HC Deb 30 July 1952 vol 504 cc1461-2

1. Draws the attention of the petitioners to the observations of the Administering Authority;

2. Regrets that Administering Authority should have found it necessary to move any of the Meru people from land on which they had settled

3. Regrets further that a process of forcible eviction was found necessary by the Administering Authority in the course of which damage and loss were suffered by members of the Meru people;

4. Recognises that the movement in question forms part of a larger scheme already in an advanced stage of implementation which is advantageous to the majority of the indigenous inhabitants of the Arusha-Moshi area, in that it has already provided for tribal occupation a greater area of previously alienated land and will open up further under-developed lands for tribal expansion.

5. Considers nevertheless that the Administering Authority should be guided in future schemes by the principle that African communities settled on the land should not be moved to other areas unless a clear expression of their collective consent has been obtained;

6. Urges the Administering Authority

  1. (a) to do all in its power to relieve the hardships suffered by families of the Meru people required to move from the area in question;
  2. (b) to grant compensation to the families affected for the loss of land, huts and other property as well as for disturbance, on a generous scale as a means to help overcome the resentment which has arisen;
  3. (c) to continue to make available to the families affected assistance in resettlement in the new area and in particular to assist them in building new huts and by undertaking further efforts to eradicate the tsetse fly;

7. Recommends that the Administering Authority

  1. (a) intensify its educational campaign to convince the Meru people of the desirability of reducing congestion in the tribal area by movement to the new expansion areas;
  2. (b) as a further effort to direct the activities of the Meru people into constructive channels, draw up and put into effect a plan for community development and welfare;

8. Expresses the hope that the Administering Authority will continue to take all practicable measures to make adequate provision for the increased numbers of the Wa-Meru tribe and to afford relief to congestion on occupied tribal land by opening up and developing new lands for both cultivation and grazing;

9. Requests the Administering Authority to keep the Trusteeship Council fully informed of any further developments in the matter of resettlement in the Arusha District;

10. invites the Secretary-General to inform the Administering Authority and the petitioners of this resolution in accordance with rule 93 of the Rules of procedure for the Trusteeship Council.

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