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Dignity
and justice for all on Human Rights Day
Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR)
December 10, 2008
"It is
our duty to ensure that these rights are a living reality, that
they are known, understood and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.
It is often those who most need their human rights protected, who
also need to be informed that the Declaration exists and that it
exists for them". UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (2007)
ROHR Zimbabwe joins the
rest of the world in commemorating the International Human Rights
Day. It is the day when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) was adopted in Paris on the 10th of December in 1948. We
salute those who struggle to defend, protect and promote the fundamental
freedoms that are the birthright of all mankind, regardless of race,
sex, religion, political affiliation and ethnicity. Today, as we
honour and commemorate that historic document, the values it enshrines
and our ongoing effort to restore a culture of human rights, Zimbabwe
is sinking deeper in chaos and experiencing increased human rights
violations. In fact, the State has become a serial human rights
violator.
It is the State's duty
and responsibility to make provision for the right mechanisms and
create platforms that promote and protect the citizens from abuses
of all kind that spring from failed socio-economic and political
systems such as Zimbabwe is experiencing today. It remains incumbent
for every Government to take personal the custody of the principles
of the bill of rights, introduce legislation and policies that act
to compliment and not to stand averse to the universal rights of
every person in the world. Part of this, entails that the authorities
should act responsibly, being conscious that violating any of the
people's rights will trigger the domino effect, whereby, a single
violation of any of the protected rights will lead to other affronts
on rights, which consequently degenerates the nation into a human
rights disaster.
The inter elections period
of 2008 left Zimbabweans disenfranchised, robbed at gun point, of
their fundamental right to vote which is not only protected in the
bill we are celebrating, but the Zimbabwean constitution. This worsened
the governance and legitimacy crisis that has been in existence
since the 2000 disputed elections. Human rights violations are aggravated
by the obvious show of apathy to people's lives and welfare, misplaced
priorities where state resources are channelled at the retention
and perpetuation of power by Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF de-fancto
Government, whilst neglecting the ordinary people to grapple with
the worst humanitarian crisis ever to hit the Southern African country
on their own.
Poverty and hunger is
threatening millions of lives in Zimbabwe and according to the World
Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, more than 5, 1 million people
will be in need of food aid in January. Millions of people are fleeing
from the country in pursuit of happiness and means of survival in
other countries. Even still, the State is violating peoples' right
to food by imposing red tapes to deny the hungry populace in towns
and rural areas access to food aid by international relief agencies
and Non-Governmental organisations.
Close to 1000 people
have died of cholera, an easily preventable and curable disease,
simply because the political will and resources are prioritised
on other things apart from saving lives. Furthermore the responsible
authorities are keen on covering up the extent of casualties thereby
making international intervention for the disaster difficult. The
health care delivery system has crumbled due to severe shortage
of drugs, equipment and staff to provide health services to citizens
of this country. The right to education and health have almost been
transformed to privileges only available to the elite and because
they have become either very unavailable or expensive.
Despite the
signing of the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) between ZANU PF and the two MDC formations on 15 September
2008, an agreement which candled the light of hope that the long
protracted culture of violence, lawlessness and political repression
could finally abate, Zanu PF still uses unorthodox and unconstitutional
tactics of silencing dissent and intimidating opposition and human
rights activists. Ms Jestina Mukoko, a former journalist and the
director of Zimbabwe
Peace Project was abducted from her home on 3 December 2008.
MDC has reported that 18 of its activists were abducted and are
still missing. This trend is reminiscent of the violence that preceded
the widely discredited June 27 presidential election runoff which
left hundreds killed, thousands with injuries and hundreds of thousands
homeless, a clear sign that human rights almost always will play
second fiddle to political expediency in Zimbabwe.
For the sakes of the
millions of Zimbabweans who still hope to embrace the change that
will drastically reduce human rights violations, who look forward
to the day when freedom of speech, expression, and association are
not criminalised by illegal legislation, when it will be okay with
the government for one to hold a political opinion of choice without
fear of victimisation, when no one will be abducted by state agencies
for being a human rights activist or a member of the opposition,
we call for a paradigm shift in the thinking of politicians. The
state should stop the abductions that are currently underway and
remove surveillance on all opposition and human rights activists
now.
Therefore as Zimbabwe
joins other nations to celebrate the signing of the bill of rights,
hard work remains ahead of us for the dream that propelled and compelled
the heads of States that signed the document to finally become reality.
It will take more than just waiting for the calibre of the right
leaders to come and implement the charter, nor the mere setting
up of systems to that effect which can easily be manipulated for
disastrous ends. It will take more than just hopeful citizens that
their rights will finally come into place. Importantly it will take
courage, conviction, the drive, and the urgency shared by both stakeholders
Governments and people to become joint custodians of its precepts,
both parties using means within their power to promote and protect
their rights.
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