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Commemorating
World Human Rights Day
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
December 10, 2005
The Zimbabwe
Human Rights NGO Forum (Human Rights Forum) is a coalition of 16
member organisations. It has been in existence since January 1998
when organisations working in the field of human rights joined to
provide legal and psychosocial assistance to the victims of the
January 1998 food riots. The Human Rights Forum has since expanded
its objectives to assist victims of organized violence. The
Forum views organized violence as:
"the
inter-human infliction of significant avoidable pain and suffering
by an organized group according to a declared or implied strategy
and/or system of ideas and attitudes. It comprises any violent
action, which is unacceptable by general human standards, and
relates to the victims’ mental and physical well being".
On 10 December
1948 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as it saw the UDHR as
"a
major step in the advancement of civilisation at the international
and national levels"
From then on,
10 December has come to be recognised as World Human Rights Day.
As the world
commemorates World Human Rights Day, the Human Rights Forum notes
with concern a number of developments in 2005 in Zimbabwe that have
led to some serious violations of human rights throughout the country.
Elections
General
Elections were held on 31 March 2005 in an electoral climate of
apathy as compared to prior elections. The election witnessed less
physical violence perpetrated against opposition members/supporters
than in previous ones. The reduction in physical violence did not
mean however that the elections would be free and fair. Physical
violence was substituted by psychological violence where the electorate
was generally in a state of fear. There was also reported gerrymandering
of constituencies by the Delimitation Commission appointed by the
President in consultation with the Judicial Services Commission,
in September 2004. The Commission comprised of 3 ZANU-PF MP’s led
by Justice George Chiweshe. The composition of the Delimitation
Commission was not representative of all political parties and it
raised concerns amongst the opposition that electoral boundaries
would be altered in the ruling party’s favour.
These concerns
proved well founded because towards the end of December 2004 the
Commission presented its report in which it had increased the number
of constituencies in ZANU-PF strongholds and reduced them in areas
where the MDC enjoys support. In Manicaland, Mashonaland East and
West where ZANU-PF enjoys popular support, 3 constituencies were
added and in Harare and Matebeleland South Provinces, opposition
MDC strongholds, 2 constituencies were lost. The rationale provided
by the Delimitation Commission was that there had been urban-rural
migration since the last elections but they did not cite figures
from the 2004 census, which indicated that the population of the
city of Harare had in fact increased by 500 000. Postal votes were
limited and the law against dual citizenship also disenfranchised
many Zimbabweans of Malawian decent and whites. The Electoral Commission,
which is appointed by the President and seen to be partial, supervised
the elections. No organization that gave an adverse report of the
2000 and 2002 elections was invited to monitor or observe the 2005
general elections. Food was also politicised. Due to the critical
food shortages that were prevailing before, during and after the
elections, there was a general perception that food aid was being
given only to ZANU-PF supporters by the Government. Deputy Minister
of Foreign Affairs, Abednico Ncube reportedly told villagers in
Matebeleland that maize,
"would
be available only to those who dump the opposition and work with
ZANU-PF"
Because of the
above reasons, the Human Rights Forum notes with concern that Zimbabwe
has not adhered to the SADC Principles and Guidelines governing
democratic elections and the operating environment shows that the
2005 general elections were neither free nor fair. The Human Rights
Forum further condemns the post election retribution that took place
in the country mainly perpetrated by the ruling ZANU-PF.
The Gutu North
by-election was held on 26 November 2005. No cases of physical violence
were reported before and during the election period. However cases
of politicisation of food distribution were reported during the
campaigning period. It is alleged that suspected MDC supporters
were denied the opportunity to purchase grain that was being sold
by the Grain marketing Board (GMB). Furthermore, it is reported
that the electorate was threatened with the halting of grain distribution
if they did not vote for the ruling party. It was observed that
on the voting day, some polling stations had an unusually high number
of voters as compared to others. This suggests that voters had been
directed to specific polling stations for political reasons. There
were also a high number of assisted voters some of whom had been
reportedly told to state that they were illiterate. The Forum notes
with concern that elections in Zimbabwe continue to be conducted
in an environment that is not free and fair.
Operation
Murambatsvina
Starting
from 22 May 2005, in a military style operation, often conducted
in the early hours of the morning without warning, police officers,
dressed in riot kit and armed with automatic firearms loaded with
live ammunition, descended on poor urban people in high density
suburbs in and around towns and cities all over Zimbabwe in an operation
code named Operation Murambatsvina (reject the filth)/Operation
Restore Order. The police bulldozed, smashed and burned structures
housing many thousands of poor urban dwellers, some of whom had
valid leases to occupy the properties. Operation Murambatsvina,
which was castigated by civil society, the UN Special Envoy Mrs.
Anna Kajimulo Tibaijuka and the UN Secretary General Koffi Annan
as a
"catastrophic
injustice carried out indiscriminately and with disquieting indifference
to human suffering"
led to an estimated
700 000 people losing either their homes, their source of livelihood
or both and 2.4 million people being indirectly affected in varying
degrees. Operation Murambatsvina was a man-made national
disaster. This Operation continued to take place despite pleas by
a whole succession of local and international church bodies and
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) for Government to halt it.
It continued after the arrival, on 27 June 2005, of the Special
Envoy sent by the United Nations to investigate what was happening,
despite a public announcement at that time that the Operation had
ended. It also did not stop after the public release of the highly
critical Report of the Special Envoy on 22 July 2005, in which one
of the main recommendations was that the Operation should immediately
be halted. On 27 July 2005, the Acting President Joyce Mujuru announced
at a meeting that Operation Murambatsvina was now over.
The operation
violated a plethora of economic and social rights, including the
right to a family unit, health, shelter, food and education. Operation
Garikayi, which Government set up to undo the evils of Operation
Murambatsvina is inadequately funded and has not properly taken
off.
Constitutional
Amendment Act No 17
The
Constitutional Amendment Act (No 17) was passed into law on 14 September
2005 after Presidential assent despite widespread criticism from
civil society that this Act would violate many rights including
the rights to freedom of movement, the right to property and the
right to the due process of the law. Article 2 of the Act legislates
for the Government to acquire agricultural land for resettlement
purposes. The Human Rights Forum notes with concern the absence
in the Act of the definition of "agricultural land",
which gives the state wide powers as to what land will be acquired.
Article 2, subsection (3) takes away the right of appeal as regards
the acquisition of one’s land. It states that
"a
person having any right to or interest in the land acquired by
Government shall not apply to a court to challenge the acquisition
of the land by the state and no court shall entertain such challenge".
The only appeal
allowed is to challenge the amount of compensation on improvements
on the land and not the acquisition itself. The right to appeal
is protected under national and international law and should be
respected for the rule of law to be upheld. The Forum notes with
concern that this clause in the Constitutional Amendment Act No
17 violates Zimbabwe’s international obligations, more particularly
Article 7 (1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
which states that
"every
individual shall have the right to have his cause heard".
This right includes
"the
right to appeal to competent national organs against acts violating
his fundamental rights as recognized and guaranteed by conventions,
laws, regulations and customs in force."
Freedom of movement
is restricted by Article 3 of the Act, which states that people
can be restricted from travelling
"in
the national interest, or in the interests of defence, public
safety, public order, public morality, public health, the public
interest or the economic interests of the state".
There are widespread
fears in civil society and the opposition that this clause will
be used to restrict travel on those who are viewed to be against
ZANU-PF. In the absence of definitions, this clause gives the state
unfettered power to do as it pleases in restricting the movement
of civil society groups and opposition groups. The Forum urges the
Government to repeal this autocratic legislation.
The Act also
legislates for a Senate, which held its elections on 26 November
2005. While a senate is generally considered to enhance democracy,
the Forum is concerned about the funding of such a venture, more
so in Zimbabwe where there is a huge economic crisis. The Forum
feels that the costs attaching to the Senate are a totally unjustified
burden on the populace at this time.
African Commission
On Human And Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
The
African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) sent a Fact-finding
Mission to Zimbabwe in 2002 following which a report was compiled
which noted that
"although,
there was insufficient evidence to suggest an orchestrated
policy of abuse by the Government... Government by failing
to act soon enough and firmly enough against those guilty of
gross criminal acts abdicated its responsibility to observe
the rule of law and prevent human rights abuses".
The Human Rights
Forum notes with concern the continued onslaught on dissenting voices
through draconian legislation such as the Public Order and Security
Act (POSA), the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act (AIPPA) and now the Constitutional Amendment Act no 17.
In confirmation
of this, the fact-finding mission of the ACHPR noted that:
"there
has been a flurry of new legislation and the revival of the old
laws used under the Smith Rhodesian regime to control, manipulate
public opinion and limit civil liberties. Zimbabwean police make
routine use of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), to arrest
and detain civil society leaders, members of the opposition and
others perceived as supportive of them."
The Human Rights
Forum notes with great concern that the recommendations of the ACHPR
Fact-finding Mission are yet to be implemented 3 years on. The Forum
further deplores the treatment by the Government of the ACHPR envoy
who had been mandated by the African Union (AU) to evaluate Operation
Murambatsvina.
Noting that
Zimbabwe ‘is a divided society’ in need of assistance to
withdraw from its potentially dangerous situation, the Mission made
the following recommendations:
- National
Dialogue and Reconciliation: religious organisations are best
placed to play the lead role in reconciling and mediating in dialogue
between the different groups in Zimbabwe’s divided society.
- Creating
an Environment Conducive to Democracy and Human Rights: sections
of AIPPA that prohibit free expression of public opinion and sections
of POSA should be repealed or reviewed.
- Independent
National Institutions: human rights violations and corruption
could be prevented by putting in place independent national institutions
to guard against them such as an independent office to "receive
and investigate complaints against the police."
- Independence
of the Judiciary: the independence of the judiciary should
be ensured by refraining from political attacks on its members
and obeying judicial orders.
- A Professional
Police Service: efforts should be made to ‘avoid any further
politicisation of the police service’ and the police service
‘should never be at the service of any political party but must
at all times seek to abide by the values of the Constitution and
enforce the law without fear or favour’.
- The Media:
a climate conducive to freedom of expression in Zimbabwe should
be created and POSA and AIPPA be amended to meet international
standards for freedom of expression.
Members of
the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum:
Visit the Zimbabwe
Human Rights NGO Forum fact
sheet
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