Human Rights Monitors want promotion of human rights education at the grass root level

In its endeavours to enhance protection and promotion of human rights in Tanzania, Legal and Human Rights Centre has on June 29, 2018, organized two days human rights monitors seminar in Dar es Salaam to bring together 167 human rights monitors from 135 districts of Tanzania mainland. The seminar aims at enhancing the capacity of monitors on legal and human rights issues to advance human right protection in their respective districts.

“Recently there has been an upsetting increase in human rights violation in the country as portrayed in the Tanzania Human Rights Report 2017. Legal and Human Rights Centre as a forefront human rights defender cannot withstand the situation and that is why we are deploying various means to make sure everyone in Tanzania enjoys human rights. We are here today because we (human rights monitors) have a significant role to play in defending human rights in the country. Let us take this session as an opportunity to enlighten ourselves with legal systems in place and how to address the situation.” – Felista Mauya, the LHRC’s Acting Executive Director noted when opening a seminar.

Among other things, human rights monitors were empowered on the principles of human rights and legal framework that protect human rights both internationally and at the national level. They were also provided with tech know-how skills to enhance their capacities in using technology to track and report on human rights violations. Moreover, they were encouraged to keep sensitizing people at their localities to participate and raise concerns on issues of public interest like a revival of the new constitution making process in the country.

Human Rights Monitors were also provided with an opportunity to discuss and advise the Legal and Human Rights Centre on how it can improve its interventions with the community taking into consideration that the Centre is in its preparatory stages for the new strategic planning. During presentations, monitors insisted that the Legal and Human Rights Centre should channel and concentrate its efforts on promoting human rights awareness at the grass root level given that most of the people at local communities especially villages and wards are not receiving enough of interventions on human rights.

On the last day of the meeting, human rights monitors got an opportunity to bid a farewell to the recently retired Executive Director, Dr. Helen Kijo-Bisimba surprising her with beautiful gifts and a farewell cake. Dr Helen had less to say but thanking them for gifts and congratulate the group for the great and remarkable role they are playing in advancing human rights in their communities. Dr Helen argued human rights monitors to keep up volunteering their support to the Legal and Human Rights Centre for the Centre depends on them for the attainment of a society that respects and promotes human rights.

Legal and Human Rights Centre established human monitors in all districts of Tanzania mainland to keep track of and report on human rights. Human Rights Monitors helps Legal and Human Rights in exposing issues of human rights violations in the community and inform its advocacy tools including the Tanzania Human Rights Report.