Zimbabwe: Ongoing risks for human rights defenders in the context of political deadlock and pre-electoral period
Human rights defenders in Zimbabwe face growing instances of persecution, unlawful detentions, harassment and abuses as the country gears up for elections next year.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has released the report “Zimbabwe: Ongoing risks for human rights defenders in the context of political deadlock and pre-electoral period” at a press briefing in Johannesburg at a press briefing co-hosted by Lawyers for Human Rights.
More than four years after the adoption of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) between the two major political parties in Zimbabwe - the Movement for Democratic Change and Zanu-PF - following the 2008 crises that resulted in grave human rights violations, human rights defenders continue to be harassed, marginalised and victims of repeated human rights violations. Impunity and a lack of justice for past abuses also remain a serious concern.
“With the coming in off the inclusive GPA there was a sense of hope that that would bring to dawn a new era in Zimbabwe. There was an air in Zimbabwe of optimism but this quickly changed into one of despair,” said Thomas Masuku, a former judge of Swaziland and Botwana who participated in the mission to Zimbabwe.
The report analyses multiple forms of harassment facing human rights defenders while they try to do their work, including police summons, disruption of assemblies and protests, police violence, propaganda and slandering, threats of organisation closure and deterrence from participating in international and regional meetings. They remain the target of arbitrary arrests and detentions. Most of these violations are carried out by the police, members of the ZANU-PF, militia and traditional leaders. The Censorship Board and the provincial governors also take a stance against anyone deemed to run counter to the interests of Zanu-PF.
Some of these acts are facilitated by repressive legislation related to “public order”. These contribute to maintaining an extensively restrictive environment impeding NGOs from carrying out their activities. In particular, the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) remains widely used to ban public meetings, further restraining freedom of peaceful assembly. The POSA, as well as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Criminal Law Act are still used to threaten, harass, criminalise and intimidate civil society actors.
“The other thing we found is that there were certain laws in Zimbabwe that were promulgated and being selectively applied and in a very arbitrary manner to stifle the rights of human rights defenders which include Public Order and Security Act and Criminal Law Act,” said Masuku.
Among the recommendations are for Zimbabwean authorities to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in the country, to put an immediate end to any act of harassment against all human rights defender, to identify all state agents implicated in violations against human rights defenders, to restore a professional police service to main the law in full compliance of the Constitution and to fully implement the GPA.
Thanks to a legal emergency response project implemented by national NGOs, no human rights defender has been convicted since 2003 but despite judicial progress, authorities continue to use excessive preventive detention to silence human rights defenders.
In such a grim situation, with a referendum for a new Constitution and the next general elections approaching, which will take place respectively at the end of 2012 and in March 2013, the Observatory fears that once again human rights defenders will fall victim to a potential rise in violence and a crackdown on civil society due, in particular, to the substantiated collusion between security forces and the presidential party.
“Almost four years after the conclusion of the GPA, and despite the repeated calls from the international community, the situation of human rights defenders in Zimbabwe remains extremely perilous”, deplored Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH president. “Besides the need for radical change in the authorities' methods, it is of vital importance that the reforming process be completed in conformity to international and regional human rights standards. In particular, the first step is that a new Constitution has to enter into force as soon as possible in order to ensure that human rights are effectively guaranteed”, she added.
“It is time that the Zimbabwean authorities stop resorting to legislation that restrict fundamental freedoms as well as encouraging and condoning serious violations of the rights of human rights defenders, including arbitrary arrests or acts of torture”, added Gerald Staberock, OMCT secretary general. “Accordingly, the authorities must take all the necessary steps to ensure that human rights defenders are able to operate efficiently and without hindrances in the country, as well as to put an end to the climate of impunity that still prevails within the society”, he concluded.
The Observatory has respectfully urged Zimbabwean authorities to pay close attention to its recommendations, to take the necessary steps to create and maintain a safe and conducive environment for human rights defenders to operate freely and efficiently in the country. This includes fully recognising the legitimate role played by human rights organisations, releasing all human rights defenders detained for exercising human rights activities, ending judicial harassment and fully investigating abuses faced by human rights defenders.
For further information and interviews, please contact the FIDH’s Arthur Manet on 078 573 7093
