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Political
violence report: December 2006 - Overview
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
February 27, 2007
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Overview
The year 2006 saw
a continued rise in the violations of freedoms of association, expression,
assembly and movement. 2006 was markedly worse than 2005 as regards
violations of these freedoms. There was a shift from the use of the
Public Order and
Security Act (POSA) and the Miscellaneous Offences Act (MOA) to
the use of the Criminal Law Codification Act, which is just as notorious.
These Acts have been used to take away the rights to freedom of expression,
association, assembly and movement.
Students demonstrated
throughout the year against the tuition fee hikes at higher and
tertiary education institutions and they were met by brute force
from the police as shall be seen in this report. The Women
of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Zimbabwe
Council of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and other organizations continued
to demonstrate, in spite of the brute force, assault, torture, intimidation
and general repression they met from the police and other agents
of the state. The use of the Criminal Law Codification Act rather
than the condemned POSA seems to reflect that the Government wants
to keep everyone on their toes. POSA was condemned together with
the Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) by the
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Fact-Finding Mission
in 2002 in their recommendations to Zimbabwe. The African Commission
urged the Government to either repeal or amend this repressive legislation.
The Criminal Law Codification Act was not condemned by the African
Commission but it is possibly more repressive than POSA.
The
use of torture was widespread in 2006. The torture of students from
Bindura State University and the ZCTU demonstrators in May and September
respectively dealt a huge blow to civil society and for the respect
for and protection of human rights in Zimbabwe. Torture is regarded
internationally as a gross human rights violation and should never
be condoned under whatever circumstances.
In
2006 Government declared its intention to set up a Human Rights
Commission for Zimbabwe. This met with strong criticism from civil
society, which reiterated the necessity for the adherence to international
human rights instruments and the Paris Principles.
This
report proffers a comparative analysis between the two years, 2005
and 2006. It is sad to note from the findings that the human rights
situation in Zimbabwe continued to decline in 2006. The Human Rights
NGO Forum urges Government to take seriously and adhere to international
human rights treaties to which it is a party.
The
Human Rights Forum issued a number of analytical reports during
2006 (see Appendix), which in themselves are an indication of the
serious deterioration in the human rights climate in 2006. Three
reports, dealing with Operation Murambatsvina, violations by the
Zimbabwe Republic Police, and violations against women, offered
serious critiques of the Zimbabwe government’s failure to ensure
the observance of human rights. The other reports, dealing with
the response of the Zimbabwean courts to civil suits by victims
of human rights abuses, the Zimbabwe government’s response to the
concerns of the EU, and the prospects for transitional justice,
amplified and extended many of the conclusions in the data-driven
reports.
Totals: 1 December–31 December 2006
Cumulative Totals: 1 January–31 December 2006
The graph should be read along with
the table depicting the monthly totals of violations from 1 January
2006 to 31 December 2006. The total quantifiable number of victims
reported in December 2006 is 10.
Cumulative
Totals: 1 January-31 December 2005
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