IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1120 
Urging the Government of Tanzania and all parties to respect human rights 
and constitutional rights and ensure free and fair elections in October 
2020, and recognizing the importance of multi-party democracy in Tan-
zania. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 
Ms. BASS (for herself and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Urging the Government of Tanzania and all parties to re-
spect human rights and constitutional 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 sup-
porting democracy in Tanzania and has consistently dem-
onstrated support for the Tanzanian people through ef-
forts to advance good governance, economic growth, and 
improved access to health and education resources; 
Whereas Tanzania has held successive multiparty elections 
since 1995, with the elections in 2015 being the most 
competitive to date, despite facing substantial State in-
terference in political organizing, both during and fol-
lowing the campaign period; 
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•HRES 1120 IH 
Whereas since President John Magufuli’s election in 2015, 
the Government of Tanzania has adopted and enforced 
multiple repressive laws that restrict freedom of the 
press, and of expression, assembly, and association, in-
cluding the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, the Media Services 
Act of 2016, the Electronic and Postal Communications 
(Online Content) Regulations Act of 2018, 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 actively under-
mined independent collection, dissemination, and publica-
tion of statistics without government approval, and sus-
pended or halted activities by multiple newspapers and 
digital and broadcast media outlets for publishing content 
deemed critical of the State or officials; 
Whereas State or State-sponsored actors have threatened, ar-
bitrarily arrested, and attacked journalists with impunity, 
some of whom have disappeared; 
Whereas in mid-2016, the Magufuli Government placed a ban 
on political party rallies until the 2020 elections, political 
freedoms were further eroded following the amendment of 
the Political Parties Act in January 2019, and private 
opposition political party meetings have been broken up 
by police; 
Whereas freedom of association has been limited through ar-
bitrary and mandatory registration and reporting proc-
esses for nongovernmental organizations; 
Whereas, in September 2019, the Government of Tanzania 
amended both the Companies Act and Nongovernmental 
Organization Act, which have severely restricted the abil-
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•HRES 1120 IH 
ity of civil society organizations working on democracy 
and human rights to receive foreign funds; 
Whereas opposition leaders have been threatened, intimi-
dated, and physically attacked, and the government has 
failed to hold perpetrators accountable; 
Whereas President Magufuli’s lack of action to hold Tanza-
nian authorities accountable for arbitrary arrests, paired 
with actions to limit democratic space for civil society, 
the opposition party, and citizens of Tanzania has under-
mined the Constitution and rule of law in the country; 
Whereas the United States companies operating in Tanzania 
have reported harassment, corruption, and lack of respect 
for contracts and business operations, which threatens 
future United States business investment and trade part-
nerships; and 
Whereas the Government of Tanzania’s denial of the exist-
ence of COVID–19 in the country and suppression of in-
formation related to the pandemic has not only placed 
citizens’ health at risk, but has also violated citizens’ 
freedom of speech and right of access to information: 
Now, therefore be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) urges the Government of Tanzania to en-
sure that the 2020 election is carried out in a free, 
fair, credible, transparent, and peaceful manner that 
enables Tanzanian citizens the opportunity to exer-
cise their right to vote; 
(2) urges the Government of Tanzania to le-
gally guarantee and respect the rights enshrined in 
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its constitution, notably with respect to the right to 
freedom of movement, expression, information, reli-
gion, and association, as well as equality, privacy, 
and personal security; 
(3) urges the Government of Tanzania to foster 
a business environment conducive to continued 
United States trade and investment in Tanzania, in-
cluding respect for the rights of United States com-
panies operating in Tanzania; 
(4) calls upon the Government of Tanzania and 
President Magufuli— 
(A) to repeal repressive laws that are con-
trary to the principles of good governance, a 
healthy democracy, and the rights enumerated 
in the Tanzanian Constitution; 
(B) to allow citizens, civil society organiza-
tions, and political parties to assemble peace-
fully and express their views freely; 
(C) to immediately lift the ban on political 
activities to allow opposition parties to hold po-
litical rallies and demonstrations at any time, 
both during and outside of election periods; 
(D) to provide transparent, consistent, and 
nonintrusive procedures for nongovernmental 
organizations to register and to enable them to 
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•HRES 1120 IH 
carry out programs and other legal activity ab-
sent arbitrary state interference; 
(E) to safeguard press freedom, in accord-
ance with the Tanzanian Constitution and the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and 
(F) to condemn threats and attacks 
against Members of Parliament and opposition 
political parties, and ensure accountability for 
harassment, intimidation, or physical attacks on 
members of the opposition; and 
(5) calls on the United States Government to 
continue to engage on democratic backsliding in 
Tanzania and hold the Government of Tanzania ac-
countable for respecting the rights of its citizens in 
accordance with its international obligations and the 
Tanzanian Constitution. 
Æ 
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