Tanzania presented its human rights record to the United Nations in Geneva on Thursday, Mwananchi reported. Constitution and Legal Affairs Minister Abdallah Ulega led the presentation. He spoke at the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), run by the UN Human Rights Council. The government said 7.9 million citizens had received legal aid.
Courts on the mainland had cut their case backlog from about 10% to 5%, the government said. The average time to finish a case dropped from 95 days to 66. In Zanzibar, the backlog fell from 43% to 18%, according to the presentation.
Technology was another focus. The government said digital courts and online hearings had concluded more than 170,000 cases. It said 66 prisons are now linked to the courts online. That makes court services easier to reach for prisoners and remand detainees.
On democracy, the government pointed to national talks with political parties. A task force on multiparty democracy led them. The government said the talks helped lift a ban on public political rallies. Licences for four suspended newspapers were also restored, according to the presentation.
Ulega also described changes to election laws. Some election commissioners are now recruited through a more open process of applications, screening and interviews, the government said. Parliamentary and council candidates who run unopposed must now win voters' approval.
Tanzania also reported on recommendations from its previous review in 2021. At that review, it received 252 recommendations from other countries. It accepted 187, including 20 accepted in part, and rejected 65. The government said the accepted recommendations formed the basis of its reforms since then.
The government said it remains committed to strengthening justice institutions. It pledged to protect human dignity in line with the Constitution, national law and its international obligations. Mwananchi's report did not include responses from other states, rights groups or the opposition.