President Steinmeier visits Tanzania

The focus of German President Steinmeier’s visit to Tanzania (October 30 to November 1) will be on a process of coming to terms with Germany’s colonial crimes and on strengthening economic relations. “The crimes committed by Germany during the colonial era must be accounted for, and compensation must be paid. In this context, the German President should draw lessons from the failed reconciliation process in Namibia – where the descendants of the victims of the genocide crimes against the Herero and the Nama (1904-1908) were not adequately involved. This serious mistake should not be repeated in Tanzania,” criticized Christoph Hahn, expert on genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect at the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). Thus, the coming to terms with the crimes of the past should go far beyond the level of government, and the descendants as well as their committees should be directly involved.

“Before drawing up economic, social, or ecological projects, the people affected must be directly involved in the process. If this does not happen, Germany will be partly responsible if any human rights violations occur during the implementation of the projects,” Hahn added.

“Germany must also take this into account with regard to the north of Tanzania,” Hahn demanded. The German Federal Government is financing nature conservation projects in the Serengeti ecosystem through the KfW Development Bank. In June 2022, the Tanzanian government started to expel the Maasai from the regions of Loliondo und Ngorongoro under the guise of nature conservation. “Germany should immediately stop funding the projects and reconsider future participation – after consulting with the local Maasai communities,” Hahn demanded.