III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 756 

Urging the Government of Tanzania and all parties to respect human, civil, 

and political rights and ensure free and fair elections in October 2020, 

and recognizing the importance of multi-party democracy in Tanzania. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 23 (legislative day, OCTOBER 19), 2020 

Mr. MENENDEZ submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of Tanzania and all parties to respect human, civil, and political rights and ensure free 

and fair elections in October 2020, and recognizing the 

importance of multi-party democracy in Tanzania. 

Whereas the United States has an important interest in supporting democracy in Tanzania and has consistently demonstrated support for the people of Tanzania through efforts to advance good governance, economic growth, and 

improved access to health and education; 

Whereas respect for human, civil, and political rights and 

deepening multi-party democracy are essential to Tanzania’s long-term economic prosperity and continued political stability; 


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Whereas the conduct of elections will have a significant impact on the trajectory of democratic growth in Tanzania, 

as well as its relationship with the United States; 

Whereas Tanzania has held successive multi-party elections 

since 1995, with the elections in 2015 being the most 

competitive to date, despite substantial state interference 

in political organizing by the opposition, both during and 

following the campaign period; 

Whereas, since President John Magufuli’s election in 2015, 

the Government of Tanzania has adopted and enforced 

multiple repressive laws that restrict media freedoms, and 

freedoms of expression, assembly, and association, such 

as the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, the Media Services Act 

of 2016, the Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations Act of 2020, the Written Laws 

(Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) Act, 2018, and the 

Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act No. 3 of 

2020; 

Whereas the Government of Tanzania has promulgated onerous regulations that actively undermine the independent 

collection, dissemination, and publication of statistics 

without government approval, and suspended or halted 

activities by multiple newspapers and digital and broadcast media outlets in retaliation for publishing content 

deemed critical of the state or officials; 

Whereas state actors have threatened, arbitrarily arrested, 

and attacked journalists with impunity, and some journalists have disappeared; 

Whereas in mid-2016, the Magufuli Administration placed a 

ban on political party rallies until the 2020 elections; 


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Whereas political freedoms were further eroded following the 

amendment of the Political Parties Act in January 2019, 

which granted Tanzanian authorities sweeping powers to 

regulate the operations of opposition parties, and private 

opposition political party meetings have been broken up 

by police; 

Whereas freedom of association has been limited through 

mandatory registration and reporting processes for nongovernmental organizations that are arbitrary in nature; 

Whereas, in September 2019, the Government of Tanzania 

amended both the Companies Act and Nongovernmental 

Organization Act, which has severely restricted the ability 

of civil society organizations, particularly those focused 

on democracy and human rights, to receive foreign funds; 

Whereas opposition leaders have been threatened, intimidated, and physically attacked, and the Magafuli Administration has failed to hold perpetrators accountable; 

Whereas President Magufuli’s failure to hold Tanzanian government actors accountable for arbitrary arrests, paired 

with actions to limit democratic space for civil society, 

opposition parties, and citizens of Tanzania, has undermined the Tanzanian Constitution and the rule of law; 

Whereas the Government of Tanzania has rapidly escalated 

its campaign of repression against the opposition in the 

lead-up to the October 2020 elections, through arbitrary 

and partisan legal action against opposition candidates 

and their parties, which undermines democratic principles 

of fair play and potentially calls into question the credibility of the country’s October polls; 

Whereas some United States companies operating in Tanzania have reported harassment, corruption, and lack of 


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respect for contracts and business operations, which 

threatens future United States business investment and 

trade partnerships; and 

Whereas the Government of Tanzania’s claim that the Novel 

Coronavirus (COVID–19) has been eliminated in the 

country, and its suppression of information related to the 

pandemic have not only placed citizens’ health at risk, 

but have also violated citizens’ freedom of speech and 

right of access to information: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) urges the Government of Tanzania to en3 sure that the October 2020 elections are conducted 

4 in a free, fair, credible, transparent, and peaceful 

5 manner that enables citizens of Tanzania the oppor6 tunity to exercise their right to vote; 

7 (2) urges the Government of Tanzania to le8 gally guarantee and respect the rights enshrined in 

9 its Constitution, particularly the rights to freedom of 

10 movement, expression, information, religion, and as11 sociation, as well as equality, privacy, and personal 

12 security; 

13 (3) urges the Government of Tanzania to foster 

14 a robust, market-led business environment conducive 

15 to continued United States trade and investment in 

16 Tanzania, including respect for the legal and con17 tractual rights of United States companies operating 

18 in Tanzania; 


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1 (4) calls upon the Government of Tanzania and 

2 President Magufuli— 

3 (A) to repeal repressive laws that are con4 trary to the principles of good governance, a 

5 healthy democracy, and the rights enumerated 

6 in the Tanzanian Constitution; 

7 (B) to allow citizens, civil society organiza8 tions, and political parties to assemble peace9 fully and express their views freely; 

10 (C) to immediately lift the ban on political 

11 activities and allow opposition parties to hold 

12 political rallies and demonstrations at any time, 

13 both during and outside of election periods; 

14 (D) to provide transparent, consistent, and 

15 nonintrusive procedures for nongovernmental 

16 organizations to register and to enable them to 

17 carry out programs and other legal activity ab18 sent arbitrary state interference, including with 

19 respect to receiving funding or cooperating with 

20 foreign organizations; 

21 (E) to safeguard press freedom, in accord22 ance with the Tanzanian Constitution and the 

23 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 

24 (F) to condemn threats and attacks 

25 against Members of Parliament and opposition 


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1 political parties, and ensure accountability for 

2 harassment, intimidation, or physical attacks on 

3 members of the opposition; 

4 (G) to end the escalating campaign of arbi5 trary and partisan legal action against opposi6 tion candidates and their parties in the lead-up 

7 to the October 2020 elections; and 

8 (H) to guarantee the ability of domestic 

9 and international election observers to monitor 

10 the October 2020 polls without hindrance; and 

11 (5) calls on the United States Government to 

12 continue to speak out against democratic backsliding 

13 in Tanzania and hold the Government of Tanzania 

14 accountable for respecting the rights of its citizens, 

15 in accordance with its international obligations and 

16 the Tanzanian Constitution, including by— 

17 (A) considering the imposition of targeted 

18 sanctions and visa restrictions on actors in19 volved in perpetrating or abetting human rights 

20 abuses; 

21 (B) leading international partners and in22 stitutions, including those in Africa, in devel23 oping and implementing strategies and actions 

24 to promote and defend human, civil, and politVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR756.IS SR756

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1 ical rights and multi-party democracy in Tan2 zania; 

3 (C) immediately conducting a review of 

4 United States Government assistance and co5 operation with the Government of Tanzania for 

6 the purposes of reprioritizing such assistance 

7 should neutral observers determine that the Oc8 tober 2020 polls do not meet internationally ac9 cepted standards for credible elections; and 

10 (D) demanding the Government of Tan11 zania conduct full and public investigations that 

12 ensure judicial accountability for acts of vio13 lence perpetrated against political opposition, 

14 journalists, and members of civil society. 

Æ 


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