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Human
rights report up for discussion in Dakar
Gift
Phiri, The Zimbabwe Independent
October 08, 2004
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/news/2004/October/Friday8/755.html
A DAMNING report
of the fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe by the African Commission
on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) will be discussed at the commission's
36th Ordinary Session in Dakar, Senegal next month.
An executive
summary of the report was tabled at the African Union (AU) summit
in Addis Ababa three months ago amid loud protests by Foreign Affairs
minister Stan Mudenge who claimed Zimbabwe had not been afforded
an opportunity to respond to the document.
The report provoked
anger in the Zanu PF government which pledged to provide answers
to the report's accusations of human rights abuses in two weeks.
A special team
of the commission led by Jainaba Johm of Gambia prepared the report
after a fact-finding visit in June 2002. The team came to Zimbabwe
after the Human Rights Forum sent a request to the commission in
2001.
The delegation
met with opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) officials,
former president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe Sternford Moyo,
police commissioner Augustine Chihuri and civic society heads.
It also met
Vice-President Joseph Msika, Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa,
Zanu PF national chairman John Nkomo and Information minister Jonathan
Moyo. At the end of the visit, Johm said her team had accumulated
20kg of documents from evidence given by many people regarding the
human rights situation in the country.
A draft agenda
of the 36th session includes Zimbabwe under item 13 and delegates
will discuss the draft report and decide whether to adopt it.
Although it
was not possible to obtain comment from Justice minister Patrick
Chinamasa, government sources confirmed that cabinet authority was
being sought to send a delegation to Dakar to represent Zimbabwe.
"There are plans
to send a delegation comprising Foreign Affairs minister Stan Mudenge,
Information minister Jonathan Moyo and Chinamasa to put across the
Zimbabwe case," the source said.
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