan Preda, Tomáš Zdechovský, David McAllister, Francisco José Millán Mon, Thomas Waitz, Tunne Kelam, Csaba Sógor, Roberta Metsola, Milan Zver, Lorenzo Cesa, Adam Szejnfeld, Richard Sulík, Giovanni La Via, Ivana Maletić, Deirdre Clune, Andrey Kovatchev, Seán Kelly, Richard Sulík, Inese Vaidere, Laima Liucija Andrikienė on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0570/2018
The European Parliament,
-having regard to the declaration of 15 November 2018 by High Representative Federica Mogherini on behalf of the UE on EU-Tanzania relations,
-having regard to the local EU statement of 23 February 2018 on the rise in politically-related violence and intimidation in Tanzania,
-having regard to the EU Council’s Toolkit to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of all Human Rights by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People (the LGBT Toolkit),
-having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
-having regard to the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR),
-having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
-having regard to the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights (ICCPR),
-having regard to Cotonou Partnership Agreement,
-having regard to Rule 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas since the election of President John Magufuli in 2015, legislation has been increasingly used to restrict human and civic rights in Tanzania; whereas the authorities has been widely criticised for failing to address discrimination on grounds of gender and sexual orientation;
B.whereas there has been increasing stigmatisation, violence and targeted arrests against LGBTI people over the past two years in the country; whereas under Tanzanian law, same-sex relationships are criminal offences punishable by 30 years to life imprisonment; whereas Tanzania’s anti-homosexuality law is among the world’s harshest;
C.whereas in Tanzania, suspected gay men are subjected to forced anal exams, a discredited method of “proving” homosexual conduct that the United Nations and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights have denounced as torture;
D.whereas, on 31 October, the regional commissioner of Dar Es Salaam, Paul Makonda, publicly declared that homosexuality was not a human right, and set up a task force to hunt down and arrest gay men;
E.whereas the Health Minister shut down dozens of health centres, accusing them of promoting same sex relations; whereas last year, 20 people were arrested while attending a training on HIV/AIDS;
F.whereas in November 2018, ten men were arrested in Zanzibar for allegedly conducting a same-sex marriage ceremony;
G.whereas many girls are exposed to human rights abuses and harmful practices, including widespread sexual violence, corporal punishment, child marriages, and teenage pregnancies, depriving them of their dignity and their right to education;
H.whereas following the announcement by President Magufuli in June 2017, pregnant girls and adolescent mothers are officially banned from public primary or secondary schools;
I.whereas in December 2017, 65 human rights organisations wrote a letter to the President Magufuli highlighting cases of harassment, abductions, killings and arbitrary arrests of journalists, human rights activists and opposition members, and urging him to protect basic human rights;
J.whereas human rights groups have observed a significant drawback in the respect for fundamental freedoms, including restrictions to the freedoms of expression, association and assembly; whereas the 2015 Cybercrimes Act allows the government to ban articles and social media posts, as well as bloggers to pay a $900 fee; whereas several newspapers have been temporarily closed by the government;
K.whereas on 7 November, two press freedom advocates working for the Committee to Protect Journalists, Angela Quintal and Muthoki Mumo, were arrested by immigration officials in Dar Es Salaam, taken to an undisclosed location and interrogated about their work, before being released a few days later;
L.whereas leading opposition members are regularly arrested on charge going from allegedly insulting the President to false information and sedition; whereas in July 2018, 20 members of Tanzania’s main opposition party were arrested over claims that they were fomenting trouble; whereas on 31 October 2018, Zitto Kabwe, an opposition MP, was arrested after having claimed that dozens of people were killed in recent clashes between herders and security forces in the Kigoma province;
M.whereas in a statement of 15 November, the EU noted a shrinking of public space in Tanzania through the tightening of restrictions on the activities of civil society organisations, the media and many political parties;
N.whereas international partners, including the EU, have largely condemned the deteriorating human rights situation in the country; whereas Denmark recently decided to suspend its aid to Tanzania over the homophobic state policies conducted by the country and the World Bank has scrapped a plan to loan Tanzania $300 million after the country reaffirmed and reinforced its policy of banishing pregnant girls from school;
O.whereas the EU Ambassador to Tanzania was forced to leave the country early November 2018 after facing government pressure, thus undermining the long-established and peaceful relations between the EU and Tanzania;
P.whereas the deteriorating state of human rights and rule of law inhibits development, economic prosperity, peace and security;
1.Expresses its deep concern regarding the deteriorating situation of human rights in Tanzania, and notably the discrimination and persecution of LGBTI people;
2.Recalls the Tanzanian’s government of its obligation to protect the rights, dignity and physical integrity of all its citizens in all circumstances;
3.Denounces all incitement to hatred and violence on grounds of sexual orientation; notes that the government has distanced himself from Paul Makonda’s statements; calls on the country’s authorities to effectively uphold LGBTI people’s right to life and dignity, and condemn all acts of violence, discrimination, stigmatisation and humiliation directed against them; calls on the country’s authorities to end police repression and forced examinations;
4.Calls on Tanzania to repeal laws criminalising homosexuality;
5.Urges the EU and its Member States to make full use of the LGBT Toolkit to encourage third countries to decriminalise homosexuality, help reduce violence and discrimination and protect LGBTI human rights defenders;
6.Condemns all acts of persecution, unlawful killings, abductions and arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders, journalists and opposition members, and urges the Tanzanian government to conduct the necessary investigations into all allegations of human rights violation and to put an end to the impunity by bringing those responsible to justice;
7.Calls on the Tanzanian authorities to act decisively to safeguard the rights of civil society organisations, human rights defenders, journalists, health workers and political activists in accordance with the Tanzanian constitution, the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights and the country’s international and regional obligations and commitments;
8.Calls on the Tanzanian government to review all restrictive legislation on media;
9.Urges the Tanzanian government to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners;
10.Calls on Tanzania to uphold women and girls’ rights and guarantee the right of all girls to access quality education, removing all discriminatory policies or bans that are currently in place, and allowing pregnant students and adolescent mothers to stay in school;
11.Calls on the EU to continue to closely monitor the human rights situation in Tanzania, particularly through regular reporting by its delegation;
12.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the government and parliament of Tanzania, the African Union and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.