The United Nations Committee has urged Tanzania to immediately halt the forced eviction of Maasai Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands in Ngorongoro, Loliondo and other affected areas, amid concerns over alleged human rights violations linked to conservation and tourism projects.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) stated that Tanzania must address reported abuses against Maasai communities, including arbitrary arrests, excessive use of force, intimidation, harassment and restrictions on access to ancestral territories and natural resources.
Acting under its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure, the Committee expressed alarm over longstanding violations affecting Maasai Indigenous Peoples, particularly in areas where conservation and tourism initiatives have expanded.
At the centre of the Committee’s concerns is the reported displacement and relocation of large numbers of Maasai from their ancestral lands in Ngorongoro and Loliondo.
According to the UN Committee, such measures have allegedly been implemented without adequate and meaningful consultation with affected communities and without securing their free, prior and informed consent.
The Committee’s intervention adds to growing international scrutiny of the balance between conservation, tourism development and the rights of Indigenous communities in Tanzania.
While conservation areas and tourism activities remain important components of the country’s economy and environmental policy, CERD’s findings highlight the human consequences that can arise when development initiatives affect communities whose livelihoods, culture and identity are closely connected to their traditional territories.
The Maasai communities living in and around Ngorongoro have historically depended on the land for pastoralism, including access to grazing areas and water sources. Their ancestral territories also contain cultural and religious sites that hold significance beyond their economic value.
CERD noted that restrictions on access to these resources, combined with declining or deteriorating public services, have placed additional pressure on Maasai communities to leave their ancestral lands.
The concerns extend beyond land displacement. CERD indicated that Maasai people who have opposed evictions and relocations have reportedly faced arbitrary arrest and detention, reprisals, intimidation and harassment.
The Committee also cited reports of racial profiling and what it described as racially motivated excessive use of force by law enforcement officials.
Such allegations have raised questions about whether communities challenging land and conservation policies are being adequately protected under national and international human rights standards.
UN Flags Concerns Over Services and Treatment of Rights Defenders
Beyond the immediate issue of evictions, the UN Committee has also raised concerns about the wider conditions facing Maasai communities in areas affected by conservation and development policies.
The Committee revealed that access to basic services, including healthcare, education, water and sanitation, must be restored and improved rather than restricted in ways that could pressure communities to relocate.
It specifically urged Tanzania to refrain from restricting essential services as a means of encouraging Maasai residents to leave their ancestral territories.
The issue is significant because access to public services can directly influence whether communities are able to remain in their traditional settlements. Where healthcare, education and water infrastructure deteriorate or become inaccessible, residents may face increasing pressure to abandon communities that have been occupied for generations.
CERD therefore urged the Tanzanian authorities to ensure access to grazing lands and essential services in areas inhabited by Maasai Indigenous Peoples.
The Committee also called for accountability over allegations of human rights violations, urging Tanzania to conduct effective, thorough and impartial investigations into reported abuses.
It said authorities must work to end impunity and ensure that individuals responsible for violations are held accountable.
Another area of concern is the treatment of individuals and organisations advocating for Maasai rights.
CERD noted that human rights defenders, civil society organisations, activists, lawyers and journalists working to promote the rights of Maasai Indigenous Peoples have allegedly faced intimidation, harassment and reprisals because of their work.
The Committee urged Tanzania to create a safe environment in which these groups can operate without fear of retaliation.
The warning also extends to the broader public narrative surrounding the Maasai. CERD highlighted concerns about hate speech and stigmatisation, including portrayals of Maasai Indigenous Peoples as obstacles to conservation and development.
Such narratives, the Committee suggested, risk deepening discrimination against communities whose interests may sometimes conflict with government conservation or development objectives.
CERD’s recommendations therefore seek to move the c beyond a simple choice between conservation and community rights. Instead, the Committee is calling for policies that protect the environment while ensuring that Indigenous communities are consulted and their rights respected.
The Committee also called on Tanzania to provide adequate alternative housing and compensation where forced evictions cannot be avoided, while ensuring affected families and individuals have access to effective remedies.
It further urged the government to publish without delay the findings and recommendations of two presidential commissions established in February 2025 to examine land use, relocation and conservation policies in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
The publication of those findings, according to the UN Committee, should be accompanied by meaningful participation from Maasai Indigenous Peoples in decisions concerning the future of the conservation area.
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