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Civic groups snub rights conference
Kumbirai Mafunda, The Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
September 27, 2006

http://www.fingaz.co.zw/story.aspx?stid=1630

THE majority of Zimbabwe’s influential civic groups boycotted a United Nations Development Programme-brokered conference on the proposed establishment of a human rights commission held in Kariba last weekend in protest against government repression.

Leaders of the pro-democracy and rights groups told The Financial Gazette this week that there was no basis for discussing the setting up of a rights commission when there was no let-up to the government’s suppression of people’s rights.

The groups include the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa-Zimbabwe), Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights and the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC).

The civic groups cited scores of instances of gross abuse of Zimbabweans’ human rights by President Robert Mugabe’s administration, saying this made it impossible for them to take the proposed Human Rights Commission seriously.

The officials criticised President Robert Mugabe’s government for lacking the political will to uphold human rights in view of the manner in which state security agents brutally tortured labour and opposition leaders who had organised a protest march to underscore the need for urgent action to address the rapidly deteriorating economic conditions in the country

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC), which comprises more than 300 civic groups, said while it values the process of dialogue as a critical element for socio-political and economic transformation, the content of the consultative conference held in Kariba as well as the prevailing environment, did not justify its participation.

"It (the commission) doesn’t add value to the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe," said Jacob Mafume, coordinator of the CZC. "How can people go and discuss the setting up of a rights commission when the government is clearly opposed to human rights?"

The Kariba conference, which had been postponed twice since January, was attended by government ministers, some UNDP officials and a few civic society organisations.

Lovemore Madhuku, the chairperson of the militant NCA, which has had several run-ins with state security agents, rounded up on the UNDP for organising the meeting.

"They (UNDP) have certain half-hearted motives which we don’t know. They should be having some other agenda," said Madhuku.

"No sane Zimbabwean would attend that kind of meeting given a President who tells the world that the role of the police is to beat up lawbreakers. How can you expect that kind of a President to understand what a human rights commission means?" asked Madhuku in reference to President Mugabe’s controversial utterances condoning the assault of ZCTU leaders.

Mafume said the set of repressive laws currently in force such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) in conjunction with the political culture the government espouses does not facilitate the effectiveness of a human rights commission.

He said it was hopeless for rights groups to sit down and talk to government officials when government agents were brutalising some members of the civic society.

"The government cannot deceive people saying it is committed to human rights when it is the very same government that organised the torture of ZCTU leaders that remain in acute pain. There is no commitment to human rights issues. They (the government) have only increased oppression and suppression of individuals," charged Mafume who maintains that the setting up of a rights commission is a public relations stunt by the government.

In addition to insisting on the amendment of laws such as AIPPA and POSA, which President Mugabe’s administration has used over the past six years to muzzle the media and stifle dissent, civic groups also demand the closure of national youth training camps which they argue have been used to train ruling Zanu PF youth militias.

But Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who has frequently attacked civil society groups for being a "threat to peace and security in Zimbabwe", says the new Human Rights Commission was part of the ruling Zanu PF party’s "quest to create a culture of human rights".

Meanwhile, the National Association of Non Governmental Organisations (NANGO) revealed that the government barred the Gays and Lesbian Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) from attending last weekend’s consultative meeting in Kariba.

NANGO, which represents civic organisations in the country, had nominated GALZ alongside some of its more than 30 members to attend the meeting, which ended last Sunday.

But NANGO received communication late on Wednesday objecting to GALZ ‘s participation.

Just last month GALZ was barred from exhibiting at this year’s edition of the annual Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF). The organisation, which has in the past muscled its way into exhibiting, had its literature and other logistical materials torn apart by some unidentified people.

President Mugabe has in the past repeatedly expressed disgust with gays and lesbians saying they are "worse than pigs and dogs."

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