Tanzania has been sued for the first time in the African Court on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR).
Articles 39, 67, and 77 of the Tanzanian Constitution prohibit a person from running for political office unless the person is a member of a political party. Tanzania is the only country in the East African Community (EAC) that does not allow independent candidacies. The other EAC members, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, allow people to run as independents or as party members. Tanzania's highest court, the Court of Appeal, upheld those prohibitions in 2010.
The plaintiffs in the ACHPR case are the Tanganyika Law Society and the Legal and Human Rights Centre, with assistance from the East Africa Law Society and the Pan African Lawyers Union. They claim that the Tanzanian Consitution violates Articles 2 and 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the "Charter") as well as Articles 3 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Tanzania is a party to both of those international agreements.
The ACHPR is based in Arusha, Tanzania, but is part of the African Union. The court has jurisdiction to enforce the Charter and "any other relevant human rights instruments."
Source: "Govt challenged over independent candidacy," by Lusekelo Philemon, IPPmedia.com, 3 June 2011, http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=29745
Links: The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights can be found here. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights can be found here.
Articles 39, 67, and 77 of the Tanzanian Constitution prohibit a person from running for political office unless the person is a member of a political party. Tanzania is the only country in the East African Community (EAC) that does not allow independent candidacies. The other EAC members, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, allow people to run as independents or as party members. Tanzania's highest court, the Court of Appeal, upheld those prohibitions in 2010.
The plaintiffs in the ACHPR case are the Tanganyika Law Society and the Legal and Human Rights Centre, with assistance from the East Africa Law Society and the Pan African Lawyers Union. They claim that the Tanzanian Consitution violates Articles 2 and 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the "Charter") as well as Articles 3 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Tanzania is a party to both of those international agreements.
The ACHPR is based in Arusha, Tanzania, but is part of the African Union. The court has jurisdiction to enforce the Charter and "any other relevant human rights instruments."
Source: "Govt challenged over independent candidacy," by Lusekelo Philemon, IPPmedia.com, 3 June 2011, http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=29745
Links: The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights can be found here. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights can be found here.
No comments:
Post a Comment