TANZANIA: Inspection Report for Children in Detention Facilities

Summary: CHRAGG undertook monitoring visits to detention facilities during 2008/09 and 2009/10. These visits and subsequent reports revealed that the numbers of children being held in detention facilities was increasing, that they were
often held in adult prisons and that the conditions in detention and the treatment they received fell far short of international human rights standards. Furthermore, children were not receiving adequate access to reintegration and rehabilitation activities and services.

The Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG)1 in Tanzania has the mandate to visit prisons and places of detention or related facilities with a view to assessing and inspecting conditions of persons held in such places and making recommendations in relation to protecting their human rights2. CHRAGG undertook monitoring visits to detention facilities during 2008/09 and 2009/10. These visits and subsequent reports revealed that the numbers of children being held in detention facilities was increasing, that they were often held in adult prisons and that the conditions in detention and the treatment they received
fell far short of international human rights standards. Furthermore, children were not receiving adequate access to reintegration and rehabilitation activities and services.

As a result of these findings, CHRAGG undertook a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the situation of children in detention facilities in Tanzania during early 2011. This assessment involved an extensive desk review and inspection visits to 65 detention centres around the country where children are held. During the inspection visits, 144 detention facility officers were interviewed (73 officers) or took part in group discussions (71 officers), and overall 491 children were involved in the assessment either through one to one interviews (179) or through focus group discussions (312). This Executive Summary gives an overview of the methodology used for this assessment, summarises the key findings regarding the conditions for and treatment of children in police stations, in Retention Homes (facility for under-18s on remand), in the Approved School (facility for convicted under-18s) and in adult prisons, and concludes with a set of recommendations based on the findings.

More information:

• TANZANIA: Behind the walls of juvenile detention centres (29 January 2012)
• TANZANIA: Violence against children rampant, say officials (10 August 2011)
• DISCRIMINATION: Children detained for status offences in Panama and Tanzania (16 February 2010)
• More about children's rights in Tanzania
• CRIN's page on Forms of Violence against Children
• CRIN's page on Child-Friendly Justice