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Government commits itself to criminalise torture
Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum
March 18, 2012
The Zimbabwe
Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum) welcomes the decision by the
Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) to ratify the UN Convention Against
Torture, and to criminalise torture. The decision was announced
by the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs at the 19th Session
of the UN Human Rights Council, currently underway in Geneva, when
he presented the government's final position on recommendations
made to Zimbabwe during the interactive dialogue at the 12th Session
of the Universal Periodic Review in October 2011.
The United Nations
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (conventionally known as CAT), defines torture
as " any act by which severe pain and suffering, whether physical
or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes
as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession,
punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is
suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or
a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any
kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation
of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other
person acting in an official capacity . . . ". CAT further
exhorts State Parties to take legislative, administrative, judicial
or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under
its jurisdiction and under no circumstances whatsoever to justify
torture.
The Constitution
of Zimbabwe prohibits the use of torture although the act itself
is not criminalised. Over the years, cases of torture, which have
been aggravated by a culture of impunity, have been prevalent in
the country particularly during major events such as elections:
the Forum itself has documented 4,566 cases of torture between July
2001 and June 2009, with 63% of these occuring during elections
months. The decision by the GoZ to ratify CAT and criminalise torture
is commendable. The Forum truly believes that the criminalisation
of torture will go a long way in the eradication of torture during
the upcoming elections.
The Mission
of the Forum is "a society that respects all human rights,
free from organised violence and torture and cruel and degrading
treatment". Thus this positive move by the government resonates
with the mandate of the Forum and its activities since its establishment
in 1998. Over the years the Forum has undertaken a broad-based campaign
towards the eradication of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment and for the state to ratify CAT. The campaign has encompassed
a wide range of strategies which have included litigation, research
and documentation, a media campaign, erection of billboards and
interactive exchanges with Members of Parliament.
The resolution
by the GoZ to ratify CAT and criminalise torture is an act of goodwill
and response to the calls by advocates and victims of torture for
an end to such an inhuman act. It is also an acknowledgment of the
reality that torture exists in Zimbabwe and that there is an urgent
need for it to be addressed. The Forum commends the GoZ in its resolution
to ratify CAT and domesticate the Convention in order to criminilise
the henious act of torture. The commendable decision by the GoZ
will have wide-ranging and positive implications for the victims
of torture, and gives final effect to the decision by Parliament
on 23 May 2001 to ratify the Convention.
Forum
members
Visit the Zimbabwe
Human Rights NGO Forum fact
sheet
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