Report on Human Rights Practices for 2011 Country of Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a multiparty republic consisting of the mainland and the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago, whose main islands are Unguja and Pemba. The union is headed by a president, Jakaya Kikwete, who is also the head of government; its unicameral legislative body is the National Assembly (parliament). Zanzibar, although part of the union government, has its own president, court system, and legislature and exercises considerable autonomy. Tanzania held its fourth multiparty general elections in October 2010 in which voters on Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar elected a union president and their respective representatives in the union legislature. In Zanzibar, where past elections were marked by violence and widespread irregularities, the 2010 elections proceeded peacefully after a power-sharing agreement was reached between the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF). The Zanzibar electorate chose Ali Mohamed Shein, the immediate past union vice president, as president of Zanzibar and also elected members of its House of Representatives. The union and Zanzibar elections were judged to be largely free and fair. Union security forces reported to civilian authorities, but there were instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control. The three most widespread and systemic human rights issues in the country were the use of excessive force by police, prison guards, and military personnel, which resulted in deaths and injuries; harsh and life threatening prison conditions; and mob violence. Other human rights problems included restrictions on freedoms of press and assembly; some limitations on religious freedom, primarily in Zanzibar; restrictions on the movement of refugees; official corruption, including judicial corruption and inefficiency, particularly in the lower courts; societal violence against women and persons with albinism; child abuse, including female genital mutilation (FGM); and discrimination based on sexual orientation. Trafficking in persons, both internal and international, as well as child labor were problems. In some cases the government took steps to prosecute those who committed abuses, but impunity also existed.