African Commission makes recommendations to protect the rights of the indigenous Maasai community in Tanzania

Image: Minority Rights Group

The African Commission’s 2023 Promotion Mission to Tanzania was the first such visit authorized by the government since 2008. Focusing on the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Loliondo Game Controlled Area, the main aims of the Mission were to examine the human rights situation with respect to minorities and indigenous communities and to engage a wide range of state and civil society stakeholders in advocating for the implementation of international and regional legal instruments.

While the Commission welcomed the government’s previous relocation efforts, it was later joined by Minority Rights Group in expressing concerns over the systematic denials of the rights of the Maasai people to their ancestral lands, and over forced evictions and destruction of property that recently escalated into forced displacement in the name of conservation. Both organizations found that the affected indigenous communities were not consulted appropriately on conservation projects. Those who chose to relocate reported problems such as delays and preferential treatment of early resettlers, while those who decided not to relocate have suffered from essential services, such as emergency medical care, being withheld by the government.

Minority Rights Group called upon the government of Tanzania to comply with international human rights standards and cease withholding amenities from Maasai communities. The Group supported the African Commission’s recommendation to adopt the necessary legal and constitutional measures for the protection of the land rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous people in Tanzania, including their right to be consulted on conservation efforts.

More details are available in statements by the African Commission and MRG.

Author: Laura Vizi