ZIMBABWE’S CSO’s LAUNCH ADVOCACY CHARTER AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Information Alert

23 September 2011

ZIMBABWE’S CSO’s LAUNCH ADVOCACY CHARTER AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

A coalition of Zimbabwean Civil Society Organisations (CSO)’s on Friday 23 September 2011 officially launched a Human Rights Advocacy Charter on the sidelines of the 18^th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Advocacy Charter was launched during a special event jointly organised by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Geneva-based Zimbabwe Advocacy Office.

The theme of the event was, ‘The Universal Peer Review Process (UPR) and the current human rights situation in Zimbabwe.’

In his opening remarks, Martin Okumu-Masiga, the deputy director of ICJ’s Africa Programme highlighted the importance of the forthcoming review of Zimbabwe’s compliance with its human rights obligations on 10 October 2011. Masiga noted that the review process was an opportunity for Zimbabwe to reflect on its human rights record and take corrective measures to address concerns that would have been raised by fellow states during the peer review process.

Officially commissioning the Advocacy Charter, Dzimbabwe Chimbga, a projects manager with ZLHR gave a narration of the process through which a coalition of over thirty organisations had undertaken since the beginning of 2010 to work together to put a report highlighting the key human rights issues in Zimbabwe, culminating in the validation and adoption of the Advocacy Charter.

Chimbga noted that although the UPR process did not allow for direct interventions by CSOs during the review itself there were mechanisms by which other stakeholders, CSOs included, can make submissions to the Office of the UN High Commission that would form part of the overall submissions to the state.

“CSOs can additionally lobby UN member states to relay certain questions or recommendations to the State under review during the actual review process. It is this space, among other state-targeted initiatives, that the coalition of CSOs had sought to explore,” said Chimbga.

Commenting on the current human rights operating environment in Zimbabwe, Chimbga noted that, notwithstanding the signing of the Global Political Agreement that brought about the coalition government, cases of human rights violations continued to be reported across the country.

He said in 2011, more than one thousand cases of various human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, persecutions and harassment of human rights defenders had been documented by ZLHR.

Chimbga urged the government to take advantage of the UPR process to evaluate its record in the past decade in the protection and promotion of human rights and take cogent measures to correct its failings that are well documented. The human rights lawyer said a case in point was the failure to address cases of impunity through investigating and prosecuting those guilty of human rights violations arising from the violent election of 2008.

With fresh elections imminent, Chimbga urged the government to create conditions that would allow for the holding of a free, fair and credible election by ensuring that the electorate freely exercised its right to vote. He declared that the era of disputed elections should become a thing of the past.

In response, the State representative only identified as Munhundiripo based at the Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe to the UN in Geneva acknowledged that the events of 2008 were ‘regrettable’.

He however defended the State arguing that no country in the world had a ‘pristine human rights record. ’

Munhundiripo pointed out that since the inception of the coalition government the human rights situation had greatly improved although it remained work in progress.

He also pointed towards the progressive amendments to most of the repressive legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) as evidencing the progress the State was making to address human rights. Munhundiripo further blamed the poor performance of the economy for the poor service delivery and the falling standards in areas such as health and education. He concluded by suggesting that the on-going constitution making process could address most of the issues of political contestation that negatively impacted on the enjoyment of human rights.

Contributing to the discussion, Marlon Zakeyo, a Zimbabwean lawyer and coordinator of the Zimbabwe Advocacy Office observed that a lot of the human rights violations in Zimbabwe did not require material resources to be addressed. He gave an example of the brutal repression of people particularly around election period. All it required was for the State to desist from violating the rights of citizens without any impact to the State resources. Whilst commending some of the positive statements made by the government delegate, Zakeyo urged the State representative to ensure that the same spirit of co-operation exhibited during the meeting should be translated into real gains on the ground for human rights defenders and ordinary people back home in Zimbabwe where the enjoyment of human rights still remain elusive to many.

The UPR is a United Nations-led state to state review process of each member States’ record of compliance with international human rights law. The process culminates in recommendations being made to the particular State on how it can enhance the protection and promotion of human rights of its people.

Zimbabwe will for the first time in history be subjected to the review process on 10 October 2011. It will remain key for civil society to follow up on the implementation of the recommendations on the ground during the period between Zimbabwe’s review next month and the next cycle of review in 2016.

ENDS

Zimbabwe Parties, NGOs Hail Tough Sentence in Politically-Inspired Rape Case

Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington

Passing judgment against war veteran Gilbert Mavhenyengwa on Monday, Masvingo Magistrate Esther Muremba called him a “disrespectful thug” who took advantage of the volatile situation to rape a vulnerable woman.

Both formations of Zimbabwe's former opposition Movement for Democratic Change and civic organizations have hailed the sentencing of a ZANU-PF activist to 20 years in jail following his conviction for raping an MDC supporter during 2008 election violence.

Passing judgment against war veteran Gilbert Mavhenyengwa on Monday, Masvingo Magistrate Esther Muremba called him a “disrespectful thug” who took advantage of the volatile situation to rape a vulnerable woman, independent daily Newsday reported.

The magistrate also chastised Mavhenyegwa, who commanded a ZANU-PF militia base in Masvingo at the time, for not using a condom during the forced encounter, saying he had exposed the unnamed victim to the danger of contracting the AIDS virus.

Such judgments against perpetrators of the 2008 election violence are not common. A magistrate in Chitungwiza, a Harare satellite town, sentenced five ZANU-PF supporters to three years in jail in January for torturing MDC supporters during the elections.

But the 20 year sentence imposed on Mavhenyengwa caught public attention.

Spokesman Nhlanhla Dube of the MDC wing led by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube told VOA reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that his party is pleased with the sentence which he said would send a strong message to would-be offenders.

"We celebrate this judgment as a victory for a society that believes that political differences can never be settled through violent means," Dube said.

Those sentiments were echoed by deputy spokesperson Thabitha Khumalo of the MDC wing led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. She said all those who commit violence should be given similarly tough prison sentences.

But ZANU-PF parliamentary whip Joram Gumbo downplayed the significance of the case saying it was a criminal matter not linked politics or ZANU-PF.

"The issue has got nothing to do with political parties," Gumbo said. "It only has something to do with the person's behavior and character."

Programs Manager Pedzisai Ruhanya of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition commented that the sentence was just and commendable - but could have come sooner.

http://www.voanews.com/zimbabwe/news/Zimbabwe-Parties-Hail-Tough-Sentence-in-Political-Rape-Case-130216023.html

Women Human Rights Defenders to Unite at New York Global Summit

NEW YORK - September 15, 2011 -- Leading female human rights defenders from around the world are set to arrive in New York for a major summit organized to coincide with the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly.

Mariane Pearl to appear at human rights summit in New York next week

We Have A Dream: Global Summit Against Persecution and Discrimination will highlight the centrality of women's struggles to the global human rights agenda when it convenes on September 21-22nd.
Women of Courage who will be presenting include the writer Mariane Pearl, wife of the Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl who was murdered by Al Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan in 2001, Rebiya Kadeer, the most prominent advocate for the rights of the Uyghur people in China, Grace Kwinjeh, the Zimbabwean journalist who survived the torture chambers of the Mugabe regime, Jacqueline Kasha, the outspoken advocate for LBT rights in Uganda, Tran Thuy, the Vietnamese writer and former political prisoner, and Marina Nemat, a leading Iranian writer and commentator.
The summit will also provide a unique insight into the horrific prison camp system of the North Korean regime through the first person testimony of Kim Hye Sook, who escaped from the Bukchang gulag.
"Women are the foundation of every family and every community. When a woman stands up to fight for her beliefs, entire families and communities are lifted up," said Mariane Pearl, who will be leading the summit's session entitled Women of Courage: The Struggle for Human Dignity. "By gathering these extraordinary women at our summit, many of whom have directly experienced the hell of imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture and genocide, we are sending a clear message that the right of women to live free from discrimination is non-negotiable."
"The rights of woman will be at the heart of the declaration which we will issue at the end of our summit," Ms. Pearl continued.

• The We Have A Dream Summit will take place on September 21-22 at the W Hotel, 541 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022.
• For more information and to register, please visit www.ngosummit.org.
• For interview requests, please contact our director of media relations, Ben Cohen, on 917 302 0194, or deputy director Lev Janashvili on 212 844 9290, email: secretariat@ngosummit.org.

Organized by an international coalition of human rights NGOs:

Zimbabwean lawyer wins Inamori Ethics prize

Andrew MeldrumSeptember 13, 2011 16:18

Lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa received the Inamori Prize for Ethics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Here Mtetwa, a lawyer who concentrates on human rights and press freedom, talks to the press outside the High Court in Harare on April 6, 2008. (Desmond Kwande/AFP/Getty Images)

 

 

Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa is one of Africa's towering heroes for her principled and courageous battles to uphold the rule of law.

Mtetwa was awarded the 2011 Inamori Ethics Prize at Case Western Reserve University for her zealous defense of human rights and press freedom.
"I am optimistic that democracy and the rule of law will be restored in Zimbabwe," said Mtetwa in Cleveland, Ohio, for the prize-giving ceremony. "I abhor injustice and I fight it wherever I see it. I am driven to defend people who are struggling for their basic human rights. ... I am optimistic that the rule of law will be restored in Zimbabwe in my lifetime."

Mtetwa said she shared the honor of the Inamori Ethics Prize with "all the people out there who challenge the system knowing there are consequences and yet still do it."
"I come in after they have already exercised their rights," Mtetwa said to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "They are the brave ones for doing it. Without them I would have nobody to defend. I feel it is my duty to join them in the battle for basic democratic rights."

Mtetwa has earlier won awards from the Committee to Protect Journalists which presented her with the Burton Benjamin award for lifetime achievement in 2008 for her defense of journalists who had been arrested by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's regime. In 2009 Mtetwa won the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize in France for her defense of human rights in Zimbabwe.
But Mtetwa's most notable awards are not the trophies and medallions that are given to her. I'm sure her most treasured awards are the freedom of the many journalists, politicians, human rights workers and ordinary Zimbabweans whom she has ably defended in court.
I am one of Mtetwa's devoted fans because she got me out of a Zimbabwean jail in May 2002 and she brilliantly won my acquittal when I was charged with "publishing a falsehood." If I had been found guilty I faced a sentence of two years in prison.

Mtetwa also successfully represented me in court when the Mugabe regime tried to deport me. After hearing Mtetwa's argument, the High Court ruled that I had the right to stay and work in Zimbabwe.
And in May, 2003, when Zimbabwe government agents illegally abducted me, held me captive and forced me on a plane out of the country, Mtetwa got a court order declaring those actions unlawful.
I am a beneficiary of Beatrice Mtetwa's dogged determination to make Zimbabwe's justice system uphold the rule of law. And I am in awe of her principled dedication to the law.

Mtetwa has also represented a number of foreign journalists including New York Times reporter Barry Bearak, after he was arrested and charged under an obsolete law requiring press accreditation. She has defended a number of Zimbabwean journalists and human rights workers.

Consider the story of Jestina Mukoko, a Zimbabwean human rights worker. Mukoko was abducted from her home before dawn in December 2008. Armed men took Mukoko away from her home, still in her nightgown and barefeet. Police said they had not arrested Mukoko and many feared that she would never be seen alive.
Mtetwa refused to give up in her search for Mukoko. She used a court order to force the state media to publicize Mukoko's case. The public responded by sending in reports that Mukoko had been seen at an army base. Mtetwa's persistence brought such attention to the case that Zimbabwean authorities were forced to release Jestina Mukoko. She had been so badly tortured that she needed immediate medical care.
Mukoko said she believes that her life was saved by Beatrice Mtetwa's efforts.

Mtetwa's career is dangerous. She has has received death threats and has been beaten twice by Zimbabwean police.
The mother of two said she learned to challenge authority as the eldest daughter in a large polygamous family in rural Swaziland. Mtetwa said she began challenging her father's authoritarian rules at an early age. Her defiance sometimes caused her to be beaten.
She said that she was determined to get a university education so that she could have an independent life and she encouraged her sisters to get university educations, too.
In the past few years, Mtetwa said despite being disliked, she's earned a measure of respect from many in the Zimbabwean police force.I can attest to that. When I was held by Zimbabwean police, my interogating officers often displayed an arrogant attitude and threatened me. But when Mtetwa came into the station, the officers snapped to attention and treated both of us with respect.

Mtetwa's shining reputation as a human rights lawyer has not come without cost. Many big corporate clients in Zimbabwe have stopped being represented by Mtetwa because they are fearful that the Mugabe regime will rule against them. Mtetwa has inspired a generation of Zimbabwean lawyers, both by her courtroom work and by leading the Zimbabwe Law Society. However, many other lawyers and activists have fled Zimbabwe.

"Those fighting are fewer and fewer and some of the few left are fearful because they don't know what will happen to them," said Mtetwa.

Mtetwa said that she is determined to be optimistic. She knows what Zimbabwe needs: an impartial judiciary, a professional and apolitical police force and army, a proper human rights commission and electoral body, and an independent attorney general.
"If we can get one or two of those things accomplished the rest will start to fall into line," she said.
When she received the Inamori ethics award, Mtetwa spoke to the hundreds of students who gathered at Severance Hall, the home of the Cleveland Orchestra.
"It is not what you make that counts," she said. "It is what difference you make that counts. It is the difference you can make with your life to make other people's lives better that is important."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/africa-emerges/zimbabwean-lawyer-wins-inamori-ethics-prize

Summer Travel: Mugabe Style

Leslie Wayne

Associate Editor, 100Reporters.com

Summertime is travel time and no one is taking to the friendly skies more than Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president who has brought nothing but poverty and pain to his country.

In July, he was in New York, even though sanctions imposed by the United States do not allow him to enter the country. The loophole? The 87-year old Mugabe and an entourage that included his wife Grace, 46, various government officials and a phalanx of body guards (twelve in all) came to attend a youth conference at the United Nations. He was the only head of state at an event that brought together young people to discuss issues common to their age group. 

U.N.-sponsored events are fair game for Mugabe, as is anything at the Vatican and in other countries -- mainly in Asia -- that have not imposed the same travel sanctions that bar him from the U.S. and the European Union. This loophole is large enough to fly a 747 through and that is exactly what Mugabe has been doing, courtesy of Air Zimbabwe.

"He only comes on U.N. business,'' Nhamo Matambo, a spokesman for Zimbabwe's mission to the U.N. told 100Reporters. "It was a high level conference and people came to hear his views." Matambo declined to say where Mugabe stayed or what else he did in New York -- "it is not really a concern of the public."

Even so, it is hard to miss Mugabe. On the road, he likes to roll with his pack: His companions are often a 70-member delegation and his tastes are extravagant. Mugabe's travel expenses are running around $3 million a month and it's easy to see why. He's a regular at the "Langkawi Dialogue, '' a Malaysian conference where his stay in the Presidential Suite at the posh Berjaya Langkawi Beach & Spa -- which "embraces the emerald waters," according to its website -- costs over $1200 a night. 

The Daily News, a Zimbabwe newspaper, reports that Mugabe has spent more than $20 million on travel since January alone and Zimbabwe government officials from the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party fear his travel expenses are on track to reach $50 million by year's end.

"The situation is out of hand,'' said Tendai Biti, an MDC member and finance minister in the country's divided government. "It's alarming. It's frightening. It's criminal." Biti said these lavish travel bills mean "you can't put that money either into health or education" and added that nothing tangible has resulted from Mr. Mugabe's globe-trekking.

While in New York, Mugabe used the U. N. conference as a chance to continue his portrayal of Zimbabwe as a victim of "neo-colonial machinations" through illegal sanctions and constant interference in the country's domestic affairs, according to an account of his remarks on the U.N. website. All that, he said, hurts the youth of his country.

Zimbabwe is hemorrhaging money and Mugabe's jaunts cause it to bleed even more. The country has outstanding debt totaling $9 billion and anticipates a budget shortfall this year of $700 million. The Daily News article that broke the travel story estimates Mugabe's 2011 travel budget could pay for six months of AIDS treatment for 600,000 Zimbaweans.

Mugabe traveled at least six times this year to Singapore -- at $3 million a pop. In January, he was off to Singapore on holiday and for an eye operation. He returned in February to correct the operation and needed a March visit, again, he said, because of his eyes. He has made several other trips there since.

He, Grace and a delegation, attended the Vatican beatification ceremonies last April for Pope John Paul II. Rome is popular on the Mugabe circuit: He attended the funeral of John Paul II in 2005 and any number of U.N. conferences in the Eternal City on such issues as food and agriculture -- both of which are in short supply in Zimbabwe, thanks to Mugabe's policies. 

The presence of his wife, Grace, raises hackles back in Harare. Grace's penchant for extravagant shopping sprees in the world's capitals has earned her such monikers as "Dis-Grace," "First Shopper" and "Grasping Grace." University of Zimbabwe political science professor John Makumbe saw the recent New York trip as a thinly-veiled opportunity for Grace to go shopping.

In an interview with SW Radio Africa, an independent radio station, Prof. Makumbe said Mugabe is always itching to jet away to "facilitate shopping" for Grace and replenish their supplies of luxury goods. There have been widespread press accounts of Grace's wholesale purchases of marble statues, handbags and gems and of her aides paying for hotel rooms with bags of cash. 

Of course, as with all travel, not everything goes smoothly. When Mugabe was in New York last year for the U.N. General Assembly, he decided to hit a decidedly down-scale Duane Reade drug store. While standing amid a display of blushers and lipsticks and looking intently, a New Yorker with family in Zimbabwe recognized him. According to an account in London's Daily Mail, the shopper began to shout at him: "Give the power to the people. Leave office gracefully. Do it for Zimbabwe."

A dozen of Mugabe's bodyguards swooped down on the protester and bundled him outside while Mugabe, after waiting for the coast to clear, scurried into a waiting limousine.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leslie-wayne/mugabe-travel-expenses_b_945523.html

MUGABE PREACHES PEACE AND HINTS AT ELECTIONS AS ZANU PF SUPPORTERS ASSAULT COUNCILLOR AND JOURNALIST

President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday 6 September 2011 preached peace for the second time in less than one month but the conduct of some of his supporters left his sincerity questionable.

Supporters of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party on Tuesday assaulted a Harare City Councillor, Victor Chifodya and a freelance journalist, Henry Chimbiri as the octogenarian leader opened a session of parliament.

Mugabe opened the fourth session of the seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe and denounced violence in his speech which was broadcast on national television.

But while President Mugabe was preaching peace, supporters of his ZANU PF party attacked Councillor Chifodya, the chief whip for Harare City Councillors and Chimbiri.

Councillor Chifodya was attacked at the corner of Nelson Mandela Avenue and Sam Nujoma Street in central Harare while on his way to Parliament to attend proceedings in Parliament where he was an invited guest. Chimbiri was filming the arrival of President Mugabe to address Parliament.

Councillor Chifodya sustained a deep cut on his head and is currently receiving medical assistance at a local health institution while Chimbiri sustained injuries leading to a bleeding nose. Chimbiri had by late Tuesday not recovered his video camera.

This is the second time in less than two months that ZANU PF supporters have unleashed violence in the environs of Parliament.

On Saturday 23 July 2011, ZANU PF supporters disrupted a public hearing organized by the Joint Committee of the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs and the Senate Thematic Committee on Human Rights at Parliament to solicit people’s views on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) Bill.

The boisterous ZANU PF supporters verbally abused and assaulted Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) Member of Parliament for Hwange Central, Hon. Brian Tshuma for allegedly not singing the anthem and turned their inexplicable anger and violence on journalists from the private media, including Levi Mukarate of The Financial Gazette and Nqaba Matshazi of The Standard and Aaron Ufumeli of NewsDay, who were covering the hearing.

Meanwhile, in his address to Parliament, President Mugabe hinted at imminent plans to hold elections saying bickering parties to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) had “now agreed on key milestones and timelines in preparation for the holding of national elections.”

He said the Referendum Bill together with the Electoral Act agreed to by the GPA negotiators and adopted by the coalition government’s Cabinet will soon be tabled before Parliament as part of preparations to hold elections.

Mugabe, who denounced violence appealed to legislators to preach messages of national healing and reconciliation in their constituencies.

ENDS