Safeguarding Rights to Clean Water and Food Security for Mine-Host Communities: Analysis of Tanzania’s Compliance with International Standards.

Ombella, John Sebastian (2023) Safeguarding Rights to Clean Water and Food Security for Mine-Host Communities: Analysis of Tanzania’s Compliance with International Standards. Doctoral thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

Absence of robust legal and institutional frameworks relevant to address mining impacts on Mine-Host Communities (MHCs) rights to clean water and adequate food is the central problem under this research. Tanzania is a member State to both the UN and AU, and is therefore bound by their frameworks. Both the UN and AU legal and institutional frameworks recognize principles relevant to curb mining impacts on human rights under research. This study investigates the extent of Tanzania‘s compliance with the two frameworks. To establish the extent to which Tanzania complies with the international and regional frameworks, a documentary review of primary sources such as; international and domestic instruments, was carried out. Also, review of secondary sources such as; books, journal articles, reports and internet sources was carried out. It is found that, Tanzania legal and institutional frameworks have domesticated international principles aimed at safeguarding MHCs rights to clean water and adequate food. The manner of domestication of such principles do not confer full safeguard to MHCs against mining impacts though. Among causative factors are; non-justiciability of the two rights, inadequate participation of MHCs in decision making, overlapping laws on environmental conservation, wide administrative discretionary powers, and less deterrent penalties among others. With respect to institutional framework, factors such as; partiality, overlapping mandate in allocation of resources rights, poor infrastructure, limited budget and inadequate human resources. Reforms of legal and institutional frameworks is recommended to fully comply with the international standards. Keywords: Mine-host communities, Right to Water, Right to adequate food, Tanzania.

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