Date of publication:
01/08/2026
United Republic of Tanzania (the)
Do domestic laws and policies explicitly prohibit the recruitment or involvement of children in hostilities?
Assessment by population
Analysis
Tanzania ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) in 2004, which obligates states to prevent the recruitment and use of children under 18 in hostilities. The Tanzanian People's Defence Forces (TPDF) operates on a voluntary basis and does not practice conscription, with policies indicating that individuals under 18 are not permitted to participate in hostilities.
Related provisions of domestic law or policy
The National Defence Act
- Year: 1966
- Type: Domestic law
- Rights Category: Liberty & security of person
- Link to external source: https://andyreiter.com/wp-content/uploads/military-justice/tz/Laws%20and%20Decrees/Tanzania%20-%201966%20-%20National%20Defence%20Act.pdf
Legal provision
Section 29.1 - Enrollment
No person under the apparent age of eighteen years shall be enrolled without the consent in writing of one of his parents or his guardian or, where the parents or guardian are dead or unknown, by the Area Commissioner of the district in which such person resides.