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Zimbabwe:
Human Rights Concerns not a Diversion, LCHR Says
Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights
April 07,
2003
Website: http://www.lchr.org/
NEW YORK— The Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights welcomes the announcement made Thursday that
the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will send a task force
to Zimbabwe to have discussions with various groups about the current
crisis in the country. Following a meeting of SADC foreign ministers,
held in Harare on April 3, the foreign minister of Mozambique, Leonardo
Simao, told reporters that the task force would visit Zimbabwe this week.
Simao is reported to have said that "all different stakeholders will
be invited to voice their opinions about the current situation."
While Simao expressed
concern about the absence of "peace, stability and harmony"
in Zimbabwe, the official communiqué released at the end of the
SADC meeting made no reference to the political and human rights crisis
in Zimbabwe. Rather, the communiqué notes that "those opposed
to Zimbabwe have tried to shift the agenda from the core issue of land
by selective diversion of attention on governance and human rights issues."
"Severe violations
of human rights and systematic undermining of the rule of law in Zimbabwe
are not a diversion," said Lorna Davidson, Senior Associate with
the New York based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights who recently visited
the country. "The only way to tackle the many political and humanitarian
challenges facing the country is to restore respect for the rule of law,
and to uphold the rights of all Zimbabweans.
The Lawyers Committee
is concerned that the SADC communiqué fails to fully acknowledge
the severity of the human rights crisis in Zimbabwe, and the obstacle
that these systematic violations place in the way of any resolution of
the political, humanitarian and economic crises that increasingly threaten
the country and the surrounding region.
Human rights abuses
are reported daily by reliable local and international sources. Indeed,
the South African government has itself recently expressed concern about
violations of freedom of expression and the repression of peaceful political
dissent in Zimbabwe. The South African Chamber of Business also this week
condemned the lack of concerted regional efforts to address the crisis
in Zimbabwe. A spokesman for the organization stated that the situation
in Zimbabwe had a negative impact on the entire region and on African
initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
The sending of a SADC
task force to Zimbabwe is an important step in reaching a regional solution
to the crisis. In order to be effective, the task force should visit both
urban and rural areas and ensure that it gathers information independently.
Its members must meet and have an open discussion with a range of civil
society actors, including human rights organisations, church leaders,
trade union representatives and agricultural workers.
One of the Principles
stated in the Declaration and Treaty of SADC, which governs the organisation’s
operation, is that its members act in accordance with human rights, democracy
and the rule of law. It is therefore incumbent upon the SADC task force
and the organs to which it reports to seek solutions to the crisis in
Zimbabwe that are in full accordance with international and regional human
rights standards.
Background on LCHR
Since 1978,
the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has worked in the U.S. and abroad
to create a secure and humane world by advancing justice and human dignity.
We support human rights activists who fight for basic freedoms and peaceful
change at the local level; protect refugees in flight from persecution
and repression; promote fair economic practices by creating safeguards
for workers’ rights; and help build a strong international system of justice
and accountability for the worst human rights crimes.
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