Zanzibar was an UNPO member between 1991 and 2015. 

Zanzibar has used its UNPO membership to highlight longstanding concerns over political marginalisation, flawed elections, human‑rights violations, and the denial of full democratic autonomy under the union with mainland Tanzania. The Civic United Front (CUF) has accused successive Zanzibar and Tanzanian authorities of manipulating electoral outcomes, denying fair competition, and repressing opposition supporters. For example, domestic and international observers have documented serious irregularities in elections since the 1990s, including the repeated annulment of results, restrictions on opposition rallies, harassment of CUF members, arrests and charges of treason against party leaders (as in 1997), and violent crackdowns on protests.

Human‑rights organisations have repeatedly condemned abuses in Zanzibar, including allegations of torture, forced detentions, and disappearances associated with political repression. A 2004 report by the former UNPO‑associated group documented widespread cases of night-time arrests, custodial torture, and intimidation of critics of the ruling party, underscoring that many Zanzibaris faced systematic harassment. Beyond political violence, Zanzibaris have voiced structural grievances about their status within the union with mainland Tanzania: many argue that Zanzibar is under‑represented at the national level, that economic resources and development projects prioritise the mainland, and that the semi‑autonomous status of Zanzibar (with its own House of Representatives and Revolutionary Council) has been undermined over time.

Through their participation in UNPO, Zanzibar‑backing organisations have sought to raise international awareness of these issues, calling for genuine political reforms: fair and transparent elections, the protection of civil liberties, accountability for past abuses, and a re-negotiation of Zanzibar’s place within the union—with greater respect for its identity, autonomy, and local governance rights.

Zanzibar has a unique cultural and historical identity shaped by centuries of maritime trade, Arab, Persian, African, and Swahili influences, and its pivotal role in the Indian Ocean world. Its population is predominantly Muslim, and religion, Swahili language, coastal trade, seafaring, and a rich heritage of architecture, music (notably taarab), cuisine, and oral traditions define Zanzibari identity. The archipelago’s history as a Sultanate and as a trade hub creates a sense of distinct identity often invoked in political discussion about autonomy or special status. This cultural distinctiveness influences social and political life: many Zanzibaris feel their traditions, religion, and local customs are not fully acknowledged or protected under national-level governance dominated by mainland interests.

Zanzibar’s history is deeply shaped by its strategic position on Indian Ocean trade routes, which over centuries made it a key entrepôt for trade, culture and power across East Africa, Arabia, Persia and the Indian Ocean world. By the late 17th century, the island came under the control of the Sultanate of Oman, after the expulsion of the Portuguese from the East African coast. In 1832, the Omani Sultan Said ibn Sultan relocated his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar, ushering in a period of prosperity: the island became a hub of trade in cloves, ivory and slaves, as well as a cosmopolitan port city with Arab, Persian, African and Indian connections. In 1861 Zanzibar formally became an independent sultanate, though its control over mainland East African territories waned as European colonial powers scrambled for control. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, under increasing European pressure the sultanate lost much of its external domains, and the island itself was made a British protectorate in 1890, resulting in the formal reduction of the Sultan’s autonomy.

Despite its protectorate status and continued sultanate rule, Zanzibar remained culturally and economically distinct—a center of Swahili-Arab-African syncretism, maritime trade, plantation economy (especially cloves) and a rich Muslim-Indian Ocean heritage. In December 1963, following the end of the British protectorate, Zanzibar gained full self-government as a constitutional monarchy. But on 12 January 1964 a revolution led by the largely African Afro‑Shirazi Party (ASP) overthrew the Sultanate under Jamshid bin Abdullah. The revolution deposed the Sultan, dissolved the old political order, and initiated substantial social, political and economic change.

Only a few months later, the new Zanzibar government signed a union agreement with the mainland former colony of Tanganyika, creating the United Republic of Tanzania. While Zanzibar retained semi‑autonomous institutions (its own Revolutionary Council, House of Representatives and some internal governance), the union fundamentally altered its sovereignty, merging mainland and island governance under a shared national framework. Since then, Zanzibar’s history has been marked by its hybrid status: part of a larger Tanzanian state, but retaining a distinctive cultural, historical and social identity shaped by centuries of trade, Arab‑Swahili heritage, plantation economy, and the legacy of the Sultanate and revolutionary transformation.