EDITORIAL: Protect right defenders

Delegates to the African Elephant Coalition summit in Cotonou, Benin, last week, expressed concern over the silence of Tanzanian representatives during deliberations on ivory trade ban. The deliberations were a big ‘No’ to ivory trade.

>Tanzania came up the Child Rights Act of 2009 to guarantee minors their basic rights. It also signed and ratified both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child for the same purpose.

>Whenever there is an accident, especially one in which scores of people are killed, the law and security agencies spring into action. They suddenly remember this law and that regulation and hurry to enforce it.

The Citizen reported that some 262 kilogrammes worth $413,000 (Sh826 million) had been seized at Zurich Airport in Switzerland en route to China from Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) on 6 July.

It is no wonder, then, that news of the Wednesday, 11pm attack on the key police station, was received with shock and disbelief by Dar es Salaam residents.

>A recent report linking public officials with the decimation of Tanzania’s forests is disturbing, for it means the effort to protect this resource is certain to be doubly difficult.  The report, which is attributed to the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), notes that ministers control 39 per cent of trade in forest products.

As campaigns for the October 25 polls hot up, some politicians have been using all manner of tactics to gain and consolidate support. However, tactics which some have been employing are totally lacking in terms of civility.

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Kafulila, others awarded by human rights defenders.
IPPmedia
Kigoma South Member of Parliament (NCCR-Mageuzi) David Kafulila (L) receives a trophy presented to him in Dar es Salaam yesterday in recognition of the part his whistle-blowing efforts played in the defence and promotion of human rights in Tanzania last ...

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Why journalists, human rights defenders need protection
IPPmedia
Following the role Journalists play in the community, this year, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDs-Coalition) organised and conducted several security management training for Journalists after realising that some Journalists as human ...