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Condolence message on the passing of Zimbabwean human rights leader Eileen Sawyer
US Embassy
August 17, 2012

The United States Embassy expresses its condolences on the passing of Zimbabwean veteran human rights activist and leader Eileen Sawyer. Ms. Sawyer was a founding Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum and former Chair of the Legal Resources Foundation - Zimbabwe. She dedicated her life to the protection of her fellow citizens and their rights to fundamental human dignity as enshrined in the Zimbabwean constitution, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and numerous other national, regional and international conventions.

Sawyer helped create the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum in 1998 in response to food riots. Today, it is a consortium of 19 NGOs in Zimbabwe working "to reduce organized violence and torture, cruel inhuman and degrading treatment; to challenge impunity; and to foster a culture of accountability and the building of institutions of non-violence, tolerance and the respect for human rights in Zimbabwe." The Forum's activities include works for transitional justice, research and documentation, and public interest litigation.

Ms. Sawyer's passing is a great loss for all Zimbabweans but her legacy will remain strong in the hard-working institutions she helped to create and the millions of Zimbabweans inspired by her civic activism.

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