Report on Citizenship Law: Tanzania seeking asylum in Tanzania. In line with its pan-African spirit and support for liberation struggles, Tanzania welcomed refugees to stay, settling them in rural settlements. Some of the refugees eventually left the settlements where they were required to stay and mixed with the locals. In 1979, Tanzania hosted an international conference on refugees, out of which arose some recommendations among which was: i) refugees should not be subjected to national legislative of administrative provisions relating to prohibited immigrants; ii) naturalisation as a solution for African refugee problems in cases where voluntary repatriation can no longer be envisaged and where refugees have attained a sufficient degree of integration in their asylum country149. Presumably, this conference influenced Tanzania’s mass naturalisation of refugees soon afterwards. About 32,000 Rwandan refugees were naturalised in 1982150. For former refugees that acquired Tanzanian citizenship through mass naturalisation, normal application procedures and fees are waived151. Yet another mass naturalisation drive, targeting specifically Burundian refugees who had arrived in 1972, was initialised in 2007 following the Tanzania Comprehensive Solutions Strategy (TANCOSS) adopted by the government of Tanzania in partnership with the government of Burundi and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Out of a total of about 200,000 Burundi refugees at the time, about 79% opted for Tanzanian citizenship while 21% chose to return to Burundi152. While the process hit some obstacles, it was resumed in 2014 leading to naturalisation of about 162,000 Burundians in what has been termed as ‘the first time in history that any state had naturalised such a large group of refugee in a single move’153. Moreover, still in 2014, about 3000 Somali Bantu refugees who had fled to Tanzania in the 1990s were also naturalised154. While a significant number of certificates have been offered to those who applied for naturalisation, there are still some pending cases, while some were rejected155. In 2015, there was a change of leadership in Tanzania and while on the campaign trail, refugees from Burundi and Rwanda had been promised citizenship opportunities156, the new president has since backtracked on that promise. The naturalisation process for refugees was suspended in 2017 and the President urged the Burundians to return home as peace had been restored157. Of recent, Tanzania seems to be more resolved for Burundi refugees to return to Burundi158. Moreover, even for those who were naturalised, they seem to live under a threat of revocation of their citizenship should they be seen or found to “misbehave”159. 149 Recommendations from the Pan-African Conference on the Situation of Refugees in Africa, Arusha, Tanzania, 7-17 May 1979, paras 4 (3) & 6 (5), available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b37214.html accessed 11 November 2019. 150 F Markus (2014), ‘Tanzania grants citizenship to 162,000 Burundian refugees in historic decision’ 17 October 2014 available at https://www.unhcr.org/5441246f6.html accessed on 7 December 2019. 151 Manby, Statelessness, supra note 130, p. 66. 152 A Kuch (2016), ‘Naturalization of Burundian refugees in Tanzania: The debates on local integration and the meaning of citizenship revisited’, Journal of Refugee Studies Vol.30 No. 3, pp. 468-87 at 468. 153 Ibid at p. 469. 154 Markus, supra note 150. 155 Manby, Statelessness, supra note 130, p. 67. She reports that by April 2016, 151,019 naturalisation certificates had been distributed. 156 A Mkama (2015), ‘Tanzania: Yes, Refugees may be Naturalised’, Tanzania Daily News, 17 September 2015. 157 Citizen reporter (2017), ‘Magafuli: No citizenship for Burundi refugees’, The Citizen 21 July 2017. 158 Amnesty International (2019), ‘Tanzania: Confidential document shows forced repatriation of Burundi refugees imminent’ 6 September 2019 available at https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/09/tanzaniaconfidential-document-shows-forced-repatriation-of-burundi-refugees-imminent/ accessed on 7 December 2019. 159 P Siyame (2017), ‘Tanzania: Nchemba tells former refugees – behave, else you forfeit citizenship’, Tanzania Daily News, 24 August 2017. 22 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/6- © 2020 Author(s)