Safeguarding Rights to Clean Water and Food Security for Mine-Host Communities: Analysis of Tanzania’s compliance with international standards.

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 find answers on the extent to which Tanzania complies with the international and regional frameworks, a documentary review of primary sources such as; international, regional and domestic instruments, was carried out. In addition, review of secondary sources such as; policies, guidelines books, journal articles, reports and internet sources was carried out. This study shows that, Tanzania legal and institutional frameworks have domesticated the international and regional principles which are relevant to safeguarding MHCs rights to clean water and adequate food. However, the manner of domestication of such principles do not confer full safeguard to MHCs when mining activities are to take place in their vicinity. Among causative factors are; non-justiciability of the two rights, little or non-participation of MHCs in decision making, overlapping laws on environmental conservation, wide administrative discretionary powers, less deterrent penalties, non-recognition of benefit schemes to MHCs through their trusts, among others. With respect to institutional framework, factors such as; lack independency, overlapping mandate in allocation of resources rights, inadequate infrastructure, limited budget, inadequate human resources and ethical issues. The study recommends for reform of the mining legal and institutiona frameworks in order to fully comply with the international standards