The government says it planned to file its report on the human rights situation in the country at the United Nations panel, noting that it was not worried about other reports by private organisations.

Deputy Minister for education William Ole Nasha has told Parliament that Tanzania record on the respect for human rights was not as bad as it was being portrayed by activists. Mr Ole Nasha accused rights bodies of what he said is a tendency to distort the reality and filing “exaggerated reports” with the UN panel on human rights. He was responding to a question in the august House this week by a Member of Parliament who challenged the government to say whether it was facing difficulties in expounding its record.

The matter came in the heels of news reports that 38 non-governmental organisations have sent a letter to member and observer states of the UN Human Rights Council, asking them to address what they see as the crackdown on human rights in the country at the upcoming 41st session of the council which will take place from 24 June-12 July this year. The organisations, which include Human Rights Watch, Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Reporters Without Borders, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC), Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists and others sent the letter on May 13, 2019.