Chris Maina Peter

Biographical Information
"Chris Maina Peter is a professor of law at the School of Law of the University of Dar es Salaam as well as a renowned member of the civil society movement in Tanzania. He holds bachelor’s and master's degrees in law from the University of Dar es Salaam and a doctorate in law from the University of Konstanz, Germany. Over the past three decades, he has founded and served on the boards of some of the most established human rights NGOs in the region including the Zanzibar Legal Services Centre, Kituo cha Katiba, The Foundation for Civil Society, and the Tanzania Journalists Association. A committed human rights activist, Peter has taken a lead in the promotion of legal aid networking in Tanzania through the University of Dar es Salaam Legal Aid Committee as well as handled numerous pro-bono cases as part of this brief. He has also played an active role in law reform efforts in Tanzania which culminated in the passage of the law establishing the Tanzania Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance. A prolific writer, he is widely published and is advisor to a number of international journals including the journal of African and International Law, the African Yearbook of International Law, and the East African Journal of Peace & Human Rights. His collection of articles, books and case commentaries have over time become a standard reference for any one working in human rights in Tanzania. Since 2008, Peter has been a member of the United Nations Committee on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination."


 * Director, Open Society Initiative for East Africa