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Amnesty
International Report 2006: Zimbabwe
Amnesty International
May 23, 2006
http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/zwe-summary-eng
REPUBLIC
OF ZIMBABWE
Head of state and government: Robert Mugabe
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: signed
UN Women's Convention: ratified
Optional Protocol to UN Women's Convention: not signed
Overview
- Covering events from January - December 2005
The government engaged in widespread and systematic violations of
the rights to shelter, food, freedom of movement and residence,
and the protection of the law. Hundreds of thousands of people were
forcibly evicted during winter and their homes demolished as part
of Operation
Murambatsvina (Restore Order). Tens of thousands of informal
traders and vendors lost their livelihoods and their ability to
support their families as part of the operation. Despite overwhelming
evidence of humanitarian need the government repeatedly obstructed
the humanitarian efforts of the UN and civil society groups. The
police continued to operate in a politically biased manner and police
officers were implicated in numerous human rights violations, including
arbitrary arrest and detention, assault, ill-treatment of detainees
and excessive use of force. Freedom of expression, association and
assembly continued to be severely curtailed. Hundreds of people
were arrested for holding meetings or participating in peaceful
protests.
Background
In
parliamentary elections held on 31 March, President Mugabe's Zimbabwe
African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party won 78 out
of 120 contested seats. This gave ZANU-PF an effective two-thirds
majority in parliament, where a further 30 seats go to people who
are not elected, including traditional leaders sympathetic to ZANU-PF
and direct Presidential appointees. There were fewer reports of
politically motivated violence surrounding the elections than in
previous elections. However, AI was concerned by the levels of non-violent
intimidation and harassment, systematic repression of the rights
to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and the manipulation
of food distribution by the government-controlled Grain Marketing
Board that took place before, during and after the parliamentary
elections. Supporters of the main opposition party, the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), suffered acts of reprisal following
the March elections, including assault and destruction of property.
Voter turn-out
for Senate elections in November was extremely low, reported to
be less than 20 per cent of eligible voters. The MDC was split over
a decision by its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, not to contest the
Senate elections and some MDC candidates stood for election. ZANU-PF
won the majority of the seats.
A report by
the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) of a
fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe in 2002, which was officially made
public in February 2005, concluded that human rights violations
had occurred in Zimbabwe. The ACHPR made several recommendations,
but by the end of the year almost nothing had been done to implement
them. Government ministers and officials made disparaging comments
about the report and the ACHPR. In December the ACHPR adopted a
resolution on Zimbabwe for the first time, condemning human rights
violations and calling on the government to implement ACHPR and
UN recommendations including an end to forced evictions and respect
for freedoms of expression, association and assembly and the principle
of separation of powers.
Despite a poor
harvest, the government again decided not to appeal for food aid.
Supplies of maize via the government's Grain Marketing Board were
extremely erratic, particularly towards the end of the year, and
many areas were without maize for long periods. World Food Programme
reports repeatedly highlighted serious food insecurity in many areas,
with incidence of hunger increasing towards the end of the year
as Zimbabwe entered the traditional "hungry season".
Mass forced
evictions and demolitions
In
May the government embarked on Operation Murambatsvina, a programme
of mass forced evictions and demolition of homes and informal businesses.
The operation, which was carried out against a backdrop of severe
food shortages, targeted poor urban and surrounding (peri-urban)
areas nationwide. The evictions and demolitions were carried out
without adequate notice, court orders, due process, legal protection,
redress or appropriate relocation measures, in violation of Zimbabwe's
obligations under international human rights law. During the operation
police used excessive force: property was destroyed and people were
beaten.
In June the
UN Secretary-General appointed Anna Tibaijuka as Special Envoy on
Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe to examine the impact of Operation
Murambatsvina. In
a report released on 22 July, she estimated that some 700,000
people had lost their homes, their livelihoods or both between May
and July and that at least 2 million more people were indirectly
affected by the operation. She stated that Operation Murambatsvina
"was carried out in an indiscriminate and unjustified manner,
with indifference to human suffering, and, in repeated cases, with
disregard to several provisions of national and international legal
frameworks".
The police,
who carried out most of the evictions, and the government stated
publicly that those evicted should "return to their rural areas".
This was despite widely acknowledged food shortages and hunger in
the rural areas. Moreover, many people evicted during Operation
Murambatsvina had fled these areas because of political violence
in previous years. People were forcibly put on police and government
trucks and taken to rural areas. In numerous cases the authorities
simply abandoned groups of people at rural bus stops or local authority
offices, without access to shelter, food, water or sanitation.
- On 28 June
heavily armed police arrived at Porta Farm, an informal settlement
of approximately 10,000 people established in 1991 on the outskirts
of Harare, and began demolishing homes. The police were acting
in defiance of two court orders prohibiting evictions from Porta
Farm unless alternative accommodation was provided for the community.
The police reportedly told residents that they were not going
to obey the court orders as they were acting on orders "from
above". Demolitions continued throughout the day and on 29
and 30 June police forcibly removed people by truck. Local human
rights monitors reported that during the chaos several people
were injured. At least three people reportedly died on 30 June.
The deaths were raised with the authorities by the UN and civic
groups, but no investigation had taken place by the end of the
year. Some of those forcibly removed from Porta Farm were abandoned
outside Harare, apparently left to make their own way to a rural
village where they might be received by relatives. Others were
taken to Caledonia Farm Transit Camp, established by the government
to temporarily accommodate victims of the mass evictions. Conditions
at Caledonia Camp were extremely poor.
In July the
government launched Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle (Reconstruction),
under which it was implied that thousands of new homes would be
built to address the needs of those made homeless by Operation Murambatsvina.
However, no proper plans were made public and, although the government
stated that 3 trillion Zimbabwe dollars had been allocated to the
operation, it did not appear in the national budget. Given the grave
economic crisis affecting Zimbabwe, there was widespread scepticism
about the operation. By the end of the year the state and independent
media as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were reporting
that the rebuilding operation was significantly behind schedule.
Many of those houses designated as "built" remained incomplete,
without access to services such as water and sanitation, and appeared
to be uninhabited. The criteria used for allocating new houses were
unclear, but appeared to include proof of employment or income,
effectively excluding the majority of Operation Murambatsvina victims.
Reports in the media, as well as from NGOs, stated that some of
the new houses were allocated to civil servants and government officials,
and there were several reports of corruption in relation to the
operation.
While the majority
of the evictions and demolitions took place between May and July,
the government continued to evict people during the remainder of
the year. In several cases, families endured repeated evictions
as the government sought to drive people back to the rural areas.
Humanitarian
crisis
Operation
Murambatsvina resulted in enormous internal displacement of people.
The UN described the aftermath as a "humanitarian crisis of
immense proportions". Although the UN Special Envoy recommended
that there should be full and unfettered access to humanitarian
assistance for the victims of the forced evictions and house demolitions,
the Zimbabwean authorities repeatedly obstructed and curtailed the
humanitarian operations of the UN and civil society groups.
Humanitarian
groups reported that in some cases negotiations with the authorities
enabled them to supply food, water and other relief items to internally
displaced people, but that their access was constrained and subject
to arbitrary changes by the authorities, and they were generally
prevented from providing temporary shelter, particularly tents,
to those living in the open. Many humanitarian actors maintained
that this was because the government thought tents were too visible
a sign of the humanitarian crisis created by Operation Murambatsvina.
- On 20 July
the police conducted a series of night-time raids on churches
in Bulawayo sheltering more than 1,000 of the most vulnerable
victims of forced evictions, including elderly and ill people,
and children. According to witnesses, the police arrived after
midnight wearing riot gear and forced their way into the churches.
Sleeping people were poked with batons and kicked to wake them
up. They were forced onto trucks and transported to a transit
camp outside Bulawayo. Within days the transit camp was closed
and people were again forced to board trucks, in most cases at
night, and were transported to various rural areas where they
were left without shelter, food, water or sanitation. Following
the raids the churches were told that they could no longer provide
shelter to those made homeless as a result of Operation Murambatsvina.
Police subsequently checked to make sure the churches were complying
with this directive.
- At the end
of July more than 1,000 people - many from Porta Farm - were taken
by police and government agencies to Hopley Farm, where they were
left on open land with no shelter, no access to sanitation and
insufficient food and clean water. The government did not provide
humanitarian assistance, nor did it inform the humanitarian community
that people were stranded there. On the contrary, when the plight
of those at Hopley Farm began to be known in Harare, organizations
that went to the camp to help were turned away by police. Some
humanitarian access to Hopley Farm was subsequently negotiated
by the UN and civic groups, but at the end of the year living
conditions at Hopley Farm remained extremely poor.
On 31 October
the UN Secretary-General expressed great concern about the humanitarian
situation in Zimbabwe and the failure of the government to ensure
proper humanitarian assistance for those in need. In November the
government agreed to allow the UN to provide shelters, but continued
to refuse the UN permission to use tents to provide immediate shelter
for the homeless. By the end of the year the UN shelter programme
had not been implemented and its future was unclear after the Minister
for Local Government, Public Works and National Housing reportedly
rejected as sub-standard a model structure prepared by the UN in
collaboration with government technicians. Meanwhile, thousands
of people, including children, the ill, the elderly and other vulnerable
people, continued to live without shelter and in conditions of extreme
hardship. Overall, humanitarian access remained highly constrained.
Freedom of
association and assembly curtailed
The
Public Order
and Security Act (POSA) and the Miscellaneous Offences Act continued
to be used selectively to prevent the political opposition and civil
society groups from meeting or engaging in peaceful protest. Hundreds
of human rights activists and opposition supporters were arrested
or detained under these laws during the year. Dozens of people were
assaulted during arrest or while in police custody. Police repeatedly
obstructed or denied detainees' access to lawyers, food and medical
care.
- On the evening
of 31 March, the day of the parliamentary elections, police arrested
approximately 260 women, some carrying babies, when the activist
group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) attempted to hold a peaceful
post-election prayer vigil at Africa Unity Square in Harare. During
and after the arrests, several of the women were beaten. Some
were forced to lie on the ground and were beaten on the buttocks
by police. Several were seriously injured and needed hospital
treatment. None was given access to adequate medical treatment
during their detention. The women and children were detained overnight
in an open-air courtyard at Harare Central police station under
armed guard. They were initially denied access to lawyers. Police
reportedly told the women that they could pay a fine and be released
if they pleaded guilty to minor offences under the Miscellaneous
Offences Act; otherwise they would remain in detention over the
weekend to face charges under the POSA. The women - several of
whom were elderly, injured or with their children - decided to
pay fines, fearing further abuses in detention.
- On 8 November
more than 100 people were arrested in Harare when the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions tried to hold a peaceful demonstration
protesting against the grave economic situation in Zimbabwe. Lawyers
were initially denied access to the detainees, who were moved
by police from one police station to another in an apparent attempt
to prevent access to lawyers. Neither the detainees nor their
lawyers were informed of the charges against them until the second
day of their detention, when police said they would be charged
under the POSA. However, the Attorney General refused to prosecute
and all the detainees were released on 11 November.
Repressive laws
including the Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Broadcasting
Services Act were used to curtail freedom of expression.
On 15 December
armed police in Harare raided Voice
of the People, an independent radio station that broadcast from
outside Zimbabwe but maintained offices in the country. Three staff
members were detained. Police initially told lawyers that the three
would be held until Voice of the People executive director John
Masuku presented himself at the police station, and then said they
would be charged under the Broadcasting Services Act. However, the
Attorney General refused to prosecute, reportedly on grounds that
there was no evidence of any offence. The three were released on
19 December. The same day John Masuku and Voice of the People board
chairman David Masunda presented themselves at Harare Central police
station and were detained. David Masunda was released later that
day. John Masuku was held until 23 December and was charged under
the Broadcasting Services Act with illegal possession and use of
broadcasting equipment.
Human rights defenders under threat
Legislation
passed by parliament in December 2004 governing the operation of
NGOs, which was strongly criticized for targeting human rights groups,
was not signed into law by the President. However, the government
continued to use the Private Voluntary Organisations Act to intimidate
and harass NGOs. Following the March elections, the government used
provisions in the Act to investigate numerous NGOs. Investigation
teams made unannounced visits to NGOs, and demanded to see documents
relating to activities and funding. The investigation process was
reported to be intimidating and intrusive.
The ever-present
threat of closure created a climate of fear and compromised the
effectiveness of many NGOs. Human rights activists continued to
face harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention and assault, most
frequently at the hands of the police.
Repressive
legislation
On
30 August parliament passed the Constitution
of Zimbabwe Amendment Act (No.17), which was subsequently signed
into law by the President. The Act violated internationally recognized
rights, including the right to equal protection of the law and the
right to freedom of movement. Clause 2 of the Act removed the power
of courts to hear any challenge or appeal against the acquisition
by the state of agricultural land under Section 16 of the Constitution.
Land owners and anyone with an interest or right in agricultural
land so acquired can no longer challenge the lawfulness of the acquisition.
Clause 3 of the Act extended the grounds under which it is possible
to limit the right to freedom of movement enshrined in Section 22
of the Constitution. Freedom of movement can now be limited in "the
public interest" and in "the economic interests of the
State". Moreover, the Constitutional Amendment Act restricts
the right to leave Zimbabwe. The new limitations on the right to
freedom of movement breach international human rights standards.
- In December
the authorities seized the passports of Trevor Ncube, publisher
of independent newspapers The Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent,
opposition politician Paul Themba Nyathi and trade unionist Raymond
Majongwe. The passports of Trevor Ncube and Paul Themba Nyathi
were returned and the High Court subsequently ruled that the passport
seizures were illegal. However, by the end of the year the passport
of Raymond Majongwe had not been returned.
Update: Roy
Bennett
Former
opposition member of parliament (MP) Roy Bennett was released from
prison on 28 June, having served eight months of an effective one-year
prison sentence. It remained standard policy to commute a third
of any sentence for good behaviour. Roy Bennett had been convicted
of assaulting the Minister for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs during a heated exchange in parliament on 18 May 2004. He
was convicted by a parliamentary committee acting under the Privileges,
Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act. The procedure was politically
biased and failed to meet international standards for fair trial,
including the requirement that a punishment be proportionate to
the gravity of an offence. Roy Bennett was also denied the right
of appeal. During his detention Roy Bennett suffered humiliating
and degrading treatment.
AI country
visits
Amnesty
International delegates visited Zimbabwe in February, July/August
and December.
Download
full report
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