Tanzania must stop forced evictions of Maasai: UN watchdog

The committee also cited reports of racial profiling and racially motivated excessive use of force by law enforcement officials.(AFP) — Tanzania must halt forced evictions of Indigenous Maasai people from their ancestral lands and address reported abuses by law enforcement, a United Nations watchdog said Friday.The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination voiced alarm over longstanding reported violations, including relocations and restrictions on access to ancestral lands and natural resources.It said Maasai people opposing evictions and relocations had repeatedly faced arbitrary arrests and detention, reprisals, intimidation and harassment.The committee also cited reports of racial profiling and racially motivated excessive use of force by law enforcement officials.“Restrictions on access to grazing areas, water sources and cultural sites, together with the reduction or deterioration in the provision of health care, education, water and other essential services in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, have adversely affected their enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and pressured them to relocate from their ancestral lands,” the committee said in a statement.Tanzania has historically allowed Indigenous communities such as the Maasai to live within some national parks, including Ngorongoro, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.But authorities say the communities’ growing population is encroaching on wildlife habitat and began moving pastoralists out of Ngorongoro in 2022, describing the relocation as voluntary.Since 1959, the number of people living in Ngorongoro has risen from 8,000 to more than 100,000.As climate change leads to prolonged droughts and lower crop yields, pressure on pastoralists has increased, forcing them into conflict with wildlife over access to food and water.The committee, made up of 18 independent human rights experts, monitors countries’ compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which has 182 states parties.Under the convention, which took effect in 1969, countries must eliminate racial discrimination, eradicate practices of segregation and guarantee equality before the law.The committee’s opinions and recommendations are nonbinding but carry reputational weight.It called on Tanzania to immediately stop forced evictions and said that when evictions cannot be avoided, those affected should be provided adequate alternative housing and compensation.It said Tanzania should ensure that any conservation, tourism or development projects affecting the Maasai proceed only after meaningful consultation and efforts to obtain their informed consent.The committee also asked Tanzania to ensure the Maasai can exercise their rights “without discrimination, including their rights to equality before the law and to effective participation in decisions affecting them.”Categories / InternationalSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads