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🇹🇿 Tanzania /Elections & Politics

Tanzania calls for Kiswahili to gain official status at the United Nations

From Mwananchi · () Swahili

Translated from Swahili and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Tanzania urged the international community to give Kiswahili greater recognition as a language of African unity, inclusion and identity.
  • Deputy Permanent Representative Hoyce Temu said Kiswahili’s use in diplomacy, education, culture and international cooperation supported the case for wider recognition.
  • Tanzania has asked the United Nations to consider making Kiswahili its seventh official language after recognition by UNESCO and other institutions.

Tanzania is pressing for Kiswahili to secure a place among the United Nations’ official languages, presenting the language as both a tool of communication and a symbol of African identity.

Hoyce Temu, Tanzania’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, made the appeal during an event marking the International Day of People of African Descent. She said language plays a major role in protecting heritage, dignity and people’s rights.

For Tanzania, Temu said, Kiswahili is more than a means of communication. “It is a language of African unity, identity, peace and cooperation between countries. It connects many people across borders. Today it is also used in diplomacy, education, culture and international cooperation,” she said.

It is a language of African unity, identity, peace and cooperation between countries. It connects many people across borders. Today it is also used in diplomacy, education, culture and international cooperation.

· Hoyce TemuTemu described Kiswahili’s cultural and institutional role during an event in Geneva.

Temu said Tanzania took pride in Kiswahili while respecting other African languages, including Hausa, Yoruba and Oromo. Promoting Kiswahili, she said, did not mean ignoring those languages. Instead, it formed part of a wider effort to ensure that African languages received respect internationally.

She pointed to steps that have expanded Kiswahili’s international recognition. UNESCO declared July 7 World Kiswahili Language Day in 2021. The African Union gave the language greater recognition in 2022, and the UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/78/312 in 2024 to designate July 7 as World Kiswahili Language Day. In 2025, UNESCO’s General Conference accepted Kiswahili as the organization’s seventh official language.

Tanzania has since asked the UN General Assembly to consider recognizing Kiswahili as the organization’s seventh official language. “Kiswahili is spoken by more than 200 million people. It has already been recognized by major African and international organizations. How much longer should it wait, and what more is needed for it to become an official language of the United Nations?” Temu asked. She said the issue concerned inclusion, representation, dignity, cultural respect and Africa’s place in global institutions.

Kiswahili is spoken by more than 200 million people. It has already been recognized by major African and international organizations. How much longer should it wait, and what more is needed for it to become an official language of the United Nations?

· Hoyce TemuTemu argued that Kiswahili’s number of speakers and existing recognition support Tanzania’s request for UN official-language status.
About this summary

Originally published by Mwananchi in Swahili. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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