The United Nations called on Tanzania to immediately halt evictions of Maasai families from ancestral lands to make way for tourism developments.
Maasai herders are being forced out of homes bordering the Serengeti National Park without adequate and meaningful consultation, according to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
"Restrictions on access to grazing areas, water sources and cultural sites, together with the reduction or deterioration in the provision of healthcare, education, water and other essential services in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, have adversely affected their enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and pressured them to relocate from their ancestral lands,” the panel said.
The UN rebuke is the latest flashpoint in a long-running dispute pitting the Maasai against the government and foreign tourism investors in an industry that earns billions of dollars a year for Tanzania.
Those opposed to the evictions and relocation risk arbitrary arrests, detention, reprisals, intimidation and harassment, the UN said. The committee also cited reports of racial profiling and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials on the basis of race.
The UN team asked Tanzania to "ensure that the Maasai Indigenous peoples enjoy their rights without discrimination, including their rights to equality before the law and to effective participation in decisions affecting them”.
Where forced evictions cannot be avoided, affected families and individuals should be provided with adequate alternative housing and compensation, and should have access to effective remedies, it said. – Bloomberg
