Zimbabwe Advocacy in Geneva

Mugabe regime cracks down on press

2011-12-05T15:28:00.000+01:00

Four journalists arrested as autocratic Mugabe prepares for elections.

Zimbabwe GlobalPost Correspondent
December 5, 2011 06:00

Zimbabwean journalists are taking the heat again, as President Robert Mugabe clamps down on the press ahead of watershed elections next year.
Human rights lawyers and media freedom groups warn that the crackdown on the press is serious.
Police are increasingly using criminal defamation laws to arrest journalists from privately-owned newspapers for reporting on the business dealings of Mugabe's allies.
Will Robert Mugabe exit like Gaddafi?
On Dec. 2, plainclothes detectives swooped on Xolisani Ncube, a reporter with the Daily News and his editor Stanley Gama after the newspaper published a story claiming that Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo bragged about his wealth to a delegation of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The delegation was meeting the minister to discuss housing projects for the poor.
The two journalists were detained and questioned for more than eight hours before being released “while investigations continue.” Ncube, a young reporter fresh from college, was arrested in front of his visiting mother.
Two weeks earlier, police detained overnight two journalists from The Standard, a privately-owned weekly, for a story on the collapse of a medical insurance firm owned by Munyaradzi Kereke, a special advisor to central bank governor Gideon Gono.
All four journalists are being charged under criminal defamation laws that journalists' unions and lawyers say are being used to muzzle the media.
Alec Muchadehama, the lawyer representing the Daily News journalists, described the arrest as an abuse of the law to punish journalists who poke their noses into the affairs of Mugabe allies. He said that despite the coalition government with long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai that was formed in February 2009, Mugabe remains in control of the security sector, including the police, which he is using against the press.

“It is a disturbing trend we are witnessing,” said Muchadehama, who is also a campaigner for media freedom. “Criminal defamation is becoming the new front in our war against media repression. Why lock up journalists in police cells on issues that are best solved using civil lawsuits?”
Nando's cancels its satirical ad about Robert Mugabe, "Last Dictator Standing."
Long tim opposition leader and now Mugabe coalition government partner, Morgan Tsvangirai and his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party at the weekend said it “is worried by the continued arrests of journalists from the independent media with investigative journalism now being turned into a criminalized profession.”
Police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka defended the arrests. “It is just the law taking its course,” he said.
Police have arrested close to a dozen journalists in the past five months, mainly for covering stories deemed offensive to the Mugabe government.
Journalists from newspapers critical of Mugabe’s three-decade rule have been prey for state agents and pro-Mugabe militia since the year 2000 when a newly formed MDC posed a potent threat to Mugabe’s continued hold on power.
The Daily News has just started operations after having been banned in 2003, a time Mugabe and his allies publicly branded the paper an enemy. Its printing press had also just been bombed. Police have not yet arrested anyone for the bombing.
In its first months after it was formed in February 2009, the shaky coalition government brought a relative relaxation of Mugabe's control of the press that resulted in the licensing of several privately-owned newspapers to compete in a media market dominated by the state.
Mugabe, however, remains in direct control of broadcasting airwaves and sparked a row with Tsvangirai two weeks ago after the only independent radio licenses to be awarded since independence from Britain 1980 were given to Mugabe's backers.
Tensions are rising again in Zimbabwe as Mugabe pushes for elections in 2012 to break out of a coalition described by both partners as unworkable.
Tsvangirai says he will boycott elections if they are held before the implementation of democratic reforms to ensure a free and fair vote.
Ban lifted on Zimbabwe diamond exports
Heightened talk of elections has left journalists fearing for the worst.
“It all has to do with elections. Mugabe and his loyal police are finding more ways of silencing the media. Journalists in this country are at their most vulnerable when politicians begin talking of elections,” said Njabulo Ncube, chairman of the Zimbabwe chapter of the media freedom watchdog, the Media Institute of Southern Africa.
Mugabe, having just won a fresh endorsement to lead his party into the next elections, is holding Zanu-PF's annual conference this week to map out election strategies.
“It seems their strategy on the media is pretty clear. Journalists will have to be vigilant,” said Foster Dongozi, secretary-general of main journalists’ body, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists.
International organizations such as the United States-based Freedom House say conditions for journalists have remained treacherous despite promises of reform at the inception of the coalition government.
The organization’s Freedom of the Press index for 2011 notes that the media landscape in Zimbabwe remains repressive, with "near-total government control of the broadcast sector, foot dragging on attempts to open new broadcast outlets, and continued legal and physical harassment of independent journalists.”

Global Witness Quits Kimberley Process Over Zimbabwe Diamonds

2011-12-05T15:12:00.000+01:00

5th December 2011

Read a message from Global Witness Founding Director, Charmian Gooch
Lire le communiqué de presse en français
Global Witness today announced that it has left the Kimberley Process, the international certification scheme established to stop the trade in blood diamonds.
The Kimberley Process’s refusal to evolve and address the clear links between diamonds, violence and tyranny has rendered it increasingly outdated, said the group. Despite intensive efforts over many years by a coalition of NGOs, the scheme’s main flaws and loopholes have not been fixed and most of the governments that run the scheme continue to show no interest in reform.
“Nearly nine years after the Kimberley Process was launched, the sad truth is that most consumers still cannot be sure where their diamonds come from, nor whether they are financing armed violence or abusive regimes” said Charmian Gooch, a Founding Director of Global Witness. “The scheme has failed three tests: it failed to deal with the trade in conflict diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire, was unwilling to take serious action in the face of blatant breaches of the rules over a number of years by Venezuela and has proved unwilling to stop diamonds fuelling corruption and violence in Zimbabwe. It has become an accomplice to diamond laundering – whereby dirty diamonds are mixed in with clean gems.”
In a shocking move, the Kimberley Process recently authorised exports from two companies operating in the controversial Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean army seized control of the area in 2008, killing around 200 miners. Mining concessions were then granted in legally questionable circumstances to several companies, some of them associated with senior figures in Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party. Newspapers have reported that the Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation, the state security service aligned with Mugabe whose members are accused of committing acts of violence against opposition supporters, directly benefits from off-budget diamond revenues.
“Over the last decade, elections in Zimbabwe have been associated with the brutal intimidation of voters. Orchestrating this kind of violence costs a lot of money. As the country approaches another election there is a very high risk of Zanu PF hardliners employing these tactics once more and using Marange diamonds to foot the bill. The Kimberley Process’s refusal to confront this reality is an outrage,” Gooch continued.
“Consumers should not buy Marange diamonds, and industry should not supply them,” said Gooch. “All existing contracts in the Marange fields should be cancelled and retendered with terms of reference which reflect international best practice on revenue sharing, transparency, oversight by and protection of the affected communities.”
The diamond industry should be required to demonstrate that the diamonds it sells are not fuelling abuses – by complying with international standards on minerals supply chain controls, including independent third party audits and regular public disclosure. Governments must show leadership by putting these standards into law.
“Consumers have a right to know what they’re buying, and what was done to obtain it,” added Gooch. “The diamond industry must finally take responsibility for its supply chains and prove that the stones it sells are clean.”
/Ends
Contact:
Annie Dunnebacke: +44 7912 517 127; adunnebacke@globalwitness.org
Andrea Pattison: +44 7970 103 083; apattison@globalwitness.org

http://www.globalwitness.org/library/global-witness-leaves-kimberley-process-calls-diamond-trade-be-held-accountable

The struggle for power in Zimbabwe

2011-12-01T10:07:00.003+01:00

Eddie Cross

30 November 2011

Eddie Cross says if Zanu-PF stick with Mugabe they'll become the laughing stock of the country

Cooking in a Three Legged Pot
I often say to people who have an interest and concern for what is going on in Zimbabwe that if they are not confused; then they have not been here long enough. The confusion arises from deliberate misleading information in the public sphere, and often just because events move fast behind the scenes and the various players are trying to outmanoeuvre each other.
Since 2000, three centres of power in Zimbabwe have emerged and are engaged in a savage struggle for supremacy. Each of these power centres have subgroups and divisions of their own - but remain today as coherent centres of power. These are:
- The JOC, a military structure inherited by Mugabe in 1980 from the Rhodesian war which has evolved into a form of a military Junta in the past decade. It is dominated by the military but has a number of senior hardliners from Zanu PF in its ranks;
- Zanu PF under the leadership of Robert Mugabe, a clever, if reclusive and aging leader who has maintained an iron grip on the Party and the State through a mixture of intelligence, hard discipline sometimes involving targeted assassinations and patronage on a massive scale;
- and the MDC under the leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai, a genuine democrat who has long association with Zanu PF but who split with the Party in 1997 after concluding that Zanu PF had to be removed from power if Zimbabwe was to make progress.
The emergence of this third leg in the power structure gave rise to a massive reaction from both the JOC and Zanu PF which essentially destroyed the economy and eventually drew in the region in an effort to halt the carnage and limit collateral damage on Zimbabwe's neighbours.
While these three centres of power struggled for ascendancy over the past decade, the intervention of the region gradually metamorphosed into the form it has today and this is critical to understanding the present situation and assessing any possible outcome.
In 2000, South Africa, the regional super power, concluded that a MDC victory in the struggle in Zimbabwe would not be in its interests and over the following three years they used their diplomatic and regional power to back Zanu PF and Robert Mugabe, the JOC occupied a supportive role and MDC was totally outgunned - its only power source being its growing cohesion and popular support.
In 2004 and 2005, South Africa decided first that Mugabe had become a liability and sought, with the help of senior Zanu PF leaders and the JOC, to have him replaced as leader of Zanu PF. In 2005 South Africa concluded that both Mugabe and Tsvangirai were a hindrance to securing a workable solution and worked clandestinely to have both men removed from the legs of the power pot that they represented.
In 2006/7 the South Africans decided that their strategies in Zimbabwe were not working and they moved to support a process of negotiated change in Zimbabwe which would bring into being a workable government that would be able to attract international support and enable recovery in the economic sphere and stabilize the political situation. This gave rise to the GPA process and eventually created the present Transitional Government in which Zanu PF and the MDC share power.
The main problem was that the new nature of the new government was a recipe for deadlock and did nothing to resolve the underlying power struggle. It did however give the MDC real power for the first time, for many this was a burden, not a new opportunity, and spurred efforts to co-opt the MDC and blur its image as a real agent of change. MDC meetings have become associated with rows of luxury vehicles where in the past only mini busses and broken down jalopies attended MDC meetings - all the result of its new links to the power and patronage structures of government created by Zanu PF over the past 30 years.
But the new arrangement has halted the decline in the economy and started a recovery. This has been retarded by deliberate subversion of the economy by Zanu PF because the recovery is seen as being a sole MDC construct. It has also complicated the nature of the political struggle. Images of Mugabe and Tsvangirai working together have muddied the water in which the struggle is being waged.
The other major change has been in the nature of South African engagement. This has been driven by ancillary developments in the region - the change in leadership in South Africa, changes within the ANC and then changes in the nature and character of SADC support and intervention.
While this situation has metamorphosed into what faces us today, the situation within the three pillars of power in Zimbabwe has changed. In Zanu PF the major development has been the decline in the health of its leader, Mugabe. It is now clear to all associated with our crisis that a leadership change in Zanu PF is only a question of time. How it will happen depends on the leadership of Zanu PF itself and the continued ability of Mugabe to maintain his grip on power within the Party and in Government.
In the MDC leg to the Pot, power has consolidated around Tsvangirai who is clearly the man of the future. The other factions of the MDC that are products of the 2005 machinations of South African meddling have faded into irrelevancy.
The JOC remains intact but has been severely damaged by pre-emptive strikes from South Africa. Denied any possibility of an independent attempt at grasping power using its military and political power, the leadership is contemplating how they can grasp control of the leadership in Zanu PF, now their only hope of remaining relevant. The belief that they can take control and assume the leadership of Zanu PF and thereby the Presidency, is astonishing and is characterized by supreme unjustified arrogance.
For Zanu PF the Rubicon is approaching in the form of their National Conference next week. If they stick to Mugabe as their President and candidate for any coming election they will be the laughing stock of the country. Mugabe is clearly no longer able to campaign or manage the State effectively.
Last week we understand the South African Cabinet agreed to a new strategy for resolving the never ending crisis in Zimbabwe. As the case in the past this will be pivotal in determining what happens here in the next few weeks and months. For me, the way is clear; South Africa will force the parties to the crisis in Zimbabwe to negotiate a compromise. This will bring Tsvangirai to power as President under a revised constitution and create a reformed National Unity Government that will dissolve the JOC, normalize the environment for eventual elections and allow the full recovery on international relations and the economy.
Eddie Cross is MDC MP for Bulawayo South. This article first appeared on his website www.eddiecross.africanherd.com

China supplying small arms to Zimbabwe

2011-11-14T15:17:00.001+01:00

Written by defenceWeb
Monday, 14 November 2011 12:28

Zimbabwe has taken delivery of 20 000 AK-47 assault rifles from China as the country re-equips its army ahead of upcoming elections.

The Southern Africa Report, which focuses on political and economic intelligence issues in Africa, reports that the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) has taken delivery of “the first of several consignments of Chinese small arms and equipment,” including AK-47 assault rifles, uniforms, a dozen trucks and 21 000 pairs of handcuffs.

The delivery apparently took place through an ‘African intermediary’ and a second consignment is due by the end of the year.

Read More;
http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21061:china-supplying-small-arms-to-zimbabwe&catid=50:Land&Itemid=105

http://www.southernafricareport.com/Member/SecurePages/SecureNews.aspx?niid=11805

'Only time will tell' if Mugabe makes good on threat'

2011-11-02T20:48:00.000+01:00

Wednesday, 2 November, 2011

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is not happy with Switzerland. After news broke that his wife and many of his entourage would not be receiving Swiss visas to attend the ITU conference in Geneva he called them “vicious “ and promised to reciprocate with unspecified action on Swiss businesses and properties in Zimbabwe. WRS’s Pete Forster spoke to Marlon Zakeyo with the Zimbabwean Human Rights Advocacy Office and asked whether he thought Mugabe was likely to carry through with his threat:

http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/only-time-will-tell-if-mugabe-makes-good-on-threat.shtml?27354

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

2011-09-25T18:13:00.000+02:00

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

2011-09-22T16:41:00.001+02:00

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.

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

2011-09-15T17:43:00.002+02:00

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

2011-09-14T10:39:00.000+02:00

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

2011-09-07T15:21:00.002+02:00

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

2011-09-06T17:48:00.000+02:00

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

Marange Diamond Revenues Used to Buy French Planes

2011-08-23T16:14:00.000+02:00

The Africa Report

Cash strapped Air Zimbabwe buys Airbus planes

Monday, 22 August 2011 16:16

Air Zimbabwe has bought two new A340-200 Airbus passenger planes from France in a deal bankrolled by one of the mining firms licensed to mine at the controversial Marange diamond fields.

Map of Zimbabwe

Mbada Diamonds, which has a joint venture with the state owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), financed the deal. It is expected to cost US$500 million.

The company's involvement, although a welcome relief for Air Zimbabwe, which was struggling to replace its ageing aircraft, is likely to fuel speculation that President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF is running a parallel structure since the money was not channeled through treasury.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti says diamond revenue from the Marange fields has not been accounted for and suspects Zanu PF appointees at ZMDC are abusing the money.

Last month ZMDC also provided money to increase salaries of civil servants without Biti’s knowledge.

Aviation sources said Eads, the French aircraft manufacturer was the supplier of the planes.

AirZimbabwe chairperson Jonathan Kadzura was reluctant to divulge details of the deal saying he would do so later this week.

“Mbada Diamonds are the financial muscle behind the planes deal as Air Zimbabwe is broke.

“However, the diamond company’s interest in the whole arrangement is still not clear” said an aviation source.

Air Zimbabwe which has an obsolete fleet of three Boeing 737-200 planes has not flown commercial flights since July 29 when the airline’s 49 pilots walked out over outstanding salaries and allowances.

Pilots earn between US$1200 and US$2 500 a month.

The troubled state-owned airline’s bosses say they need US$7 million to settle the dispute, but the government says it is too broke to help.

The strike, the second work stoppage this year, has disrupted the travel plans of thousands of people.

To prepare to take delivery of the new planes, the Air Zimbabwe's staff is undergoing training.

A team of pilots and air stewards was last week dispatched to Madrid, Spain for a month long intensive training on the new aircraft.

In July a team of pilots and stewards was dispatched to Toulouse, France, for training on the new aircraft.

The new aircraft will service Air Zimbabwe’s long-haul routes – mainly to China and the United Kingdom.

http://www.theafricareport.com/archives2/business/5170074-cash-strapped-air-zimbabwe-buys-airbus-planes.html

Zim food security ‘pressing issue’

2011-08-12T11:01:00.000+02:00

Thursday, 11 August 2011 19:32 Wongai Zhangazha

THE humanitarian situation in the country still remains fragile, with food security, health, water and sanitation a serious cause for concern. Millions of people are said to be drinking from unprotected water sources and living under unhygienic conditions. Due to the immediate humanitarian needs, aid agencies through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Unocha), last week appealed for US$488 million, an increase of US$73 million from the original requirements of US$415 million.

Key priorities to be addressed by the revised 2011 Consolidated Appeal Process include improving levels of food security, which have been described as a “pressing issue,” nutrition, water and sanitation and addressing the needs of asylum seekers as well as other vulnerable groups. About nine million people, more than half of Zimbabwe’s estimated 12,3 million people (according to the Central Statistical Office’s population projections 2010), are set to benefit this year from water, sanitation and hygiene services, while 8,2 million people will benefit from the health budget and another 6,2 million people from the money budgeted for agriculture.

About 4,95 million women and children are in need of immediate nutritional facilities while 3,2 million pupils, 600 000 teachers and other groups are targeted to benefit in the education sector. As of June 30 2011, four million people have benefited from safe water, hygiene and sanitation while more than three million out of the targeted seven million people are still in need of safe water and sanitation services.
However, half of the targeted people have benefited as of mid this year.

According to the report as of June, 1 750 450 students and 49 890 teachers have been assisted. This is far below the target of more than three million students and 100 000 teachers and school administrators.
In addition, less than half of the five million targeted people to benefit from primary health care facilities have been reached while food security remained an urgent issue after a ‘protracted’ dry spell affected six out of 10 provinces this year. Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Regional Integration and International Cooperation Tedious Chifamba said an internal exercise by the World Food Programme revealed that following extensive crop failure and lack of other food or livelihood, some districts required immediate food assistance for nine months instead of the usual four months. Chifamba said: “Usually vulnerable group feeding is offered for four months (January to April) during the hunger period. “WFP estimates that it will soon be responding to the needs of approximately 1,4 million people and requires US$83 million to meet these needs. We understand, however, that USAid has already contributed US$18,5 million to meet some of the food needs.”

Due to the dry spell in the six provinces that recorded minimal harvest, vulnerability, especially among people living with HIV/Aids, child headed families, women and the unemployed, had increased. Although there has been stable food availability and marginal improvement in household incomes, poverty, as defined by generally low income, high underemployment and unemployment levels, has remained a major challenge to household food security in both urban and rural areas.

According to Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fewsnet), Zimbabwe’s food security outlook for July through to December 2011 released last week, Binga, Kariba, Mudzi, Umzingwane and Zvishavane districts need to be monitored closely as they have annual localised food deficits and their current production was heavily compromised by the dry spells. The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC)
rural livelihoods assessment estimated the prevalence of food insecure rural households to be six percent in July 2010. This number was projected to increase to 11% between October and December 2010 and further to 15% during the peak hunger season.“Rates for chronic and acute childhood malnutrition still stand at 35% and 2,4% respectively,” read the review. “One third of rural Zimbabweans still drink from unprotected water sources. While the scale of cholera has significantly reduced compared to past years, localised outbreaks continue due to the poor state of the health and water, sanitation and hygiene sectors.” UN humanitarian co-coordinator for Zimbabwe Alain Noudehou said though there has been improvement in the social economic context in the country and stability in the humanitarian situation, there are still some weak areas where humanitarian assistance was still needed. He said an announcement by the South African government that it would start deportations of Zimbabweans by August 1 is expected to result in an influx of people, increasing the need for assistance.“I would like to refer to needs related to food insecurity, response to disease outbreaks like cholera epidemics,” said Noudehou. “There could also be the need to support Zimbabweans who may be repatriated from South Africa in the coming months.”

The review also read: “Gains made in the education sector, especially under the Basic Education Assistance Module, are at risk unless pledged funds are disbursed quickly.” Minister of Finance Tendai Biti in his mid-year fiscal policy statement said according to the second round crop assessment survey, about 164 000 households were confirmed to be in need of food assistance.This has prompted his ministry to put in place a framework which requires US$32,4 million to facilitate distribution of food.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/local/32010-zim-food-security-pressing-issue.html

BBC: Zimbabwe torture camp discovered

2011-08-09T12:40:00.000+02:00

Victims speak of massacre in Zimbabwe diamond fields

A BBC investigation has found that torture camps are being operated by Zimbabwe's security forces near the Marange diamond fields.
Victims have told the BBC's Hilary Andersson that prisoners are routinely subjected to rape and severe beatings and that some are mauled by dogs.
This comes as the EU is pushing for a partial end to a sales ban on Marange diamonds. The names of people in this report have been changed to protect their identities.
Hilary Andersson reports.

See short videos of interviews
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14445087
http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_9557000/9557246.stm

Export of Zimbabwean diamonds threatens ethical jewellery trade

2011-08-09T12:24:00.000+02:00

Rosie Spinks

08 August, 2011

With the Kimberley Process in a state of paralysis over Zimbabwean diamonds, consumers can no longer be sure they’re buying ethical jewels. Ahead of a BBC Panorama investigation into the issue, Rosie Spinks reports

The dusty veld on Zimbabwe’s eastern border with Mozambique is home to the Marange diamond fields; an area with rich alluvial deposits that have an estimated worth of up to US $800 billion and could be viable for the next 80 years.

However the extraction of diamonds from these fields – and their subsequent release into the global market - has put the ethical diamond trade in jeopardy due to allegations of serious human rights abuses connected to the region's diamond industry.

‘At this point, the consumer has no idea what they’re getting at jewellery stores,’ says Annie Dunnebacke of Global Witness, a UK-based NGO. ‘And retailers have no way of telling consumers if a diamond has been produced without human rights abuses.’

In 2002, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was created to prevent the sale of ‘blood diamonds', or stones used by rebel groups to fund civil wars, such as those in Sierra Leone and Angola.

Diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange region have been questioned ever since President Robert Mugabe’s forces took over mining operations there in 2008 as part of his attempt to nationalise the industry. Since then, numerous reports of human rights abuses—including rape, child labour, and mass killings—have emerged.
Tomorrow, BBC Panorama airs an in-depth investigation into the scale and scope of these alleged crimes, and assesses whether or not Mugabe will ever be held accountable.

The controversy over Marange diamonds reached a peak on June 23, when the civil society branch of the KPCS walked out in protest at the body’s official meeting being held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The dozen African and international groups that comprise the KP civil society coalition, which includes Global Witness, clashed with KP Chairman Mathieu Yamba of the DRC. Yamba broke with the KP’s consensus-based decision making procedure by unilaterally stating that Zimbabwe could start exporting rough stones from Marange without having to prove their compliance with KP regulations first.

‘The case in Zimbabwe highlights the extent to which the KP isn’t able to [control] the members who don’t uphold the minimum standards to accountability,’ said Dunnebacke. She confirmed that Global Witness, which was instrumental in founding the KPCS, is currently ‘reconsidering future participation’ with the scheme.

Conservative MP Henry Bellingham, the UK Foreign Office Minister to Africa, said the UK is committed to ending the trade of conflict diamonds. Bellingham believes that Yamba’s recent decision cannot be considered valid.

‘Despite the statement released by the Chair of the KP in June, it is clear that KP members did not reach a consensus to resume exports of diamonds from Marange,’ Bellingham told the Ecologist. ‘Any agreement must ensure Zimbabwe complies with its KP obligations, and must be robust enough to ensure that the KP remains a credible and effective mechanism.’

Bellingham’s disapproval of Yamba’s unilateral action was echoed by other national governments including the US State department, which issued a statement saying it was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the non-consensus based decision.

The World Diamond Council, the group formed to represent the interests of the diamond industry in KPCS decisions, said in a press release that traders in the industry should avoid Marange diamonds for the time being.`The WDC urges all members of the trade to deal only in rough diamonds that are accompanied by KP certificates that comply with the consensus decisions of the Kimberley Process.’

Defining conflict diamonds

It has widely been quoted that less than one per cent of the diamonds on the world market are blood diamonds. However, Dunnebacke states this figure only applies when the narrow definition of a blood diamond is used, which only includes stones that rebel groups use to fund civil wars. In Zimbabwe, it is the legitimate (if controversial) government, not rebels, that is reportedly profiting from diamonds mined in inhumane conditions. In addition, Mugabe’s officials are failing to account for the proceeds from these stones in a transparent manner.

Farai Maguwu is a Zimbabwean diamond activist who was jailed and then released last year for allegedly 'publishing and communicating false information' related to human rights abuses at the mines. He said that if the KP is concerned with human rights, it must broaden its definition to include situations like the one in Zimbabwe.

‘In terms of ending rebel related conflicts the KP achieved its goal 100 per cent,’ Maguwu told the Ecologist. ‘But in terms of protecting people from diamond related violence, the KP has failed to find an answer, especially where it pertains to Zimbabwe. It's not about the identity of the perpetrator, whether it be government or rebel group that matters, it is all about protecting people.’

Maguwu is not optimistic when it comes to the prospect of average Zimbabweans benefiting from the vast mineral wealth that is found in their nation. ‘You have a situation where the Finance Minster says he is not receiving proceeds from diamond sales and then a quasi state institution [is] paying salaries for state employees using proceeds from diamond sales,’ Maguwu said. ‘Unfortunately diamonds are non-renewable and that day may never come when we [Zimbabweans] shall all say, “behold what our diamonds have done for us.”’

Zimbabwe as a symptom
However dire, the situation in Zimbabwe is only part of the larger challenge the KPCS faces at present. There are major underlying problems within the certification scheme as a whole that must be addressed, according to Dunnebacke. She cited administrative problems, including a lack of funding and a permanent secretariat, as well as issues caused by a consensus being required for every decision that's made.

The KPCS has a three-pronged structure: the civil society coalition, participating governments (of both producer and consumer nations), and industry representatives. Dunnebacke said that both government and industry have to make major changes if the KPCS is going to move forward as an effective regulator.

‘We need to face the facts now and see that government have failed in their responsibility to see that the KP is effective and industry has totally failed in their responsibility to see that there’s any supply train traceability,’ Dunnebacke said. ‘Its basic stuff - find out who your suppliers are, who their suppliers are, and then demand documentary evidence for that.’

In Zimbabwe's case, several possibilities remain. In the wake of Yamba’s decision, it's possible that Marange diamonds are being exported with KP certification attached. In addition, smuggled Marange diamonds could have already left Zimbabwe and been on the market prior to June's meeting. For these and other reasons, Dunnebacke says, there is currently no guarantee of a ‘conflict-free’ diamond on the market. ‘It’s not something the consumer wants to hear,’ Dunnebacke said. ‘But the fact is unless you’re buying from certain companies that have a “mine to market” certification scheme or from retailers that only buy from a certain mine, there’s no way of knowing.’

Maguwu says that it's sad that something as precious as a diamond can result in such suffering and wants to see it change. 'Diamonds are an expression of love, not hatred or pain,' he said. ‘This love must flow from the place of origin, from that remote village, through the whole production chain, right up to the consumer.’

For more information, see www.globalwitness.org

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1005476/export_of_zimbabwean_diamonds_threatens_ethical_jewellery_trade.html

Debt: The albatross around Zimbabwe’s neck

2011-08-09T10:51:00.000+02:00

Thursday, 04 August 2011 17:36
By Deprose Muchena
IT IS common cause that the Government of National Unity (GNU) has presided over a dramatic economic turnaround, which has seen the country claw its way back from the brink of total economic collapse. It is also widely acknowledged that there are serious obstacles in the way of a sustainable economic recovery. However, it is not universally known that one of the most serious constraints — indeed it is an almighty albatross around the country’s neck — is Zimbabwe’s massive debt burden.

To appreciate the full scale of the economic crisis, it is important to note that Zimbabwe faced a myriad of socio-economic and governance challenges prior to the inauguration of the GNU. The economy had cumulatively declined by 54,8% from 1999 to 2008, resulting in one of the longest recessions in the history of any country. Prolonged international isolation since the launch of the fast track land reform programme in 2000 resulted in no meaningful engagement with the international community and development partners.
Read More.....
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/opinion/31910-debt-the-albatross-around-zims-neck.html

Slideshow - Cold Shoulder: Plight of Zimbabwe's Asylum Seekers

2011-08-02T14:38:00.000+02:00

Desperation mounts as undocumented Zimbabweans queue for permits to live in South Africa before the deadline approaches, or risk deportation. View Slideshow via link below.

http://mg.co.za/multimedia/2011-07-29-cold-shoulder/

Mail and Guardian Online

"It's dangerous out there". The struggles of Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa

2011-07-27T14:14:00.000+02:00

For Zimbabweans who cross into South Africa in search of work, robbery, rape and extortion at the border is just the beginning of their problems. Khadija Sharife meets a ‘rightless’ underclass who are both exploited and scapegoated, simply for wanting to feed their children

In the April issue of The Africa Report, we investigated how Zimbabwean casual workers, excluded from applying for residency via the official channels, were resorting to ‘purchasing’ South African identities through ‘late registration’ birth certificates arranged through intermediaries. With the moratorium on deportations now over, many Zimbabweans now fear being sent back to the economic hardship they fled. We now look deeper into the desperation and dangers faced by these immigrants in their bid to seek work in South Africa.

http://www.theafricareport.com/typerighter/index.php?post/2011/04/08/%22It-s-dangerous-out-there%22.-The-struggles-of-Zimbabwean-immigrants-in-South-Africa

Zimbabwe Parliament Probes Assault of Legislators by Alleged Mugabe Militants

2011-07-26T12:11:00.000+02:00

Legislators and journalists attending a hearing on the Human Rights Commission Bill were assaulted by a mob of more than 100 people chanting revolutionary songs and ZANU-PF party slogans.

Irwin Chifera & Ntungamili Nkomo | Harare/Washington

Zimbabwe's Parliament opened an investigation Monday into the violent intrusion into the House on Saturday by alleged militants of President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party who disrupted a hearing on enabling legislation for a human rights commission.
House Speaker Lovemore Moyo held meetings with Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma, Chairman Douglas Mwonzora of the Parliamentary Committee on Justice, the police detail in charge of parliamentary security and the Central Intelligence Organization.

Moyo was expected to make his findings public in a news conference Tuesday.
Legislators and journalists attending the hearing on the Human Rights Commission Bill were assaulted by a mob of more than 100 people chanting revolutionary songs and ZANU-PF slogans who began assaulting committee members and others.

Member of Parliament Brian Tshuma of the Movement for Democratic Change formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was said to have sustained significant injuries. Sources said Tshuma was also robbed of his mobile phone and money.

Both formations of the MDC and political commentators condemned Saturday’s incident, calling on police to prosecute those responsible.

Spokesman Nhlanhla Dube of the MDC wing headed by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube told VOA Studio 7 reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that failing to bring the perpetrators of the attack in Parliament to justice would set a bad precedent.
The Tsvangirai MDC went a step further and demanded that Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri resign for failing to arrest those responsible.

ZANU-PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo refused to comment, saying only: “I wasn’t involved in the fiasco, so I wouldn’t want to comment.”

Political analyst Effie Dlela Ncube said the attack in Parliament clearly paints ZANU-PF as a violent political party. "These people are against anything that seeks to protect human rights in Zimbabwe because they are guilty of rights abuses," Ncube said.

Switzerland rejects unilateral decision on Zim diamonds

2011-07-11T12:18:00.000+02:00

By Alex Bell
05 July 2011

Switzerland has become the latest country to reject a unilateral decision to allow Zimbabwe to export diamonds from the Chiadzwa diamond fields, a move that has further undermined the credibility of the Kimberley Process (KP).

A meeting of KP members in the DRC last month ended with no consensus on Zimbabwe’s trade future, with mainly western nations still concerned about conditions at Chiadzwa. But despite these concerns and ongoing reports of human rights abuses and smuggling, the KP’s Chairman, Mathieu Yamba (from the DRC), announced at the end of the meeting that Zimbabwe had the green light to resume exporting.

A number of KP members, including the US, Canada, Israel and now Switzerland, have all rejected this announcement, insisting that no consensus was reached. KP decisions are meant to be made and implemented only after consensus among members of the monitoring body.

The Geneva based Zimbabwe Advocacy Office, together with its partner group Bread For All, this week slammed Yamba’s decision, saying it has “further undermined the credibility” of the KP. The group’s Marlon Zakeyo told SW Radio Africa that the decision could deal a “devastating blow” to the future of the KP, with some analysts predicting that the global watchdog could collapse.

“The international diamond industry and consumers have all come to rely on the KP, and if it is going to be undermined in this way then it will be serious blow to all,” Zakeyo said.

Switzerland’s decision to reject the decision on Zimbabwe comes as previously confiscated shipments of Chiadzwa diamonds have been released for sale by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The 14 shipments, which total about US$160 million, had been held by Dubai customs since last November. It’s understood the shipments have now been shipped to India, all as a result of the KP’s announcement on Zimbabwe.

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news050711/switz050711.htm

Zimbabwe and its diamonds: Forever dirty

2011-07-04T16:16:00.000+02:00

Robert Mugabe is being favoured once again, to the detriment of his people

Jun 30th 2011 | HARARE | from the print edition

http://www.economist.com/node/18898238

THE Kimberley Process (KP) is in danger of collapse. Set up in 2003, the system is supposed to end the trade in “blood diamonds” which illicitly finance civil wars. But its Congolese chairman has unilaterally decided to let sales from Zimbabwe’s disputed Marange diamond fields resume. America, the European Union, Canada and Israel are hotly contesting the move. Rulings by the 49-member body, representing 75 diamond-producing and -trading countries, are supposed to be unanimous.
Ever since diamonds were first discovered in a 60,000-hectare site in Marange in eastern Zimbabwe in 2006, reports of killings, torture, corruption, bribery, looting, smuggling and political skulduggery have been rife. The stakes are enormous. Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe’s finance minister, has described the field as “the biggest find of alluvial diamonds in the history of mankind”. Potential revenue has been estimated at $1 billion-2 billion a year. One mining expert involved in the area reckons it is “much, much more”. The IMF put Zimbabwe’s entire GDP last year at $7.5 billion.
Following the announcement of the find by a London-registered company, African Consolidated Resources (ACR), tens of thousands of locals and foreigners rushed to the area to try their luck. Diamonds were being scooped up by the handful. President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party quickly moved to claim the fields as its own, cancelling ACR’s prospecting rights and sending in the army to oust the panners and local inhabitants and to seal off the area. At least 200 people were killed, many of them by bullets fired from army helicopters. Some evicted civilians were then forced back by soldiers to mine the diamonds for a pittance.
In the face of growing reports of human-rights violations, the KP imposed a ban on all further sales of Marange diamonds. But production, mainly by two South African outfits in joint ventures with the Zimbabwean government, continued. By June last year 4.6m carats, worth $1.7 billion—money the cash-strapped government sorely needed—had been stockpiled. A month later, following a report by KP’s monitor, Abbey Chikane, a South African, claiming that Zimbabwe was now fully complying with KP rules, two small sales of Marange diamonds were permitted, though no more since then.
On June 24th, however, at the end of a four-day KP meeting in Congo, the body’s chairman, Mathieu Yamba, announced that the two Zimbabwean-South African joint ventures, Mbada Diamonds and Marange Resources, could resume diamond sales. NGOs, who have continued to monitor the disputed fields, are aghast. They say that human-rights abuses, smuggling and other blatant breaches of KP’s rules are still going on, with most of the proceeds going into the pockets of army leaders and Zanu-PF bigwigs. Mr Biti says the Treasury has seen barely a cent.
Western members of the KP insist that Mr Yamba’s announcement, not having been approved by the required consensus, is invalid. They, together with the World Diamond Council, are asking international diamond traders not to touch Marange diamonds. But they may not be able to stem the flood of illicit gems pouring out of Zimbabwe, to be snapped up in Bahrain, China, India and Lebanon, among others. Many poor countries have long regarded the KP as a plot by Western countries to control the diamond trade—and thereby prices. This could sound its death knell—and help Mr Mugabe keep himself and his party afloat.

Kimberley Process: Zimbabwe diamond sale 'approval' row

2011-06-27T14:17:00.000+02:00

24 June 2011 Last updated at 19:06 GMT

A row has broken out over reports that Zimbabwe has been allowed to sell diamonds from its rich Marange mines.

A statement by the current chair of the Kimberley Process - the industry's main certification system - appears to allow exports to resume.
However, the US, the EU and other groups signed up to the process insist that no consensus had been reached at a meeting in Kinshasa.
All Kimberley decisions are supposed to be consensus-based.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13902146

Watching the Murder of an Innocent Man

2011-06-20T17:16:00.000+02:00

By BARRY BEARAK

As the restless mob milled about, a 26-year-old Zimbabwean immigrant named Farai Kujirichita emerged from one of the narrow passageways that led to the field. He was wearing a carefully pressed, lilac-colored shirt and talking into his cellphone. By then, many people were coming and going; his arrival was nothing remarkable. And yet some men from the crowd confronted him.

“Who are you talking to?” they wanted to know. “Who are you warning?”

Then came a more complicated question. “Where are you from?”

WFDB urges KP to kickstart Zimbabwe diamond trade

2011-06-01T10:19:00.000+02:00

May 31, 2011

WFDB president Avi Paz has made a strong plea to the Kimberley Process.

The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has called on the members of the Kimberley Process (KP) to allow Zimbabwe to export rough diamonds from all diamond mining areas in the country, including Marange.

WFDB has made a plea for the KP members "to resolve their internal disagreements on the issue of rough diamond exports from Zimbabwe, and without any further delay take the essential and courageous decision to allow Zimbabwe to export rough diamonds".

WFDB president Avi Paz said: "The KP, due to the deadlock in its decision-making process and its experts' ensuing indecision to allow rough diamond exports from Zimbabwe to resume, is about to cause irreparable damage throughout the entire to supply pipeline of our industry and trade, and threatens the livelihood of literally millions of people throughout the international diamond and jewellery sector."

He went on to say that by failing to make a decision the KP "bears direct responsibility, not only for the reputational damage done to the diamond and jewellery sector, but also for a significant part of the economic hardship that continues to befall the people of Zimbabwe".

Headded: "While the diamond industry and trade is in a position to contribute to the betterment of many Zimbabwean citizens, the inaction of the KP, its members and its experts is now the major stumbling block toward real progress. In addition, if the KP remains indecisive on ZIM, there is a real danger that the relevance of the KP itself will be at stake."

Despite these strong words, Paz was quick to point out that he had instructed all members of the WFDB to continue to follow the KP's and the WFDB's clear directives not to trade in rough diamonds without the proper KP certification.

Paz said: "The KP members and experts need to come and face reality and resolve the ZIM issue once and for all. I urge them to do so soonest."

http://www.professionaljeweller.com/article-9470-wfdb-urges-kp-to-kickstart-zimbabwe-diamond-trade/

Zimbabwean activist refuses to bend under Mugabe’s rule

2011-06-01T10:01:00.001+02:00

Jenni Williams has no love for Robert Mugabe.

The protests that Ms. Williams has organized against the policies of Zimbabwe’s megalomaniac President have landed her behind bars “37 or 38 times, it’s difficult to keep track,” she said with a quick smile during an interview Tuesday at the Ottawa headquarters of Amnesty International.

As the founder of the underground group Women of Zimbabwe Arise, Ms. Williams holds Mr. Mugabe “directly accountable” for the repressive laws and the desperate poverty that mark life in her East African country. “Mugabe is also directly accountable for the violence he perpetrates on the nation,” she said. “He even brags about it. He said, ‘I have degrees in violence.’”

But the 49-year-old activist also fears what could come next.

Mr. Mugabe, who has held power for more than three decades, is 87years old and there are persistent rumours that his health is failing. He has not named a successor. And if that does not happen, “we may have a civil war in Zimbabwe. It’s a reality,” Ms. Williams said. “It frightens me terribly.”

Already there are others within Mr. Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party who are positioning themselves to become leader when the job becomes vacant.

“They have these youth that they have propagandized and quite often they are high on drugs and they [the political leaders] will use this youth militia to put fear in the nation,” Ms. Williams said. There are also allegations that a recently discovered diamond field is being used to enhance the military capabilities of the presidential hopefuls.

“It’s warlordism being put in place in case he doesn’t name a successor,” she said. “Then they will have to fight it out to see who wins.”

Gun battles would be waged in the streets of a country already crippled by hunger, poverty and violence, Ms. Williams said.

If that happens, her own grown children and her husband would be safe. They have all moved to Britain. But Ms. Williams refuses to leave the place where she was born.

Despite her numerous arrests, she is in Canada only to deliver a speech to mark Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary and will return to Zimbabwe when the brief visit ends. She credits the work of the international human rights group for the fact that she and her colleagues are still alive.

Ms. Williams is of mixed race – her maternal grandfather was a member of the Irish Republican Army who married an African. Her father was black.

She ran a public-relations company until 2000 when the reforms of Mr. Mugabe removed white farmers from their land. The police harassment that followed made it impossible for her to continue in business. At the same time, repressive laws were being enacted, violence was increasing, and 98 per cent of Zimbabweans could not find jobs.

“So we found like-minded women and we started to consult and discuss what could be done,” she said. “We felt that, as women, if we don’t speak out, if we just sit in our homes crying and doing nothing, life is going to pass us by and it’s going to get worse. We said let’s go out in the street, do something non-violent, do something to hold our government accountable.”

The result has been nine years of peaceful protests – and nine years of arrests and abductions and torture. But the organization now has 80,000 members and is a force to be reckoned with.

There is some hope that the country’s new constitution will bring in the kinds of checks and balances that will make Mr. Mugabe’s successor more accountable, Ms. Williams said.

But there will be a long period of uncertainty until the new president is in place. And if the situation gets worse, Ms. Williams said she will not leave.

“I can’t imagine myself living anywhere else,” she said. “If it descends into civil war, I am there to make it better.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/zimbabwean-activist-refuses-to-bend-under-mugabes-rule/article2042283/

Gwisai Bemoans Torture As Muchadehama Challenges Remand

2011-02-25T12:38:00.002+01:00

HRDs Alert

24 February 2011

GWISAI BEMOANS TORTURE AS MUCHADEHAMA CHALLENGES PLACEMENT OF ACTIVISTS ON REMAND

Detained social justice activist Munyaradzi Gwisai on Thursday 24 February 2011 lamented the torture sessions to which suspects are subjected by state security agents as tragic and inexpressible.Gwisai, who testified before Harare Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi during an application for refusal of placement on remand for the 45 human rights activists filed by defence lawyer Alec Muchadehama disclosed in court that he, together with other activists, were subjected to torture sessions during their detention by the police at Harare Central Police Station.Gwisai said the torture sessions were aimed at securing confessions from the activists which would implicate them in the commission of treason, a charge which they are facing in court.In narrating his ordeal, Gwisai said he was tortured together with five other detainees in a room in the basement at Harare Central Police Station by nine state security agents who included some police officers who had arrested them.During the torture sessions, which were recorded on video, the detainees were asked to recount what had transpired during their meeting which was held on Saturday 19 February 2011 in central Harare.

Gwisai said each of the six detainees received a series of lashes which were administered while they lay down on their stomachs. He added that he received between 15 and 20 lashes as the police and his tormentors sought to obtain confessions from him and the other detainees.Gwisai said the pain which he endured and suffered as a result of the torture sessions was “indescribable, sadistic and a tragedy for Zimbabwe”.

The University of Zimbabwe labour law lecturer said it was extremely difficult for him to sit and walk because of the torture sessions he underwent together with other detainees.Gwisai said the meeting held on Saturday was held to discuss ISO business and issues of democracy and constitutionalism and not to plot the toppling of the government as alleged by the police and prosecutors. He added that the meeting which was attended by HIV/AIDS activists was also meant to commemorate the life of a deceased HIV and AIDS activist, Navigator Mungoni.

Earlier on Muchadehama outlined the detainees’ complaints against the police.The detainees’ lawyer said the arrest of his clients was unlawful as they were not advised of the reason/s for their arrest. He also advised that they were over-detained in filthy and stinking police cells. He said the detainees only knew of the treason charge when they finally appeared in court on Wednesday 23 February 2011 and no warned and cautioned statements were recorded in relation to the treason charge.Muchadehama told the court that the police extensively subjected his clients to severe interrogation sessions where they attempted to coax some of the detainees to turn against their colleagues and be considered State witnesses.

He said some of the detainees were assaulted, brutalised and tortured while in police custody. The defence lawyer said the torture sessions were administered through assaults all over the detainees’ bodies, under their feet and buttocks through the use of broomsticks, metal rods, pieces of timber, open palms and some blunt objects.In his application for refusal of remand Muchadehama argued that the facts as outlined by the State did not constitute the commission of an offence.

The matter continues on Monday 28 February 2011 when prosecutor Edmore Nyazamba, who applied for the placement of the detainees on remand, cross examines Gwisai. In the meantime, all 45 will remain incarcerated in remand prison in Harare and at Chikurubi Women’s Prison for the women detainees.

ENDS

Kumbirai Mafunda

Senior Projects Officer

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)

6th Floor Beverley Court

100 Nelson Mandela Av

Harare

Zimbabwe Tel: +263 4 705 370/ 708118/ 764085Fax: +263 4 705641Mobile: +263 91 3 855 611

Email: kumbi@zlhr.org.zw info@zlhr.org.zw kmafunda@yahoo.co.uk

http://www.zlhr.org.zw/

“We Need Generational Change”

Anglican Bishops fearful after brutal murder and death threats

2011-02-22T15:01:00.001+01:00

By Irene Madongo
21 February 2011

Anglican bishops in Zimbabwe are appealing for protection, after being warned of plans to kill them as a power struggle with a rival pro-ZANU PF bishop deepens. Their plea for help comes after one of their church members was brutally murdered last week.

It is believed the violence against the clergymen is being orchestrated by the controversial faction of the Anglican Church led by Dr. Nolbert Kunonga, an ardent ZANU PF supporter.
On Monday, the Right Reverend Chad Gandiya, who is the current Bishop of Harare, told SW Radio Africa: “One of my fellow bishops was approached by two people who told him that they had come to kill him and that the mission is to kill all the Anglican bishops; and that is why I said we are an endangered species because from that conversation with my colleagues we are all to be killed.”
“All he was told was this had something to do with the church and that we were stumbling blocks to Dr. Kunonga’s ambition of running the whole Anglican church in Zimbabwe,” Gandiya said.

Just days after the threats a member of the mainstream church headed by Gandiya was brutally murdered last week.
“People came at night on a Friday. They raped her, they cut her mouth and genitals, and pierced various parts of her body,” Gandiya explained, “we were told it is something to do with the fact she belonged to our church, and so that leaves us to speculate.”
Gandiya emphasised it was not linked to the ongoing political violence, saying instead that he believed it was linked to the dispute between Kunonga and the mainstream church.

Following the killing and death threats, Gandiya said that he hoped the police would step in this time to offer them help. On previous occasions, the police have protected Kunonga, going to the extent of following his instructions to turn people away from church, who don’t support him.
“My hope is that they will do their work in terms of protecting all the citizens of Zimbabwe without singling us out as people who are not to be protected,” he said, “our experience has been that we have not enjoyed the protection of the police. Rather the very opposite, they stop us from going into our churches,” he said.

In 2007 Kunonga lost a bid for re-election as Bishop of Harare. Instead of stepping down, he went on to form a rival Anglican faction and has been using violent tactics to remain in power ever since.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Stop harassment of Mugabe critics - churches

2011-02-13T21:03:00.000+01:00

February 13 2011 at 07:50pm

Zimbabwean churches demanded a meeting with the police commissioner to ask him to end what they said was the harassment of those who had been driven from their homes by gangs loyal to President Robert Mugabe. Photo: AP

Harare - Zimbabwean churches on Sunday demanded a meeting with the police commissioner to ask him to end what they said was the harassment of those who had been driven from their homes by gangs loyal to President Robert Mugabe.

The last three weeks has seen a surge in the number of attacks in the capital, Harare, on supporters of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The premier says more than 1,000 people have been displaced by the violence.

Observers have said the attacks are directly linked to Mugabe's threat to call early elections this year. The two-year-old, power- sharing government led by Mugabe and Tsvangirai is close to collapse due to disagreements over political reform.

The Christian Alliance, an umbrella group for most of the country's Protestant churches, said Sunday that police had last week twice raided a church property in Harare where people accused of being Tsvangirai supporters and driven from their homes had found shelter.

In the town of Glen Norah, police raided and assaulted about 100 people sheltering in another church property, activists group Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said.

The Christian Alliance said it was seeking an audience with police commissioner Augustine Chihuri to protest the alleged violence.

Earlier this month, a mob of youth marched from the offices of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party to Harare's business district, attacking foreigners and looting foreign-run businesses, whom they accused of destroying the economy.

At the end of January, an independent watchdog, the Southern African Coalition for Survivors of Torture, also warned of increasing incidents of political brutality and violent intimidation by militias under Mugabe's control.

Meanwhile on Sunday, state media reported that Mugabe had flown to Singapore on Friday for a check-up following an earlier operation there to remove a cataract.

The government in January denied press reports that Mugabe was ill and had undergone surgery in the Far East. - Sapa-dpa

Student Activist Abducted

2011-02-09T11:46:00.003+01:00

09/02/11

A student activist Archford Mudzengi was this afternoon abducted by suspected ZANU-PF youths in Mbare following suspicions that he had gone to fuel the disturbances currently engulfing Mbare. ZANU PF youths have virtually made Mbare a no go area as violence intensifies ahead of possible elections this year. Mudzengi is alleged to have been beaten up then detained by the road side before being taken away.

The last week has seen political turmoil with the MDC-T offices in Mbare being raided and trashed by ZANU-PF youths. Women and children suspected to be supporters of the MDC have been displaced from Mbare and are now in hiding fearing further victimization. The violence is fast evolving into political chaos as ZANU-PF youths are now on the rampage carrying out ruthless attacks on opposition members. So intense is the level of unrest that the usually silent Joint Monitoring Implementation Committee JOMIC held a crisis meeting and provincial chairpersons of the three parties to the global political agreement have called for calm. According to the MDC-T spokes person Nelson Chamisa, more than 1000 families have been displaced from Mbare and the surrounding areas in the past two weeks. The Student Solidarity Trust demands the immediate release of Archford Mudzengi and that the perpetrators of these abductions be prosecuted. The trust is concerned about the rate at which political unrest is unfolding in the country and the risk this poses to students who have been viewed as sympathetic to the opposition in the past.

Police action disturbs Bishop

2011-01-31T15:45:00.000+01:00

By Staff Reporter
Saturday, 29 January 2011 17:53

HARARE - Bishop Chad Gandiya, head of the Church Province of Central Africa (CPCA) has expressed deep concern over a fresh order that gives the police power to restrict CPCA members from within a 200 metre radius of any of their Anglican church buildings. In his latest pastoral letter dated January 21 to the Anglican congregation , Bishop Gandiya, whose church is at war with the faction led by Bishop Nolbert Kunonga said he is “deeply disturbed by the prolonged suffering of our people at the hands of the police who continue to claim to be receiving orders ‘from above’ to prevent us from using our church buildings.”The Bishop said he was disturbed that on 16 January this year, police accompanied by two priests from Bishop Kunonga’s faction harassed CPCA parishioners who were attending a church service at the St Andrews Church in Chipadze, Bindura.He said the priests claimed that they had court orders to evict the CPCA church members from the church buildings but they could not produce them.

Bishop Kunonga’s faction, which defected from the main church a few years ago, continues to defy a High Court ruling that the two factions should share the church properties.An interim High Court order was issued on 4 June 2010 by High Court Judge Justice Mavangira saying the two factions must share the church properties pending the resolution of the matter in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is yet to make its ruling.Members of the Bishop Gandiya faction continue to be harassed by members of the Bishop Kunonga faction and many are attending church services in buildings belonging to other churches like the Catholic and Methodist for fear of being beaten up.Bishop Kunonga is a strong Zanu PF supporter who has benefitted from the land reform programme.

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/news/34-news/1553-police-action-disturbs-bishop.html

Biti sounds warning over Zim elections

2011-01-20T15:01:00.002+01:00

JOSHUA HOWAT BERGER JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Jan 20 2011 07:08

Zimbabwe's finance minister warned on Wednesday that his country could face a "bloodbath" at elections this year and urged the international community to do more to prevent crises in Africa.

Tendai Biti, a former opposition stalwart who has helped bring Zimbabwe's economy back from the brink of collapse, warned of "disastrous, debilitating consequences" if there is a repeat of the violent, contested elections of 2008."The tell-tale signs are already there that you could have another bloodbath," he told Agence France-Press (AFP) on the margins of a global poverty forum in Johannesburg."What is required is pro-activeness to prevent quite clearly a foreseeable situation," he said, alluding to the need for foreign states to step in.Stand-offPresident Robert Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since 1980, has called for new elections this year, saying the tense power-sharing government formed after the 2008 vote is no longer working.

Biti's party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and Mugabe's Zanu-PF formed a coalition government in 2009 after a violent presidential poll that saw MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdraw from the race, citing violence against his supporters.The stand-off ground the country to a halt and sparked an economic crisis that saw hyperinflation reach world record levels of billions of percent.Biti, who told AFP he inherited "the worst job in the world" as finance minister, oversaw an economic overhaul in which the country ditched its inflation-ravaged currency and adopted the US dollar.The move helped bring inflation down to a figure of 3,2% last month.However, Biti warned of a return to economic crisis if new elections unleash fresh violence or if Zimbabweans see them as unfair."If citizens feel that this is not an election, this is a sham and an excuse for assaulting us or torturing us, of killing us, of destroying our livestock, there will be capital flight, there will be physical flight across the border," he said."If that is the case, yes, there will be disastrous, debilitating consequences. All the work we have done, all the construction we have done, will dissipate ... in seconds."'International institutions have failed Africa'

Biti also criticised the international community for reacting late to developing crises in Africa, and urged the United Nations, the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to prepare for the possibility of a fresh crisis in Zimbabwe."International institutions have failed Africa. They are reactive. They wait for crises to happen," he said, citing the current political stand-off in Côte d'Ivoire as an example."

What is required is pro-activeness to prevent quite clearly a foreseeable situation," he said.A poll published on January 5 showed that 70% of Zimbabweans want elections this year, but less than half the electorate believed such polls would be free and fair.One in seven also feared election campaign intimidation or violence, which characterised the 2008 vote, amid slipping confidence in the unity government.The Afrobarometer survey questioned 1 192 citizens across Zimbabwe in October last year. --

Sapa-AFP
Source: Mail & Guardian OnlineWeb Address: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2011-01-20-biti-sounds-warning-over-zim-elections

Pastoral Letter of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference 2011

2011-01-18T12:32:00.000+01:00

Click here to read Pastoral Letter of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference 2011

courtesy (www.zimbabwesituation.com )

First certify pre-poll conditions …. ZESN tells SADC

2010-12-06T16:10:00.001+01:00

Saturday, 04 December 2010 13:41

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s largest independent election monitoring group says the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other organisations should deploy advance teams to certify if the present political conditions in the country are conducive for the holding of free and fair polls next year. The Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (ZESN) said advance monitoringteams should be deployed “now to assess the political environment” and should remain in the country at least a month after the polls toensure there are no post-election skirmishes as happened two years ago.The polls should only go ahead after the advance parties have certified the climate conducive for the unfettered participation of all stakeholders.

Swiss Church Group criticizes certification of Zimbabwean diamonds

2010-11-26T11:54:00.002+01:00

Bread for All criticizes the certification of Zimbabwean diamonds

Lausanne, 25 November 2010 Press Communiqué

Numerous human rights violations are being committed in Zimbabwe’s diamond mines by state security forces. Bread for All (Switzerland) is calling on the Government of Switzerland, as a member of the Kimberley Process, to demand the exclusion of Zimbabwean diamonds from the Kimberly Process (KP) which certifies diamonds for international trade. The Swiss Government must also call on the Kimberley Process to broaden the definition of blood diamonds to include diamonds originating from areas where human rights violations are committed by government forces.

Zimbabwe is one of the world’s biggest producers of rough diamonds. Marange district, eastern Zimbabwe, experienced a diamond rush in 2006 with the invasion of more than 30 000 illegal miners. The Geneva-based Zimbabwe Advocacy Office, a partner of Bread for All, reports that several human rights violations have been committed in Zimbabwe’s diamond mines by state security forces.

In October 2008, the Government of Zimbabwe deployed its army in order to control the region. During the military operation more that 200 miners and villagers were killed according to a Human Rights Watch report.[1] Since the military’s installation around the diamond fields, human rights are being committed frequently, notably, forced labour, child labour, torture, beatings and abductions. In addition, soldiers are reportedly forcing miners to work for them and smuggle diamonds.

Certification despite human rights violations

Zimbabwe is a member of the Kimberley Process, an organization that brings together governments, businesses, and civil society with the goal of regulating international trade in diamonds in order to combat “blood diamonds”, that is to say diamonds that serve to finance wars of rebel groups against governments. In November 2009, the KP suspended sale of Marange diamonds. In July 2010, after two missions of enquiry, the KP adjudged that Zimbabwe had met “the minimum criteria of the certification process for selling its uncut diamonds”, since diamond sales do not finance rebel groups. Zimbabwe was therefore authorized to hold a first diamond auction to international buyers in August 2010. Rapaport, a leading diamond brokerage company based in the US, immediately announced that it would not purchase Marange diamonds due to their connection with serious human rights violations.

Strict certification criteria is necessary

Currently the production of diamonds is not going towards national development as the diamond trade is being controlled by an army under the heel of President Mugabe. This situation is all the more alarming in that Zimbabwe suffers from widespread hunger and a severe economic crisis.

Bread for All therefore makes the following recommendations:

To the Government of Switzerland:

As a member of the Kimberley Process, Switzerland should request that Zimbabwean diamonds be excluded from KP Certification Scheme.
The Swiss Government should ask the KP to include in its criteria for ‘blood diamonds’, the human rights violations committed by the government forces (not only by the rebel groups).

To the Diamond Sector:

Refuse transactions on Zimbabwean diamonds, as long as the human rights situation does not improve.

To Swiss Consumers:
Make enquiries with jewelers on origin of the diamonds and refuse to buy those originating from Zimbabwe.

For more information:
Yvan Maillard Ardenti
Programme Officer, Finance and Corruption
Phone: 031 380 65 73 or 079 267 0109

http://www.ppp.ch/fr/francais/archivesgenerales/single-news/article/46/264/

[1] Human Rights Watch, ‘Deliberate Chaos, Ongoing Human Rights Abuses in the Marange Diamond Fields of Zimbabwe’, New York, June 2010

SADC: Urgently Deploy GPA Monitors to Zimbabwe

2010-11-25T12:31:00.002+01:00

Gaborone, 23 November 2010

On November 22, 2010, a delegation from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition held a positive and progressive meeting with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat Executive Secretary, Dr. Tomaz A. Salomao in Gaborone, Botswana. The meeting focused on SADC’s role in efforts to find a lasting solution to Zimbabwe’s political conflict and clarify the sub-regional position on elections and the lifespan of the coalition government as the guarantors of the Global Political Agreement between. We acknowledge and appreciate this valuable engagement with Dr. Salomao and his team and look forward to continued engagement.
We wish to reiterate our call to action for SADC to urgently:
1. Deploy SADC monitors to Zimbabwe to comprehensively assess and ensure the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) for restoration of political stability, peace and human security paving the way for Zimbabwe to hold credible elections;

2. Ensure that the SADC Monitors particularly focus on pushing the political parties in Zimbabwe to create a conducive environment for the holding of democratic elections that are free from violence and intimidation and where the people of Zimbabwe can genuinely and freely express their will;

3. Indicate categorically that elections will only be held after SADC and the African Union - as guarantors of the GPA – make an independent assessment of conditions on the ground and certify that the environment is conducive and that necessary institutional and legislative reforms have taken place to allow for an election that meets SADC standards on the conduct of democratic elections. This includes ensuring that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is fully capable (technically and financially) of managing and delivering a convincing election which will lead to a peaceful transfer of power; that there is a clean and updated voters’ roll whose compilation should be the responsibility of ZEC and not the partisan Registrar-General; that Zimbabweans in the Diaspora have a right to vote; and that soldiers return to the barracks and play no part in electoral affairs;

4. Provide for SADC, AU and UN election monitors to be deployed to Zimbabwe at least six months before any election is held and to maintain such monitors for at least another three months after the conclusion of elections in order to prevent violence and intimidation and;

5. Push the political principals in Zimbabwe to genuinely commit to finding a lasting solution to the political conflict thereby creating fertile conditions for economic and social development. Without a solid foundation of political stability and peace, any improvements in the economy will not be sustainable;

6. That all the parties should agree on regional and international observers that should be invited to monitor the elections. The minister of Foreign affairs should only invite foreign observers that have been agreed to by all the parties represented in the coalition government.
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition works to promote democracy, socio-economic development, peace and security in Zimbabwe and across southern Africa.

For more information please contact:
Crisis In Zimbabwe Coalition Regional Coordinator: coordinator@crisiszimbabwe.org

EU banks blacklist Zimbabwe over sanctions

2010-10-18T15:22:00.000+02:00

18/10/2010 00:00:00
	by Business Reporter

TWO major European banks -- Antwerp Diamond Bank (ADB) and ABN Amro -- have refused to conduct any diamond transactions with Zimbabwe, reports said Monday.

The banks' decision became public at the second day of the Mines to Market international diamond industry conference in Mumbai, India, which Zimbabwe's Mines Minister Obert Mpofu attended.

Both banks said that their decision was prompted by concern for their reputations in light of ongoing controversy surrounding alleged human rights abuses in Zimbabwe's diamond fields.

Controversially, they also cited European Union sanctions on the country which the EU has been desperate to project as not financially prejudicial to Zimbabwe’s economy but “targeted” at President Robert Mugabe and over 100 his senior officials accused of human rights abuses.

An international embargo on Zimbabwe diamonds is in place, although in September the Kimberley Process allowed the country to export two small parcels of diamonds provided it allowed full access to diamond mining sites by its monitors.

ADB Executive Committee Chairman Pierre de Bosscher stated that Zimbabwe's "ethical standards must improve" and that his institution would not deal with the country so long as it remained under European sanctions.

De Bosscher stressed that his bank would also avoid indirect diamond transactions, stressing that such a course of action hurt the transparency of the diamond industry.

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/business-3582-EU+banks+blacklist+Zim+over+sanctions/business.aspx

Tsvangirai: 'Zimbabwe's conflict will end with credible election'

2010-09-24T15:07:00.000+02:00

Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) -- Zimbabwe's long-standing political conflict will not be resolved unless a fair election takes place, says Morgan Tsvangirai, the country's prime minister.

Speaking to CNN's Robyn Curnow from Johannesburg, Tsvangirai said: "The country will not move forward unless you have a credible and a legitimate election, so we have to get that mandate."

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/09/21/morgan.tsvangirai.zimbabwe/

Zimbabwe back to the polls next year

2010-09-21T13:43:00.000+02:00

Sep 19, 2010 12:00 AM | By ZOLI MANGENA

Zimbabwe's cabinet this week unanimously agreed that fresh elections would be held next year amid opposition from a wide cross-section of Zimbabweans.

This came as South African President Jacob Zuma met Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to discuss the issue of elections.

Insiders said Zuma and Tsvangirai discussed how to ensure free and fair elections to avoid a disputed outcome.

Zuma, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediator in Zimbabwe, and his colleagues in the region view elections as the only way out for Zimbabwe, which has been locked in a political stalemate for a decade.

Informed government insiders said the cabinet on Tuesday resolved that elections would be held next year after finance minister Tendai Biti presented his budget principles and guidelines to the cabinet.

"The issue of elections arose in the context of Biti making a presentation on the budget. He raised the issue and informed cabinet that the political principals had directed him to budget $200-million for elections, and cabinet had approved it," said a minister.

"So, as a result, it is now formal policy that elections will be coming next year. We will start with the referendum on the draft constitution, which will cost$100-million and then follow with national elections, which will also need $100-million."

The Sunday Times could not get comment from the government because Mugabe's cabinet has resolved to arrest ministers who leak confidential information.

Said a minister: "Cabinet approved the elections, but some of us don't want them. It's not necessary at the moment to subject the country and the people to a process which we all know will bring back political tensions and confrontation.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/Politics/article665569.ece/Zimbabwe-back-to-the-polls-next-year

Breaking news from Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

2010-09-20T14:31:00.000+02:00

WOZA and MOZA commemorate International Peace Day with street protest in Harare
20 September 2010

AT noon today, 600 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe marched to
Parliament in Harare to mark International Peace Day. It is believed
60 members are under arrest at Harare Central Police Station. 25
members were arrested and taken to Harare Central Police Station. 35
more handed themselves in in solidarity after marching from Parliament
to Harare Central. The total arrested is believed to be 60.

The aim of the peaceful protest was to highlight community safety
issues and police behavior in communities. When the peaceful group
arrived at Parliament, they handed over a list of demands for members
of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Police Commissioner and the
co-Ministers of Home Affairs to police officers stationed outside
Parliament. The full list of demands can also be found on our website.

Two members addressed the peaceful group outside Parliament explaining
that tomorrow (21st September) is International Peace Day and using
the example of the violence at COPAC consultations over the weekend to
illustrate how Zimbabweans have little experience of peace. They
called on the Zimbabwe Republic Police to allow Zimbabweans to be able
to give their views of what they want in a new Constitution without
violence and called on police to arrest those that threatened others
or used violence.

Bystanders were overheard supporting the protestors – commenting on
the violence shown by police officers in recent weeks and how police
officers should be ashamed of themselves for not being the ones to
keep the peace.

WOZA members have been worried about the performance and
professionalism of our police officers for some time. As a result,
WOZA has observed their behavior in select communities in Bulawayo and
Harare for four months.

WOZA members observed police officers beating suspects in public;
harassing vendors and taking their goods for their own use, without
any receipting; demanding and accepting bribes, both in public and at
police stations; drinking in uniform in public, sometimes stopping to
drink while escorting suspects who will be under arrest and making
people under arrest ‘run’ in front of their motor bikes and/or horses
to the police station. In Bulawayo, many police officers refuse to
respond to citizens’ complaints if they speak in the Ndebele language,
insisting they speak in Shona.

75% of people whose rights were violated during arrest reported
damages, injuries and or loss of property. These incidents are common
when one is arrested by the plain-clothed and municipal police.

A more detailed account of our findings can be found on our website at
www.wozazimbabwe.org but the investigations done during the four
months is just a small part of what is happening and are a reflection
of a poor relationship between police and the community. It is clear
that police officers routinely violate human rights and do not follow
proper protocols of arrest and detention. In this regard, they are not
following the Zimbabwe Police Act, the ZRP Service Charter and ZRP
Service Standards as well as regional and international standards and
instruments.

Please phone Harare Central Police Station on +263 4 777777 to demand
that the WOZA activists be released immediately.

Ends
20th September 2010

For more information, please call Jenni Williams on +263 912 898 110 /
+263 11 213 885, Magodonga Mahlangu on +263 912 362 or Annie Sibanda
on +27 79 188 1560. Email info@wozazimbabwe.org or visit
www.wozazimbabwe.org. You can also follow us on Twitter at
twitter.com/wozazimbabwe or find us on Facebook.

Diamonds sharpen Zimbabwe power struggle

2010-09-20T10:39:00.002+02:00

Zimbabwe’s generals are accumulating a secret slush fund from diamond sales, a campaign group claims. Diplomats fear the vast mines put the army in a powerful position to dictate the terms of succession after the death of Robert Mugabe.

The warning comes days after Zimbabwe’s pro-democracy prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, appealed to lower ranked army and police not to participate in any coup against the constitutional order when Mr Mugabe, 86, finally dies.

The military’s control over the vast Marange fields — the source of a quarter of the world’s diamonds — has become an important factor in the future of Zimbabwe.

Read More
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/8012481/Diamonds-sharpen-Zimbabwe-power-struggle.html

Zim to probe rights abuses

2010-09-14T16:15:00.000+02:00

Tuesday 14 September 2010

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s unity government has agreed to probe human rights abuses committed after December 2008, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Monday, effectively ruling out investigating gross abuses committed since independence or before.

Chinamasa said the government would soon table in Parliament a Bill that will empower the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to probe human rights abuses committed after enactment of Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 19.

The amendment that paved the way for the creation of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s coalition government last year was enacted in December 2008

Chinamasa said: “This commission will not investigate the alleged violations which occurred before the enactment of the amendment number 19 unless the violations have continued after the enactment but anything that happened before they will not have power to investigate."

The Justice Minister said the commission will investigate “ everybody, every individual, corporates and institutions no one is going to be above scrutiny.”

Chinamasa said the commission will visit and inspect prisons, places of detention, refugee camps and related facilities “to ascertain the conditions under which inmates are kept there, and to make recommendations regarding those conditions to the minister responsible for administering the law.”

But it is the coalition Cabinet’s decision not to probe rights violations prior to December 2008 that will infuriate many Zimbabweans including many of Tsvangirai’s supporters in his MDC party and in civil society.

MDC members, including Tsvangirai himself, have borne the brunt of organised political violence from security forces and Mugabe’s supporters since 2000 with several hundreds killed while many more have been uprooted from their homes by war veterans and youth militia loyal to the veteran leader.

But the violence climaxed in the run-up to a presidential run-off election in June 2008 when Mugabe sought to reverse his first ever electoral defeat by Tsvangirai in the first round of the poll.

Known senior security officers led ZANU-PF loyalists on a campaign that left 200 opposition supporters dead and even shocked other neutral African leaders.

And while human rights groups and Western governments began focusing serious attention on rights abuses by Mugabe only in the last 10 years after he began seizing white-owned farms, the Zimbabwean leader is accused of trampling upon the rights of opponents with his Gukurahundi military campaign launched barely three years after taking over power at independence from Britain in 1980.

Gukurahundi was launched ostensibly to crackdown on armed dissidents in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces dominated by the Ndebeles who were the main backers of the then opposition PF-ZAPU party.

Analysts say the real purpose of the onslaught by the army’s North Korean-trained 5th Brigade was to demolish PF-ZAPU’s support base.

At least 20 000 innocent civilians were reportedly killed, some of them by having their stomachs prised open by soldiers while others were rounded up into huts and set on fire.

A government commission probed the atrocities but the results of the probe have never been made public.

Zimbabwe’s rights commission was sworn into office last year and is chaired by Reginald Austin, a law professor and former head of the legal affairs division of the Commonwealth.

The commission consists of the chairperson and eight other commissioners, but the constitution is silent on the position of the deputy.

The Bill seeks to provide for the position of deputy chairperson which shall be occupied by a person of the opposite sex to the chairperson, Chinamasa said.

The rights commission is part of several commissions formed by Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government as part of a raft of reforms meant to reshape and democratise the country’s politics.

The other commissions include the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. – ZimOnline.

http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=6339

'Stop using students as political tools,' says Zimbabwe student

2010-09-06T11:23:00.000+02:00

By Munyaradzi Makoni
Windhoek, 26 August (ENI)--Young people should not be used as tools for political violence in Southern Africa, says Innocent Kasiyano, coordinator of the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe.

"It is a sad trend that youths are used as tools of political violence, and agents to instil fear in communities. That must be stopped," Kasiyano told ENInews.

The SCM official was speaking during the Sixth People's Summit, organized by the Solidarity People's Network, and held from 15 to 16 August at the Catholic Cathedral Hall in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.

In Zimbabwe, the youth wing of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, which is in a government of national unity with the Movement for Democratic Change, has faced accusations of having been used to foment fear among those who oppose Zanu-PF, which held power from independence in 1980 until February 2009.

"The participation of youths should not only be limited to lower government structures," said Kasiyano, noting that there is a need to sensitise other youths in the region about their social and economic rights. He said the involvement of young people in decisions of the 14-member Southern African Development Community would help develop new leaders. Kasiyano coordinates 36 SCM branches across Zimbabwe, with about 200 members in each branch.

Holding the Peoples Summit - a gathering of faith groups, civic organisations and trade union members - alongside the 30th SADC heads of States, also meeting in Windhoek, gave the students an opportunity to lobby on a number of issues, said Kasiyano.

"We want the leaders to allow youths bodies to monitor general elections in the region at least two to three months before the actual voting, to prevent violence," he said. He also suggested SADC countries should spend more on young people to fight poverty.

Kasiyano said young people must be part of the national healing process in Zimbabwe. This is also a recommendation of the Global Political Agreement that brought together Zanu-PF and two opposition parties after a period of serious political violence following elections that Mugabe's party lost.

"Young people were used in the violence; they must be fully involved in the national healing process," said Kasiyano, who is a Roman Catholic. He added that national healing is not enough, and called for a justice, truth and reconciliation commission, such as South Africa had after the end of apartheid.

"As part of civil society, we are not a government in waiting but we are there to fight for the voice of the marginalised to be heard," said Kasiyano.

SCM Zimbabwe groups students from 27 tertiary institutions and high schools, and focuses on conflict transformation, peace building initiatives, and leadership training. It has sometimes been strongly critical of what it views as excesses committed by Mugabe and his followers. [474 words]
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More corruption ahead for diamond industry

2010-09-06T11:09:00.000+02:00

By Alex Bell
03 September 2010

Corruption in the already tainted diamond industry is set to deepen, as known ZANU PF aligned businesses are set to venture into diamond processing.

The Affirmative Action Group (AAG) has announced that it has ten members lined up to venture into diamond cutting and polishing, at a multi million dollar diamond plant under construction in Harare. The Zimbabwe Diamond and Technology Centre is set to be fully operational in the next six months, and will be the central hub for Zimbabwe’s diamonds to be cut and polished.

The Centre is being constructed by Canadile Mining, one of the government approved firms illegally mining in Chiadzwa. Once fully completed, the US$20 million centre will have, among other things, banks, a diamond processing college and even insurance firms.On the surface, the Centre has the chance to create massive employment opportunities and lead the way in indeginisation and economic empowerment. But critics are warning that the involvement of the AAG will merely see more corruption take root in the diamond sector.

Commentator Professor John Makumbe told SW Radio Africa on Friday that the public must be concerned that AAG members are being funneled into diamond processing, under the guise of empowerment and indiginisation. Makumbe warned that the AAG is “a well known group of mainly ZANU PF aligned business people,” who have been “looting the economy for several years.”

“It is likely that these groups are flooding into the (Diamond Technology) Centre to have unbridled access to diamonds,” Makumbe said. “The state is unlikely then to benefit significantly from these diamonds until proper legislation is put in place to stop this kind of corruption.”

Zimbabwe is pegged as becoming the number one diamond producer in the world, with a Belgian expert this week saying that the Chiadzwa alluvial fields could produce up to 40 million carats of diamonds a year.
International diamond consultant Fillipe van Laere said, on the sidelines of a ceremony to mark the establishment of the Diamond Technology Centre, that Zimbabwe will be “propelled to the number one spot as the world's most important diamond producer in the next two or three years.”

But there is growing scepticism that any profits from diamonds sales will benefit the state in any significant way, as currently no legislation exists on how diamond profits will be handled. Over the past year US$30 million dollars worth of diamonds were sold illegally, despite a ban on international trade over rampant human rights abuses in Chiadzwa.

Those profits were never seen by the Treasury. Finance Minister Tendai Biti has proposed a Diamond Law, to be debated in parliament, that will try and end corruption in the sector and ensure that diamond proceeds benefit the country. Biti has said that the diamond profits will rescue the shattered economy if they are steered into the State coffers. But there is no policy in place on how this will happen.
SW Radio Africa news

Zimbabwe in top 10 list of food-insecure states

2010-08-26T12:12:00.002+02:00

MERNAT MAFIRAKUREWA | HARARE - Aug 25 2010 21:04

Zimbabwe has been ranked as one of the top 10 countries at “extreme risk” of facing food shortages as a result of extreme weather patterns, high rates of poverty and failing infrastructure, a survey has shown.

According to the Food Security Risk Index 2010, released by international risk analysis and rating firm, Maplecroft, countries in sub-Saharan Africa were found to be particularly vulnerable to food insecurity.

The survey uses 12 criteria developed in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) to calculate the ranking.

The criteria used include: the nutritional and health status of populations, cereal production and imports, GDP per capita, natural disasters, conflict, and the effectiveness of government.

Afghanistan is rated as least secure in food supplies, while among African nations, the Democratic Republic of Congo (2), Burundi (3), Eritrea (4), Sudan (5), Ethiopia (6), Angola (7), Liberia (8), Chad (9) and Zimbabwe (10) are also considered as “extreme risk” cases.

A total of 163 countries were surveyed.

In all, African nations make up 36 of the 50 nations most at risk in the index.

“Russian brakes on exports, plus a reduction in Canada’s harvest by almost a quarter due to flooding in June, are provoking fluctuations in the commodity markets. This will further affect the food security of the most vulnerable countries,” said Fiona Place, environmental analyst at Maplecroft.

Recent figures by the Food and Agriculture Organisation indicate that nearly 1,7 million Zimbabweans would require food assistance in the 2010/11 season despite the recent recovery of the country’s troubled agriculture sector.

Professor Alyson Warhurst, CEO of Maplecroft, said:
“Food security is a critical geopolitical issue and an important factor for investors concerned with sovereign risk, food and agricultural business with respect to supply chain integrity and foreign direct investments.”

Warhurst said climate change was having a profound effect on global food security.

Zimbabwe, once the region’s breadbasket, is now a net importer of food from countries that it used to export to as a result of the chaotic land reform masterminded by President Robert Mugabe’s government.

The Food Security Risk Index is one component of Maplecroft’s resource security series of indices, which also encompass water security, energy security and a combined index for overall resource security.

http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-08-25-zimbabwe-in-top-10-list-of-foodinsecure-states

UN: 1,7-million Zimbabweans need food aid

2010-08-10T14:02:00.000+02:00

HARARE, ZIMBABWE Aug 10 2010 13:35

Nearly 1,7-million Zimbabweans will require food assistance in the 2010/11 season despite the recent recovery of the country's troubled agriculture sector, United Nations agencies said in a report on Tuesday.

Agriculture plumbed new depths in 2008 when farmers produced 500 000 tonnes of the staple maize against national requirements of two million tonnes, but production has since picked up in the past two years to 1,35-million tonnes.

International aid targeting provisions of free seed and fertilisers for farmers in the once famine-threatened country, better use of land, and the end of hyperinflation have led to the improvement in harvests.

"Despite the improved availability of food, up to 1,68-million people will need food assistance because prices remain comparatively high for families with low incomes and little or no access to US dollars or South African rand," co-author Jan Delbaere of the UN World Food Programme said in the report.

Zimbabwe discarded the use of its worthless dollar last year after inflation reached 500-billion percent, but few US dollars or rands circulate in rural areas.

The UN report said general poverty and food insecurity had contributed to increased prevalence of chronic malnutrition in young children.

Once a regional bread basket, Zimbabwe has failed to feed itself since 2000 following President Robert Mugabe's seizure of white-owned commercial farms for black resettlement, leading to sharp falls in production. -- Reuters

Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-08-10-un-17million-zimbabweans-need-food-aid

Civil society demands action from SADC leaders

2010-08-09T14:54:00.001+02:00

By Alex Bell
06 August 2010

Civil society on Friday demanded that leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) take action to prevent state-sponsored violence during the next elections in Zimbabwe.
The call by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition comes ahead of the SADC Summit in Namibia from August 15 – 17, where Zimbabwe’s current political stalemate is set to be debated. The situation fell off the agenda at last month’s African Union (AU) summit in Uganda, despite the stalemate that has blocked any real change in the country.

All the signs are in place for a presidential election to be called next year and ZANU PF has already started electioneering, amid efforts to gather public opinion on a new constitution. But concern is already being expressed that there are no systems in place to prevent a repeat of the 2008 election violence that left hundreds dead and tens of thousands displaced.

The Crisis Coalition is now calling upon SADC and AU leaders, as guarantors of Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement (GPA), to put concrete plans in place to prevent such violence. This includes ensuring that Zimbabwe fully complies with SADC Principles and Guidelines regarding elections, as well as recognising the right of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to vote. The Coalition also wants SADC and AU leaders to “facilitate technical support to the newly appointed Zimbabwe Electoral Commission by more experienced regional electoral bodies, such as the South African Electoral Commission.”
Additionally the Coalition wants Zimbabwe barred from taking up a position in the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security for the duration of the on-going mediation process in Zimbabwe “to preserve the independence of the Organ.”
“Even in Zimbabwe, a player for one side cannot pull on a referee jersey,” the Crisis Coalition said in a statement.

A team from SADC is expected in Zimbabwe in the next two weeks, to review the progress of the unity government. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said over the weekend that the SADC team was expected to consider the ongoing violations of the Global Political Agreement by ZANU PF. It’s also believed he will raise the issue of ZANU PF’s propaganda jingles being played by the state broadcaster, as another critical outstanding issue.

South African President Jacob Zuma, who is the regional bloc’s official mediator in the Zimbabwe political crisis, is expected to brief the summit on the problems bedeviling the unity government. Zuma’s envoy, Mac Maharaj, returned to Zimbabwe this week, reportedly with the aim of “resolving some longstanding and new contentious issues,” in the fragile coalition.

Maharaj was set to meet with negotiators from ZANU PF and both formations of the MDC, although once again no details of these meetings have been made available to the media. The envoy is likely to produce a report that will indicate the next course of action. One of the likely scenarios is that President Zuma will visit Zimbabwe before the SADC summit, to try and encourage more progress.

Meanwhile the SADC Lawyers Association has urged regional heads of state to condemn Zimbabwe's snubbing of a ruling, ordering it to compensate farmers who had their land taken from them during Robert Mugabe’s violent land invasion programme.

"Continued silence on the actions of the Zimbabwean authorities will only help to play in the hands of sceptics who doubt the ability of the regional leaders to deal effectively with the government of Zimbabwe and its leaders," a statement read on Friday.

The group said that when the leaders gather at the forthcoming SADC summit they should take a principled stand on the matter, by condemning the Zimbabwe government. The SADC Tribunal in 2008 ruled that the land grab exercise was unlawful and ordered that the government to protect farmers and their rights to their land. But the government has ignored the order, as well as warnings that it is in contempt of court by doing so.

The association said that a warning to Zimbabwe would be in the interest of regional cohesion and integrity.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

Call For More Donor Funds For Zimbabwe

2010-08-03T16:22:00.001+02:00

02/08/2010 13:24:00

Harare, August 02, 2010 - The United Nations through its Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) will this week ask donors to increase their support to Zimbabwe from the projected US 478 million dollars to half a billion dollars this year, Radio VOP can reveal.

The initial UN Consolidated appeal for Zimbabwe was pegged at US 100 million dollars in November last year. However, the appeal was further increased to US 478 million dollars in July after the UN said the humanitarian situation was fragile.

"Revised requirements thus amount to US$1 478,399,290. This is an increase of some $100 million (or 20%) over the original requirements," the UN said in July.

"The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is still fragile due to the prevailing degradation of infrastructure in the basic sectors of health, water and sanitation, and food security. The country also faces continuing underlying economic and political challenges. As a result, Zimbabwe remains at a crossroads."

Zimbabwe, which has been facing a myriad of problems, which include hyper-inflation, massive food shortages over the years has stabilised after the formation of the unity government by President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Zimbabwe has experienced improvements in the health sector, with hospitals and clinics re-opening last year while the use of multiple currencies stabilised the economy and stemmed inflation.

The CAP was launched by the UN in 1992 in an effort to provide a co-ordinated approach by aid organisations to monitor their activities together.

"It is a tool used by aid organisations to plan, implement and monitor their activities together. Working together in the world's crisis regions, they produce appeals, which they present to the international community and donors," the UN said at the formation of the CAP.

http://news.radiovop.com/index.php/national-news/4293.html

Zim: A second liberation?

2010-08-02T23:18:00.000+02:00

If you are in the 30-plus age bracket, chances are, you will not see Zimbabwe rise again in your lifetime.

Now before you accuse me of being an unfeeling pessimist, I am not by any means suggesting that Zimbabwe will never recover. I am merely asserting that a return to the former glory days is unlikely to be breathtakingly swift.

All indications are the journey to recovery will be painstakingly slow.

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/jeremiahkure/2010/08/01/zim-must-regain-sense-of-outrage-2/

Protect Jewelry Industry from the Taint of Blood Diamonds

2010-03-25T15:40:00.000+01:00

English translation of an op-ed published in the Swiss daily Le Temps on March 18, 2010
Published on Mar 19, 2010 - 9:01:50 AM

By: Human Rights Watch

March 18, 2010 - From March 18 to 25, Basel will be filled with excitement and beauty as nearly 2,000 companies and 100,000 people in the watch and jewelry business in 100 countries gather for BaselWorld, the world's largest jewelry show.

As is well known, the watch and jewelry business is an important commercial sector in Switzerland, which is also planning to develop an international diamond exchange in Geneva.

If Switzerland wants to play an even greater role in the global and domestic jewelry trade, it should demonstrate more leadership in ending the sale and production of "blood diamonds," gems procured in the context of the most severe human rights abuses. It can do so as a member of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, an international group that monitors the diamond trade.

Switzerland, in fact, was a founding member of the Kimberley Process, which was formally established in 2003 by governments, industry, and civil society to provide both jewelers and consumers with guarantees that their diamond purchases were not underwriting grave abuses, particularly by violent rebel groups.

But those abuses continue. In Zimbabwe, for example, a June 2009 Human Rights Watch report exposed a massacre of 200 people, forced labor, beatings, and rape committed by the Zimbabwean military on diamond fields in Marange. Blood diamonds from Marange continue to be smuggled out of Zimbabwe, and, in part because the Kimberley Process has refrained from taking strong action, these stones are entering the showcases of the world's leading jewelers.

The diamond industry and those who buy fine jewelry need a Kimberley Process that works, and that requires stronger leadership by member countries like Switzerland to curtail the continuing abuses in Zimbabwe.

The Kimberley Process has three major weaknesses. First, the group's charter refers to conflict diamonds only in connection with their use by rebel groups to finance wars against legitimate governments. The definition should be expanded so that the Kimberley Process explicitly condemns human rights abuses connected with diamond production, regardless of whether they are committed by governments or rebel armies. Second, there is little independent monitoring of compliance with Kimberley Process rules and few penalties for violations. Third, the group makes decisions by consensus, rather than by voting, which means that it is difficult for well-meaning countries to take action against a member that violates the rules if even one other member votes to block that action.

Thus, despite a harsh report last summer by a Kimberley Process review team about abuses in Marange, the group voted in November not to suspend Zimbabwe from membership. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Russia, South Africa, and Tanzania - all Kimberley Process members - blocked the suspension. Instead, the group voted to allow Zimbabwe to implement an action plan that Zimbabwe itself developed. The plan has not yet resulted in any positive changes on the diamond fields.

As a founding member of the Kimberley Process, and in concert with other members, particularly the European Commission, Canada, the United States, and Israel (the current chair), Switzerland should work to correct Kimberley's deficiencies. More immediately, it should publicly condemn Zimbabwe's abuses and call for tougher action against the country.

Switzerland should also join forces with the jewelry industry here and across the globe to stop the sale of blood diamonds and keep them out of Switzerland, including the tax-free zones at Zurich and Geneva airports. The Swiss government, for example, could require importers to audit and publish their supply chains and conduct spot checks of rough and polished diamonds at customs.

Retailers and wholesalers, in particular, should refuse to purchase diamonds that originated in Marange. These diamonds can easily be detected by their hue and the use of a "footprint," or analysis developed by the Kimberley Process. Those in the jewelry industry should ask their suppliers to confirm that the diamonds they sell are not from Marange, are not blood diamonds, and have genuine certificates attesting to the stones' legitimacy.

Switzerland has a lot to lose if its jewelry industry becomes corrupted by blood diamonds. On behalf of its jewelers, consumers, and the people in Marange who have suffered grievously from diamond mining, the Swiss government should make a strong stand. It should not allow human rights abuses to tarnish its gem of a commercial sector.

Note: Loubna Freih Georges and Walter Stresemann are members of Human Rights Watch's Geneva. Website: www.hrw.org

International Rights Groups Protest Rise in Persecution of Zimbabwe Unionists

2010-03-05T12:15:00.002+01:00

In a strongly-worded letter to President Robert Mugabe, the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council urged him to instruct his supporters, the police and security services to refrain from targeting trade union leaders.

04 March 2010

In a strongly-worded letter to President Robert Mugabe, the Botswana-based Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council urged him to instruct his supporters and the Zimbabwean police and security services to refrain from targeting trade union leaders and any other Zimbabwean citizens.

The letter signed by Coordination Council Executive Secretary Austin Muneku condemned the continued arrest and harassment of trade unionists saying this was not acceptable in any country. Gertrude Hambira, the general secretary of the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe recently fled to South Africa following questioning by senior security chiefs, surveillance by security agents and searches of her home and office. Her union published a report on land reform alleging abuse of farm workers.

“We appeal to you His Excellency to create an environment in Zimbabwe that allows trade unions to operate without interference, threats and intimidation by state security agents,” the letter stated in part.

Muneku reminded President Mugabe that the arrest and intimidation of union officials and civic activists violated a number of international and regional conventions that Zimbabwe has endorsed.

The Geneva-based World Student Christian Federation also called on Harare to uphold the rule of law, saying the current session of the United Nations Human Rights Council should take note of the upsurge in political intimidation in the country.

World Student Christian Federation spokesman Marlon Zakeyo told VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that it is now time for Zimbabwe to reform under the inclusive government in place since February 2009.

He said that a year after the formation of the coalition government, the international community continues to look to the Zimbabwe leadership to demonstrate its commitment to genuine and irreversible reforms.

Studio 7 for Zimbabwe

Civil society warns of worsening rights abuse

2010-03-05T12:09:00.000+01:00

By Alex Bell
04 March 2010

Civil society organisations have warned of worsening human rights abuse at the hands of state security agents, explaining that in the last three months there has been an escalation in the number of threats, intimidation and harassment against its members.

The warning was made during a press conference in Harare on Wednesday, convened by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights). ZimRights director, Okay Machisa told the conference how he and other members of the ZimRights board last week received a series of threatening text messages and phone calls, warning them against conducting constitutional outreach programmes.

Machisa received a threatening email two weeks ago from a person claiming to be Dzapasi Mumunda. The message said, “You enjoy flying in and out of the country demonizing your country, why don’t you go and stay there? They monitor, soon you will all stay out.” In the email, he was also warned that people in his office have been tasked with ‘bringing him down’ and he should be careful, especially at home.

The threats have not been against ZimRights only. Trade unionist and Secretary General of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), Gertrude Hambira was forced into hiding last week due to fears for her safety. The entire union leadership went underground after increased threats and harassment by officials from the Joint Operations Command (JOC), and a number of police raids on the union’s offices in Harare. The raids have been in response to the release of a shock report and documentary last year, exposing the violent abuse of workers on farms seized by the Robert Mugabe regime.

Meanwhile in Bindura, some facilitators belonging to the Civic Education Trust (Civnet), Taurai Chigunwe, Tinashe Madzimbamuto and Faustino Mukakati, were arrested last week for allegedly holding a public meeting. Last month a ZANU PF councillor for Nhekiwa ward in Uzumba, together with a group of some ZANU PF youths, disrupted an outreach meeting convened by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, claiming that it had not been sanctioned by their political party. The councilor and the youths also intimidated, harassed and threatened the Coalition’s youth committee members Tichaona Masiyambiri and Oscar Dhliwayo and an intern, Edwin Sithole, who had organised the outreach programme.

ZimRights and the ZLHR also explained in a joint statement that police in Mutare on Tuesday arrested and detained three Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) employees, who were attending the labour union’s Regional Women’s Advisory Council’s civil and legal training in the eastern border city for five hours.

“Security agents should strictly observe the principles of the Rule of Law and should adhere to the laws and regulations governing their operations,” the two groups said in a statement. “ZLHR and ZimRights calls upon the responsible authorities, including the Ministry of Defence, to penalise these elements without fear or favour.”

Human rights group Amnesty International has also expressed its concerns about worsening human rights abuses, despite the formation of the unity government more than a year ago. Amnesty’s Zimbabwe researcher, Simeon Mawanza, told SW Radio Africa that there was concern that the government has not made any meaningful reforms to rectify human rights abuse.

“By delaying reform, the situation in Zimbabwe remains fragile as perpetrators continue to escape justice and are instead effectively given the all clear to continue violating human rights,” Mawanza said.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

US Government Extends Sanctions on Zimbabwe

2010-03-02T11:02:00.000+01:00

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

March 01, 2010

Notice of Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Zimbabwe

NOTICE
- - - - - - -
CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY
WITH RESPECT TO ZIMBABWE

On March 6, 2003, by Executive Order 13288, the President declared a national emergency and blocked the property of persons undermining democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706). He took this action to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States constituted by the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe's democratic processes or institutions. These actions and policies have contributed to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Zimbabwe, to politically motivated violence and intimidation in that country, and to political and economic instability in the southern African region.

On November 22, 2005, the President issued Executive Order 13391 to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13288 by ordering the blocking of the property of additional persons undermining democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe.

On July 25, 2008, the President issued Executive Order 13469, which expanded the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13288 and ordered the blocking of the property of additional persons undermining democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe.

Because the actions and policies of these persons continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States, the national emergency declared on March 6, 2003, and the measures adopted on that date, on November 22, 2005, and on July 25, 2008, to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond March 6, 2010. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe's democratic processes or institutions.

This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 26, 2010.

The polarised lives of Zimbabwe's rich and poor

2010-02-11T10:45:00.001+01:00

Thursday marks the first anniversary of Zimbabwe's so-called "inclusive government".

It is a year since Zimbabwe's former political rivals struck a deal

It has been a year since President Robert Mugabe swore in his former political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, as Prime Minister and the two agreed to a series of conditions enshrined in the Global Political Agreement and to work on a new constitution which would pave the way to free and fair elections.

So what has been achieved?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8509149.stm

Zimbabwe: Abuse of Human Rights Continues Under Unity Government

2010-02-10T16:41:00.003+01:00

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PRESS RELEASE

10 February 2010

Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Zimbabwe's President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai to fulfil their promise to reform state institutions, in a bid to end human rights violations that have continued in the country since the formation of the unity government one year ago.

Torture, harassment and politically motivated prosecutions of human rights defenders and perceived opponents have persisted, while villagers in parts of Zimbabwe have suffered ceaseless intimidation by supporters of former ruling party ZANU-PF.

"The Attorney General's office, police and army have been left to freely violate human rights in pursuit of a political agenda," said Erwin van der Borght, director of Amnesty International's Africa programme.

"By delaying reform, the situation in Zimbabwe remains fragile as perpetrators continue to escape justice and are instead effectively given the all clear to continue violating human rights."

Amnesty International called on the unity government to end on-going harassment of human rights defenders. Several peaceful protests organized by civic movement Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were violently broken up by police in 2009.

Seventeen human rights and political activists who were abducted by state security agents in 2008 continue to face charges that are widely believed to be trumped up. One of them, Jestina Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, had her prosecution permanently stayed by the Supreme Court in September 2009 because of overwhelming evidence that she had been tortured.

"The government must end the incessant harassment of human rights activists and take steps to seriously protect rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly," said Erwin van der Borght.

The Zimbabwean army and intelligence services, as well as the Attorney General's office, have remained under ZANU-PF control, following an agreement brokered by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in 2008. The police are co-chaired by ZANU-PF and MDC-T ministers.

"The onus is on President Mugabe and ZANU-PF to ensure that key institutions under their control are reformed to end the culture of impunity that still threatens stability in the country," said Erwin van der Borght.

Amnesty International's call for reform comes amid reports that villagers in parts of Zimbabwe are being threatened with violence by army backed supporters of ZANU-PF, in an attempt to force them to endorse the heavily criticized Kariba draft constitution.

The Kariba draft constitution, agreed by unity government parties in September 2007, has been strongly criticized by some civil society organizations as an attempt by the parties to impose a constitution without consultation.

Villagers in Mutoko, Muzarabani and MT Darwin are reportedly being warned that they will face beatings unless they support the ZANU-PF position. Similar threats were made and materialized in the run-up to the June 2008 presidential elections.

"These are early warning signs that the situation could deteriorate if no urgent measures are taken to stop state security agents from carrying out violent political campaigns," said Erwin van der Borght.

"Past involvement on their part has resulted in gross human rights violations, including deaths and torture of perceived opponents."

The government has so far failed to investigate gross human rights violations allegedly carried out by security forces during the run-up to the second round of the 2008 presidential elections, which left at least 200 people dead, over 9,000 injured and tens of thousands displaced.

"The unity government must investigate past and present allegations of human rights violations by state security agents, including torture and ill treatment of detainees," said Erwin van der Borght.

Gross human rights violations have also been taking place within the army.

At least two soldiers were tortured to death in October 2009 while being interrogated by intelligence and military police officials in Harare. Another soldier was reported to have committed suicide while in solitary confinement and several others are still receiving medical treatment for injuries caused by torture.

The victims had been arrested along with at least 95 others, on suspicion of breaking into an armoury at Pomona barracks and stealing 21 guns.

"Zimbabwean state bodies are riddled with human rights abusers that in many cases carry out violations with impunity," said Erwin van der Borght.

"Without genuine reform of institutions this abuse is very likely to persist."

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/abuse-human-rights-zimbabwe-continues-under-unity-government-20100210

OHCHR and AU Commission strengthen cooperation for human rights in Africa

2010-02-10T10:58:00.000+01:00

The UN Human Rights office and the African Union Commission confirmed their longstanding cooperation to promote and protect human rights in Africa by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The agreement, signed during the 14th African Union Summit, provides for technical assistance, training, capacity building and mutual cooperation in the field of human rights.

UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay and the Chairman of the African Union Commission Jean Ping signed the MOU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which hosts the African Union Commission (AUC), OHCHR’s presence in East Africa as well as the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), regional arm the United Nations.

During the signing ceremony, Pillay reminded attendees that the partnership between the AU and OHCHR was guided by a general framework for cooperation set by resolutions of the General Assembly, decisions of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union and ECA, as well as treaties and other legal instruments signed between the then Organisation of African Unity and the UN.

For several years, the UN Human Rights office has been working hand-in-hand with the AUC and the African Union’s human rights bodies. In Addis Ababa, OHCHR and the AU co-chair the Human Rights, Justice and Reconciliation Sub-cluster which considers key policy and thematic human rights issues on the continent. The Office also assists each year with technical expertise and support to the sessions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The new agreement represents “a firmer, clearer and more specific framework for a better and more focused cooperation between our two organizations in the field of human rights”, said the High Commissioner. She also said she was confident that within the context of the UN-AU Ten Year Capacity-Building Programme, the MOU will be pivotal in strengthening the work of human rights actors on the continent.

Strengthened institutional cooperation on a range of human rights issues, as envisaged by the new MOU, should benefit human rights protection and promotion in Africa. High Commissioner Pillay reiterated her Office’s commitment to further assist the AUC including through the joint development of a comprehensive human rights strategy for Africa.

“Prompt adaptability together with robust and decisive action and inspired leadership are key to the effective implementation of human rights and in reaching out to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged”, she added.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/OHCHR_AUCommissioncooperationAfrica.aspx

8 February 2010

Zimbabwe stalemate persists

2010-02-05T11:58:00.001+01:00

JASON MOYO - Feb 05 2010 06:00

One year of Zimbabwe's unity government and the parties are still nowhere near unified. Jason Moyo reports

Just one week before its first anniversary and Zimbabwe's unity government is on the rocks again. Zanu-PF has refused to agree to any further reforms until the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) calls for an end to sanctions against President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle, which prompted the MDC to challenge the president to end the partnership and call for an election.

Zanu-PF's position has been hardening steadily since its December congress, when a more radical wing of the party gained a foothold and began pushing for a harder stance against reform. The chorus of criticism rose after Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who is the leader of the MDC, told media in Davos, Switzerland, this week that only "some" of the sanctions must be lifted.

Tsvangirai has resisted pressure from Mugabe, campaigning instead only for the removal of sanctions on state enterprises, some of which his ministers control. The MDC also wants an end to an embargo on lending from the International Monetary Fund and other Western institutions, but lenders say Zimbabwe can access fresh credit only once it clears its debt of close to US$6-billion.

United States legislation enacted in 2001 bans financial support to Zimbabwe, but hopes have been raised after Washington's ambassador in Harare indicated a possible softening of his country's stance.

Zanu-PF is not too concerned about the removal of Western restrictions on the economy. Mugabe and his inner circle are said to be more worried about the personal measures that have kept them away from Western capitals and seen some of their children thrown out of foreign universities.

Comments by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband that his country would "be guided" by the MDC in deciding on sanctions have been fodder for Zanu-PF, which has always accused Tsvangirai of calling for the embargo in the first place.

This week Tsvangirai sought to play down the tension, saying he would continue in government with Mugabe. "I have taken a decision that we can work together, despite this acrimony, for the good of the country," he said.

But there was a tougher reaction from his secretary general, Tendai Biti, the minister of finance, who challenged Mugabe to withdraw his party from the coalition and call fresh elections.

"Zanu-PF cannot … continue to be normative members of this government when they are working against it at every turn," Biti said. "Either they are in or they are out. If they are out, then bring on the election."

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-02-05-zimbabwe-stalemate-persists

22 WOZA members arrested in Bulawayo for discussing constitution

2010-02-04T15:03:00.000+01:00

2nd February 2010

22 WOZA members arrested in Bulawayo for discussing constitution

At 11 am today, 22 women in a private home were arrested in Pumula, a
suburb of Bulawayo. They are currently being held at Pumula Police
Station. Most of the arrested are members of WOZA who were discussing
the constitutional reform process. As lawyers were unable to respond,
WOZA National Coordinator, Jenni Williams called the Officer in Charge
at Pumula, Assistant Inspector Chimani, and asked him why the members
had been arrested. He professed no knowledge of the situation.

The meeting was a private meeting of members exempt under all public
order laws. Please call Inspector Chimani on + 263 9 422907 or 422898
and ask him to stop harassing WOZA members. Also advise him that there
is an ongoing constitutional reform process countrywide and that they
should participate and allow others to participate freely.

Ends
2nd February 2010

For more information, please call Jenni Williams on +263 912 898 110 /
+263 11 213 885 or Magodonga Mahlangu on +263 912 362 668.
Alternatively, email info@wozazimbabwe.org or visit
www.wozazimbabwe.org.

Zimbabwe: NEW CONSTITUTION DRAFT PROCESS UNDERWAY

2010-01-05T14:40:00.000+01:00

Source: Missionary International Service News Agency (MISNA)

Date: 04 Jan 2010

The process to rewrite Zimbabwe's constitution has formally begun today. The measure was included in the political accord undersigned in the political accord allowing for the formation of the national unity government made up by three parties last year. Today, the MP's called to preside 17 thematic commissions entrusted with redrafting the Constitution have started their related training. Tomorrow, the vice-presidents and 560 members of the various commissions will be nominated. In conformance with the political accord, the constituent commissions will be made up 30% by MP's and 70% by civil society representatives. The constituents' nominations and training will have to conclude on January 10 to give way to the actual discussions to draft the new text. After the end of the discussions, there will be three months time to present a Constitution plan before the Constituent Assembly, which will have to approve it before submitting to a parliamentary vote. At the end of this process, the new Charter will be presented to the people of Zimbabwe who will express their opinion in a referendum. The approval of a new constitution is the necessary condition toward the organization of new general political elections. [AB]

Zimbabwe's Mugabe Accuses West of Double Standard on Climate, Human Rights

2009-12-17T12:03:00.002+01:00

President Mugabe accused the West of holding to a double standard under which it failed to move with dispatch to address global warming while taking the developing world to task over alleged human rights abuses

Blessing Zulu, Ntungamili Nkomo & Irwin Chifera

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday chided the West from the podium of the United Nations summit on climate change in Copenhagen for what he charged was a double standard under which it fell short on addressing global warming while taking developing countries to task over human rights.

Mr. Mugabe told the climate change summit: "When these capitalist gods of carbon burp and belch their dangerous emissions, it's we, the lesser mortals of the developing sphere who gasp and sink and eventually die."

He complained that polluters are not pursued by Western governments with the same zeal they show in castigating abusers of human rights.

"Why," asked Mr. Mugabe, "is the guilty North not showing the same fundamentalist spirit it exhibits in our developing countries on human rights matters on this more menacing threat of climate change?"

He appeared to single out the United States in his remarks, demanding, "When a country spits on the Kyoto Protocol by seeking to shrink from its diktats, or by simply refusing to accede to it, is it not violating the global rule of law?" The United States has declined to sign the Kyoto Protocol.

He said the developing world would be called upon to clean up the mess left by the industrialized West, therefore deserved ample climate-related funding.

"We who bear the burden of healing the gasping earth must draw the most from the global purse for remedial action," Mr. Mugabe declared.

The Zimbabwean president's arrival in Copenhagen caused a stir among critics who said he should not have been admitted to the country let alone the climate summit given his record on human rights and general issues of governance. He has drawn such fire on numerous occasions at U.N. conferences, particularly the annual gathering on food security in Rome where skeptics have contrasted his country's dire situation after a decade of land reform with his rhetoric.

Denmark and the 26 other European Union states have barred Mr. Mugabe and many other ZANU-PF officials and supporters from travel within the economic and political bloc – but such sanctions do not apply to U.N. gatherings.

President Mugabe’s delegation of 70, meanwhile, came under fire at home given the cost incurred by such a large entourage. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai canceled his plans to attend the summit with a smaller group citing massive official travel costs since the unity government's formation in February.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmessen was called upon to explain Mr. Mugabe’s presence to human rights activists and responded that “nobody can be in doubt about my attitude toward Mugabe and Zimbabwe,” but defended the diplomatic decision to admit Mr. Mugabe to his country.

Geneva-based human rights lawyer Marlon Zakeyo told VOA Studio 7 reporter Blessing Zulu that Mr. Mugabe can attend such meetings under diplomatic rules regarding U.N. meetings - but must be reminded of his excesses.

Sources in Harare said meanwhile that Mr. Mugabe, Mr. Tsvangirai and the third unity government principal, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, have told their negotiators to address all remaining contentious issues on the table in the latest round of talks and submit a final report to them before Monday.

The three principals issued the instruction after meeting on Monday to discuss a preliminary report submitted by their negotiators on progress to date.

A statement from President Mugabe’s office published in the state-run Herald newspaper said the principals agreed on some of the recommendations from the negotiators for Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and the two formations of the Movement for Democratic Change, but disagreed on others.

Minister of State Gorden Moyo, attached to Mr. Tsvangirai's office, told VOA Studio 7 reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that the principals want to achieve closure on the so-called outstanding issues before Christmas.

Elsewhere, Harare correspondent Irwin Chifera reported that Parliament's select committee on constitutional reform said public consultations on redrafting of the basic document, postponed several times, will finally begin next month.

http://www.voanews.com/MediaAssets2/zimbabwe/dalet/MUGABE-ZAKEYO-ZULU-ADJ-12-16.mp3

Studio 7 for Zimbabwe

SA urged to arrest Zim rights violators

2009-12-16T16:14:00.001+01:00

By Alex Bell
15 December 2009

A High Court appeal in South Africa could force the state to prosecute known Zimbabwean rights violators who travel to the country, after the South African government’s vehicle for criminal prosecution refused to do so, earlier this year.

The appeal was brought forward by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and the Zimbabwe Exiles forum in the Gauteng High Court on Tuesday, following a decision by the South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) not to prosecute 18 known Zimbabwean human rights violators.

The Litigation Centre had last year submitted a dossier to the NPA with evidence that the 18, who regularly travel to South Africa, were responsible for numerous human rights violations in Zimbabwe. The dossier also included a written legal opinion reminding the NPA about South Africa’s obligations to arrest rights abusers on their territory, according to the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which South Africa is a signatory to.

The ICC legislation gives South African authorities the power to investigate and prosecute acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, no matter where those acts have been committed. This applies even if the perpetrators are not South African nationals.

The dossier by the Litigation Centre was submitted two weeks before the start of 2008 presidential elections got underway in Zimbabwe, the results of which would eventually lead to the horrific campaign of violence and rape meted out against supporters of the opposition MDC. Litigation Centre head Nicole Fritz explained to SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that after more than a year of correspondence with the NPA following the submission, the Litigation Centre in June this year finally received a letter from the then acting NPA director, Mokotedi Mpshe. He stated that he had been advised that the police did not intend investigating the matter.

Fritz explained that the case is the first of its kind for the country, and is aimed at preventing South Africa from becoming a safe-haven for those who commit crimes against humanity. She said the case will be a real test for the government’s commitment, not only to the ICC, but also to its own constitution, which is so stringent on human rights.

“South Africa has been a vocal supporter of the ambitious legislation of the ICC, because it falls in line with their own constitution,” Fritz explained. “So this is a real test for the government and their commitment to the protection of human rights.”

The case has been set down for March next year, and if successful means known perpetrators of rights abuses in Zimbabwe will not be allowed to travel to South Africa. The list of names held by the Litigation Centre has not yet been made public, but it is likely to be a high level contingent of ZANU PF loyalists, who were responsible for the 2008 election violence.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

UN launches new appeal as farmers lament failed agricultural season

2009-12-08T10:58:00.000+01:00

By Alex Bell
07 December 2009

The United Nations has launched a multi million dollar appeal to help Zimbabwe bolster health, education, sanitation and food security, with officials explaining that an alarming number of people are still set to face hunger next year.

The UN assistant Secretary General for humanitarian affairs and deputy humanitarian coordinator, Catherine Bragg, said on Monday in Harare that social conditions in the country had improved since the formation of the unity government in February. Bragg was speaking during the launch of a US$378 million emergency aid appeal for Zimbabwe under which more than 70 aid agencies have said they would need at least that much to meet Zimbabwe’s humanitarian needs in 2010.

“I want to note that Zimbabwe is experiencing a gradual shift from humanitarian crisis to recovery following political changes that positively affected socio-economic conditions,” she said.

Bragg on Monday said priority would be given to rehabilitation of water facilities in urban and rural areas, where an estimated six million people have no access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services. Bragg also stated that more than 1.9 million people are likely to remain food-insecure in the first three months of 2010, while about 650,000 communal farmers would require agricultural inputs.
The UN appeal is half as large as in 2009 when the UN asked for US$718 million. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has explained that the reduction in the appeal is partly as a result of ‘improved’ agriculture and other economic improvements in the country. The group however noted that humanitarian assistance was still critical as millions of Zimbabweans still remain vulnerable from the erosion of basic services and livelihoods.

Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) President Deon Theron on Monday explained the UN’s outlook is surprisingly positive, considering the country is facing yet another failed agricultural season. The commercial farming community remains in chaos as a result of the renewed land grab campaign, which has seen more than 80 productive farms forcibly seized by mainly ZANU PF loyalists in this year alone. Farmers and their workers have been prevented from continuing their farming activities, despite the country still facing critically low food production levels. Theron explained that it was unlikely that there would be enough food produced to feed even a small percentage of the country next year.

Meanwhile Theron’s elderly mother, who was sentenced to jail unless she vacated her dairy farm by Tuesday, has been granted a temporary reprieve by the courts.
79 year old Hester Theron, was sentenced last month under the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act, for refusing to leave her dairy farm, which has been her home since the late fifties. She was sentenced to three months behind bars, suspended for five years on condition that she vacates the property by this week Tuesday. But Theron has successfully launched an appeal against the sentence, and High Court Judge, Justice Joseph Musakwa, last week said she should not be evicted from her farm until her application has been heard.

SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe

UN halves Zim humanitarian appeal

2009-12-01T14:26:00.001+01:00

Written by NEVER CHANDA

Monday, 30 November 2009 06:38

HARARE –The United Nations has halved the humanitarian appeal for Zimbabwe in 2010 from the US$718 million sought this year but cautioned against continued “structural problems” faced by the southern African country still recovering from a decade of political strife and economic meltdown.

(Pictured: School children take home food received from a relief agency)

Zimbabwe's appeal is half as large in dollar terms as in 2009 when the UN asked for US$718 million “because a generally good harvest has reduced the number of severely food-insecure Zimbabweans”.
According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), early recovery (ER) support would be a key priority for the 2010 Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for Zimbabwe as aid agencies seek to consolidate recent humanitarian achievements and to ensure that results are maintained.
“Direct restoration of basic social services, infrastructure and livelihood opportunities will not be able to get off the ground without support for the CAP’s ER strategy,” the UN arm said.
The UN agency said priority would be given to rehabilitation of water facilities in urban and rural areas where an estimated six million people have no access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Attention would also shift towards provision of livelihood support to vulnerable groups – including female and child-headed households, people with disabilities, internally displaced persons and people living with HIV/AIDS – to reduce their dependency on humanitarian assistance.
“Without transitional recovery activities in place, populations risk becoming increasingly dependent on emergency aid, losing self-reliance and the capacity to manage their own development in the future,” the UN agency said yesterday during the launch of the humanitarian appeal.
It said more than 1.9 million people in Zimbabwe are likely to remain food-insecure in 2010 while about 650 000 communal farmers would require agricultural inputs.
Without these inputs, there will be little chance of reducing reliance on outside food assistance.
Zimbabwe is experiencing a gradual shift from humanitarian crisis to recovery following political changes that positively affected socio-economic conditions.
Following the economic downturn and political polarization that culminated in the protracted elections of 2008, an Inclusive Government was formed in February 2009.
This development led to greater cooperation between the international humanitarian community and the Zimbabwean authorities, improvement in the country’s socio-economic and humanitarian situation, and improved humanitarian access to vulnerable populations.
The world body warned that while the improvement of general conditions in Zimbabwe has improved following the formation of the coalition government in February, the donor community was still approaching the country’s humanitarian situation with “cautious optimism”.
“It should not distract from Zimbabwe’s structural problems,” the agency cautioned.
An estimated six million vulnerable people would continue to feel the impact of the erosion of basic services and livelihoods over the past years.
Cholera re-emerged in October, raising fears of the resurgence of last year’s outbreak that affected 55 out of the country’s 62 districts, with 98 531 cases and 4 282 deaths recorded.
Despite improvements in food security, the country still faces a substantial national cereal deficit and an estimated 1.9 million people will need food assistance at the peak of the 2010 hunger season from January to March.
The country has the fourth-highest crude mortality rate in Africa.
Child malnutrition is a significant challenge to child survival and development.
More than a third of children under the age of five are chronically malnourished while seven percent suffer from acute malnutrition.
The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is one of the highest in the world, despite a recent drop to 13.7 percent.
Some 1.2 million people live with the virus and 343 600 adults plus 35 200 children under age 15 urgently need anti-retroviral treatment.
The education sector is characterised by severe shortages of essential supplies, high staff turnover and sporadic teachers’ strikes.
This particularly affects Zimbabwe’s 1.6 million orphaned and vulnerable children, including more than 100 000 child-headed households.
“The need to support ‘humanitarian plus’ or early recovery programmes is highlighted by the deterioration in existing infrastructure and loss of employment opportunities,” OCHA said.

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/2009113027097/human-rights/un-halves-zim-humanitarian-appeal.html

"Each hour is critical," warns UN Special Rapporteur on Torture after being denied entry to Zimbabwe

2009-11-26T12:28:00.000+01:00

JOHANNESBURG (29 October 2009) - The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, remains very concerned about serious and credible allegations of torture, ill-treatment and inhuman prison conditions in Zimbabwe, twenty-four hours after being denied access to the country, contrary to its invitation of 1 October.

"I deeply regret that the Government has deprived me of the possibility to objectively assess the situation of torture and ill-treatment through gathering on the spot evidence from all available sources, including governmental and non-governmental sources, victims and witnesses, as well as visits to various places of detention," said the UN expert. "Each hour is critical."

Mr. Nowak was invited by the Minister of Justice of Zimbabwe, Mr. Chinamasa, to conduct a fact-finding mission to the country from 28 October to 4 November 2009. While in transit in Johannesburg on 27 October, he was informed that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mumbengegwi, had decided on 26 October to postpone the mission.

Waiting in Johannesburg, the Special Rapporteur was informed by letter dated 27 October, that the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, wished to meet him in his office in Harare on 29 October at 10:00 a.m. He was also informed that he would be picked up at Harare Airport by an official of the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Consequently, the Special Rapporteur flew to Harare in the evening of 28 October 2009, to meet the Prime Minister and to discuss with different members of the Government how best to conduct the mission under the changed circumstances.

Upon arrival at Harare Airport at 9:20 p.m. on 28 October, the Special Rapporteur and his team were not met by a Protocol Officer, but by the Head of Airport Immigration, Mr. Nabika. Although the Special Rapporteur and his assistants had valid visas, Mr. Nowak was told that his entry was not cleared by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and that, in the absence of such clearance, he would have to fly back to Johannesburg the next morning. He spent the night at the airport and was sent back on the first flight to Johannesburg on 29 October at 7:20 a.m. All efforts by the United Nations, the Prime Minister, his Secretary, and both Co-Ministers of Home Affairs to facilitate Mr. Nowak's entry proved unsuccessful. A high level delegation sent by the Prime Minister to go to the airport was even denied access and told that the Special Rapporteur was no longer held at the airport.

The Special Rapporteur strongly protests against such treatment by the various authorities of the Government of Zimbabwe. He urges the Government to fully investigate this incident and to clarify who bears responsibility for the denial of his access to the country. He will report about these experiences to the Human Rights Council.

Manfred Nowak, appointed Special Rapporteur on 1 December 2004 by the UN Commission on Human Rights, is independent from any government and serves in his individual capacity. He has previously served as member of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, the UN expert on missing persons in the former Yugoslavia, the UN expert on legal questions on enforced disappearances, and as a judge at the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nowak is Professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights at the University of Vienna, and Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights.
http://www.unhchr.ch

Organizations lament the refusal of Zimbabwe to receive the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

2009-11-20T14:48:00.000+01:00

Organizations lament the refusal of Zimbabwe to receive the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

09/11/2009

Conectas, in partnership with 24 organizations from 15 countries, sent a letter to the government of Zimbabwe lamenting its last-minute refusal to receive the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak.

The Rapporteur had received an official invitation to carry out a visit from October 28th to November 4th, 2009 in order to investigate the torture practices in the country. In his lay-over in South Africa, the Rapporteur was informed that he could no longer enter Zimbabwe.

In addition, the letter demonstrates a continued concern with the human rights situation in general in Zimbabwe, including with respect to the country’s widespread violence and the arbitrary imprisonment of political leaders and human rights defenders.

The organizations called upon the government of Zimbabwe to put an end to these violations and to cooperate more strongly with the UN instruments.

This initiative is part of the campaign “Friends of Zimbabwe” – learn more about this campaign.

Click here to read the full letter.

Conectas Human Rights - www.conectas.org

In Geneva, President Mugabe of Zimbabwe Takes Aim at Western Broadcasters

2009-10-09T13:37:00.001+02:00

By Blessing Zulu
Washington
08 October 2009

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, controversially participating in communications forum in Switzerland this week, accused unnamed Western broadcasters "bent on effecting regime change in Harare" of violating the country's sovereignty with their programs.

Mr. Mugabe’s participation in the International Telecommunications Union in Geneva was itself a matter of dispute: some said he should not have been invited even though the ITU is a U.N. agency. Switzerland like the European Union has banned travel by Mr. Mugabe and other top officials of his ZANU-PF party and associates, but he was admitted for the conference.

Similar protests were lodged in 2008 when Mr. Mugabe traveled to Rome despite European travel restrictions to address a United Nations conference on food security; critics said food shortages were widespread in Zimbabwe as a result of Mr. Mugabe's land policies.

Addressing the gathering, President Mugabe said Zimbabwe is “dismayed at the continued violation of her airwaves by certain Western countries whose radio broadcasting systems are bent on effecting regime change in Harare,” but did not single out any broadcasters.

VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe broadcasts news to the country seven evenings a week. The government has acknowledged jamming the program on its 909 AM frequency.

On a lighter note, Mr. Mugabe acknowledged the presence of Nelson Chamisa, minister of Information Communications Technology and spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, praising his enthusiasm.

Geneva-based human rights lawyer Marlon Zakeyo of the World Student Christian Federation told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that he found President Mugabe’s comments on international broadcasters very worrisome.

To listen to interviews in English or Shona click on links below

http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/Zimbabwe/2009-10-08-voa57.cfm

http://www.voanews.com/shona/sh.cfm

New Beginning for Zimbabwean Churches and International Partners

2009-10-02T12:51:00.000+02:00

Geneva, 29 September 2009

Leaders from some of Zimbabwe's largest church organisations, representatives of international ecumenical organisations and church-related advocacy networks have held a two day meeting in Geneva to reflect on the human rights and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe one year after the signing of the controversial Global Political Agreement( GPA)by the country's three major political parties. Hosted by the Zimbabwe Advocacy Office (ZAO), the meeting was called by the Ecumenical Zimbabwe Network (EZN), an informal network which brings together Northern-based Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical and Zimbabwean Diaspora advocacy groups committed to advocacy, prayer and solidarity action in support of churches and people in Zimbabwe.

In addition to a detailed analysis of the successes and failures in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement, the meeting focused on the healing and reconciliation process, impact of serious military-perpetrated human rights abuses associated with the mining of diamonds in Marange district in eastern Zimbabwe , feedback report on the 29^th Ordinary Summit of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) leaders held on September 7 and 8, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and the debate over 'sanctions '/targeted measures and international re-engagement with the Government of Zimbabwe.

The meeting noted that despite stabilisation of the humanitarian situation, sustainable peace in Zimbabwe remains threatened by a continuing undercurrent of anarchy. Of the major pillars of the Global Political Agreement only two have been semi-fulfilled, namely, unconditional access to humanitarian aid and commitment to macro-economic stabilisation. There has been no satisfactory progress in relation to crucial areas such as restoration of the rule of law, commitment to democratic process – freedom of assembly, speech – as evidenced by resurgent targeted arrests, persecution and harassment of opposition politicians and civil society activists - and clear lack of commitment to constitutional reform and timely, free and fair elections.

The Convenor of the Christian Alliance of Zimbabwe, Rev Dr Levee Kadenge, told the meeting that churches in Zimbabwe must not wait for politicians to lead the process of national healing and reconciliation as many of them were directly involved in inciting and perpetrating the violence that rocked Zimbabwe in 2007 and 2008. In fact many Zimbabwean families, particularly in rural communities have already begun local initiatives where perpetrators are asking for forgiveness from their victims and their families. There is an urgent need for Zimbabwean churches to seek reconciliation amongst themselves before leading the nation in this process.

Rev Dr Solomon Zwana, the newly appointed General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches also addressed the meeting emphasizing that the ZCC is going through a transformational process and is committed to work together with other church groups and regain its role as a force for non-partisan social change. Dr Zwana thanked international partners who remained supportive of the ZCC throughout its difficulties and underscored the continued need for international advocacy for Zimbabwe.

The General Secretary of the World Student Christian Federation and Representatives of the General Secretaries of the World Council of Churches, the All Africa Conference of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation shared their organisations' long-standing commitment to supporting the churches and people of Zimbabwe in their quest for unity and common action. The WCC and AACC also thanked the organisers for helping to create a 'safe space' where church leaders from the recovering nation can come and speak openly to one another and their international partners. They pledged to join the roundtable meeting of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches in October 2009.

At the close of the meeting, members of the Ecumenical Zimbabwe Network resolved to consolidate their working relationships with churches in Zimbabwe and ensuring that the EZN becomes more inclusive and open space for other church organisations which were not represented in the Geneva meeting. The focus of the network's advocacy actions in the coming year will be focused on the conflict diamond campaign, implementation of the Global Political Agreement, enforcement of EU targeted measures and the African Union, SADC and UN.

The next meeting of the Ecumenical Zimbabwe Network will be held in Geneva from January 21-22, 2010.

-END-

Contact

Marlon Zakeyo

Coordinator, Zimbabwe Advocacy Office

+41 78 614 9190

Barbara Müller

Convenor

Ecumenical Zimbabwe Network

+41 79 601 7417

Swiss Food Giant Linked to Deals with Mugabe Family

2009-09-28T18:37:00.000+02:00

By Sebastien Berger, Southern Africa Correspondent
Published: 7:30AM BST 27 Sep 2009

The Swiss food giant buys up to a million litres a year from Gushungo Dairy Estate, controlled by Mrs Mugabe since, according to other dairymen, the previous white owner was forced by a campaign of violence to sell his property to the authorities for a knock-down price.

Under the European Union and American targeted sanctions against members of Mr Mugabe's network, it is illegal to transfer money or make transactions respectively with Mrs Mugabe.

Grace Mugabe's Nestlé connection

Switzerland has its own set of sanctions, similar to the EU measures, which also target Mrs Mugabe and which prohibit providing funds to her or putting them 'directly or indirectly', at her disposition. Nestlé denies that it has broken Swiss law.

A Nestlé spokesman confirmed that at the end of last year, after eight of its 16 suppliers in Zimbabwe went out of business, Nestlé Zimbabwe - its subsidiary in the country - started buying milk on the open market, some of it from Gushungo Dairy Estate.

At first it bought it through a third party, but has been buying it directly since February, he said. "Nestlé does not provide any support, financial or otherwise, to the Gushungo Dairy Estate or to any political party in Zimbabwe," he said. "Nestlé is a truly global company which operates in almost all countries in the world, and therefore its products are found in widely diverse political settings."

The spokesman said Nestlé had "absolutely not" broken Swiss law.

"The legislation is internal to Switzerland," he said. "In any case, Nestlé Zimbabwe and any commercial transactions it engages in within Zimbabwe are subjet to Zimbabwean law."

Georgette Gagnon, the Africa director of Human Rights Watch, called for international investigation. "The set of sanctions that exist now are very important and must be maintained in the face of the continuing dire human rights situation in Zimbabwe.

"If these reports of this company buying things in violation of sanctions are true then obviously the Swiss government and the EU need to take action on this. They need to close this breach of sanctions."

If the evidence was "clear and unequivocal", she added, a consumer boycott was "one tool to let companies know that consumers are very concerned about their behaviour and won't tolerate it".

Amy Barry, spokesman for the anti-corruption NGO Global Witness, said: "Nestlé should ensure that it is not either directly or indirectly propping up illegitimate or brutal regimes.

"If it's true it's gravely serious and we would think it's something the European Commission and the Swiss would want to look into."

How Amanpour and CNN lost to Mugabe- By Rashweat Mukundu

2009-09-27T15:52:00.000+02:00

Mugabe stuck to his well known script, Amanpour and CNN fumbled all over. Thus after the highly expected interview of Mugabe by senior CNN Journalist, Christiane Amanpour, on Thursday 24 September, it came out, in my view, to a victory for Mugabe, if we take it as a contest. Amanpour failed to rise above the familiar frames of the western media’s analysis of Zimbabwe, dictatorship, hunger, land, and white farmers. These are part of the issues, but more of symptoms of a deeper problem which we hoped CNN would probe. We expected Amanpour to bring these issues to the interview but in a way that makes it impossible for Mugabe to waive them away so simply. We expected more facts, events and names. And they are many that Mugabe cannot run away from.

Yes, the Zimbabwe crisis is also about land among many other things, but this is more a symptom of a deficiency in democracy that Mugabe demonstrated very early in his rule. It is this failure to understand history and looking at Zimbabwe in compartments that has been the failure of the western media for so long and indeed the Achilles heel of Amanpour when she met Mugabe. Amanpour stated clearly that her Rhodesian journalists’ friends really enjoyed the first ten years of Mugabe’s rule. In those ten years Mugabe presided over the massacre of thousands of Ndebele’s who happened to support an opposition party and belong to an ethnic group other than his. It is therefore wrong for CNN to say Zimbabwe’s crisis is a year 2000 phenomenon and only so because Mugabe started grabbing farms from white farmers. Amanpour thus sunk into a familiar tune that Mugabe was well prepared for, giving a full lecture of history which Amanpour was, again, unprepared for. Statistics is there all over the internet on how Mugabe’s government abused donor funds and some resettled farmers sank more into poverty. Mugabe’s views were never seriously challenged.

In any case lets us talk of the crisis in Zimbabwe since 2000. The most affected and those who have suffered the most are the majority of poor Zimbabweans. If there are a people that Mugabe has failed the most and dehumanised the most it is his fellow black Zimbabweans. Any questioning and framing of the Zimbabwe crisis should, as a consequence, start from this stand point. Mugabe should have been asked about the many MDC supporters who were murdered, again their names are there, about Jestina Mukoko and others who were kidnapped in December 2008. Those who did this are still free, and Zimbabwe courts have been clear that this was wrong. Hundreds of cases of MDC supporters who lost their lives are recorded and should have been brought to Mugabe by CNN. Their killers are walking scot free and many are known by name. This should have been brought to Mugabe. The Daily News was bombed 3 times, 60 000 copies of the Zimbabwean newspapers were burnt in 2008, four newspaper were shut by decree and remain closed while Mugabe’s government is launching one daily paper after another, while denying others that space. These are double standards that should have been brought to Mugabe as undermining the unity government. There were many scenes of violence that were captured by the media in the 2008’s controversial June Presidential by-election that Amanpour should have pinned Mugabe on.

Mugabe is a dictator yes, but one who has created a very sophisticated dictatorship that is not only about power grabbing but distorts and deploys historical narratives for its benefit. It’s a dictatorship that sinisterly divides society along race, ethnicity and ideology. If the western media intends to report Zimbabwe they should not engage Mugabe in a turf of contested history but talk of the practicalities and realities of life in Zimbabwe, that story Mugabe cannot dismiss that easily. It is for this reason that the western media has to change its frames of analysing Zimbabwe and Mugabe, and see the majority of victims of Mugabe’s government not only a statistics but the real victims of this crisis. The violence on ordinary Zimbabweans is not a land issue, but has always existed well before 2000. A proper analysis needs to go beyond land reform, to look at what Mugabe has done to his own people, the cases of corruption that should have been brought out, the collapse of Kondozi farm, a classical case of the phoney arguments by Mugabe that land reform is about equality and prosperity, the diamonds fiasco in Manicaland.

A well respected journalist like Amanpour was expected to go deeper, bring out examples, the horror and scenes that Mugabe cannot deny. She should have avoided narratives of history that are not in dispute but give it to Mugabe in black and white from the perspectives of the majority of Zimbabweans. The interview turned to be a successful Public Relations exercise and godsend for Mugabe. This is because we have heard it all before and Mugabe reinforced his message at a world stage. But the real story of Zimbabwe’s majority rarely finds space and it is one that Mugabe cannot deny nor justify by whatever means or explanation. He can easily explain the land reform on the basis of history, but he cannot explain the kidnapping of Mukoko, the bombing of the Daily News among other many things. The international media will become relevant when it sees the Zimbabwe crisis from this holistic perspective. As for Amanpour we hope she can be better prepared next time.//End//

_______________________________________________

Rashweat Mukundu

Programmes Manager

Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Secretariat

Private Bag 13386

21 Johann Albrecht Street

Windhoek

Tel: +264 61 232975

Mobile: + 264 81 367 5362

www.misa.org

UN Expert on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty to visit Zambia

2009-08-26T16:50:00.000+02:00

GENEVA -- The United Nations Independent Expert on human rights and extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepúlveda, will visit Zambia from 20 to 28 August 2009 at the invitation of the Government.

"I want to collect first-hand information on the situation of people living in extreme poverty," said Ms Sepúlveda. "Zambia has been implementing a variety of social protection programmes which are essential for any State wishing to reduce the incidence of extreme poverty, and I want to analyse them from a human rights perspective"

Ms Sepúlveda is the first UN human rights expert to visit Zambia. "Visits like this one are important because UN experts can raise the attention of the international community on what causes human rights violations", said Ms Sepúlveda. "Everything, from the global economic crisis to droughts and rains, can have an impact on the life of people living in poverty and on how they enjoy their rights."

The Independent Expert will hold meetings with senior Government officials including the Vice President, the Minister of Justice and representatives from the Ministry of Community Development & Social Services. She will also meet UN representatives, the donor community and non governmental organizations.

During her mission, Ms Sepúlveda will visit communities living in extreme poverty in Lusaka, Chipata, Katete and Chirundu.

Based on the information collected during the visit, the Expert will prepare a report and make recommendations on strengthening social protection programmes using a human rights perspective. This report will be presented at the UN Human Rights Council in 2010.

Magdalena Sepúlveda is the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty since May 2008. She is a Chilean lawyer currently working as Research Director at the International Council on Human Rights Policy in Geneva.

A press conference will be held on Friday 28 August 2009 at 11.30 at the U.N. House in Lusaka.

UNITED NATIONS

Press Release

UN receives less than half of promised Zimbabwe aid

2009-08-26T15:10:00.000+02:00

(AFP) – Aug 19, 2009

HARARE — Donors have so far promised less than half of the 718 million dollars (509 million euros) in aid needed to stave off hunger and disease in Zimbabwe, the United Nations said Wednesday.

"Although Zimbabwe is not facing armed conflict, humanitarian threats such as food shortages and the outbreak of diseases such as cholera pose a significant challenge," UN humanitarian coordinator in Zimbabwe, Augustino Zacarias said.

"Sadly, only 44 percent of Zimbabwe's appeal of 718 million had been raised by the end of July."

The United Nations says that six million people have little or no access to safe water and sanitation, which helped spark a devastating cholera epidemic that infected nearly 99,000 people and killed 4,288 over the last year.

An estimated 2.8 million Zimbabweans need food aid, while 1.5 million children require support to access education. The nation's problems are worsened by the high incidence of HIV, which infects 15.6 percent of adults.

Zimbabwe has suffered chronic food shortages since President Robert Mugabe began chaotic land reforms nine years ago, but the crisis worsened dramatically in August last year as a nationwide cholera outbreak erupted.

Zacarias said improved cooperation between Harare and UN agencies has resulted in better access to the neediest people and improved coordination.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai joined his long-time rival Mugabe to form a unity government in February, but has struggled to win donor support to revive an economy shattered by nearly a decade of hyperinflation.

Western countries have so far proved reluctant to give aid directly to the government, demanding that Mugabe undertake more reforms to respect human rights and media freedoms, while curbing politically motivated attacks.

Zim diamonds will not be banned despite human rights abuses

2009-08-24T12:19:00.001+02:00

By Alex Bell
21 August 2009

Zimbabwe will not face suspension from the international diamond regulatory body, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), despite the ongoing human rights abuses at the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

The regulatory body’s chairman, Namibian Mines Minister Bernhard Esau, told a press conference in Harare on Wednesday that calls by the group’s members to suspend Zimbabwe over human rights abuses will not be taken seriously. Esau, who is in Zimbabwe until Saturday to conduct yet another review of the country’s complicity with international diamond trade standards, told journalists that there had been recommendations made about ‘voluntary suspension’, but no consensus had been reached on the matter.

“Yes there are members of the Kimberly process trying to convince other members to suspend Zimbabwe but we will not entertain such (calls),” said Esau.

A recent KPCS delegation that was in Zimbabwe to investigate widespread reports of abuse and even killings in Chiadzwa, recommended in an unpublished, but leaked interim report, that the country be suspended. The team that was headed by Liberian deputy mines minister Kpandel Faiya issued the apparently damning report at the end of its visit calling for a temporary ban on trade in diamonds from Zimbabwe, until effective security and internal control measures and resources were in place. The delegation also urged the government to demilitarise the diamond fields, a call that has been wholly ignored.

Zimbabwe Mines Minister Obert Mpofu instead told Wednesday’s press conference that the government is ensuring total compliance with the recommendations made by the Kimberly team in its interim report.

In an apparent effort to convince the KPCS to issue a fresh report, absolving the country of any wrongdoings, the regulatory body’s head was given a tour of the still militarized diamond fields on Thursday. Esau and his team also visited the home of Newman Chiadzwa, whose homestead was reportedly destroyed by soldiers who ransacked his home some few weeks ago. Newman, who was reportedly a key witness to last month’s KPCS team about abuse at the diamond fields, has been in hiding because of increased harassment by police and the military. He has since been arrested on charges of diamond smuggling.

Deputy Mines Minister Murisi Zwizwai, who has previously denied any killings took place in Chiadzwa, told ZimOnline news service on Thursday that the Mines Ministry has showed the KPCS delegation Newman’s home and confiscated property “to clear the air in respect of his harassment.”

MDC petitions AG’s office over murders

2009-08-24T12:17:00.000+02:00

By Violet Gonda
August 21 2009

The MDC says hundreds of its supporters were killed in recent years, with at least 500 supporters murdered by Zanu PF and State security agents last year alone. The culprits or perpetrators of violence have never been brought to justice. The party accuses the State of applying the law selectively and only targeting the MDC. Additionally many thousands have been badly tortured, hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced, and there is ongoing harassment and arrest of numerous MDC legislators.

On Thursday the party wrote a letter to the Attorney-General’s office, asking him to urgently deal with the murder cases. They said there is nothing to suggest there have been any investigations, even though most of the cases have been reported to the police. The MDC says under the country’s laws the Attorney General has the power to order the Police Commissioner-General to investigate and report to the AG’s office on any matter which relates to suspected criminal offence.

The MDC Security Director, Chris Dhlamini, is himself a victim of ZANU PF sponsored brutality, and he said: “Reports in some cases were made to the local ZRP stations but the report references were not given to the informants. The police have not gone back to the informants or relatives to inform them of the levels of achievements in their efforts to deal with the said matters in accordance to the law.”

It is reported that many of the deceased were buried without having undergone post mortem examinations to determine the cause of their deaths.
Dhlamini said: “No death certificates are in place in cases where post mortem examinations were not carried out, a matter which has created problems for the relatives of some of the deceased, especially where the deceased left behind children with no birth certificates and in some cases debts.”

The Director of Security copied the letter to SADC, JOMIC, the Public Protector and the Ministers of National Healing and Reconciliation.
Analysts believe a full investigation into these matters is the only way to shape the form and content of the national healing and reconciliation process, which the government and the MDC are supposedly participating in.

Political commentator Glen Mpani said the inclusive government has ‘enabled and legitimised the perpetrators of some of these heinous crimes’. But he added that if a process was to take place to hold those responsible accountable, it may just scuttle the global political agreement. However he pointed out that it is important to record cases of violations, regardless of the fact that there is a lot of scepticism on how justice can be discharged in the current political context.

SW Radio Africa

Catholic journal warns of possible more draconian Zimbabwe laws

2009-08-19T10:48:00.002+02:00

Harare, 18 August (ENI)--A Roman Catholic journal has warned that a new constitution proposed for Zimbabwe could be worse than the current one if politicians lead the process to craft the document and civil society is left out.

"The working premise is that the constitution should be of the people, written by the people and for the people, and without the participation of the people at all levels and with the control of the government, we risk having a more draconian constitution than ever before," the Catholic Church News said in an editorial in its August-September issue.

"The people should not only be involved on the constitution-making process but they should own both the process and the outcome. The government should not waste resources purporting to consult the people on the constitution they want and later manipulate the people's views and opinions," The journal stated

Zimbabwe's new power-sharing government launched a campaign in July to gather contributions for a new constitution that aim to pave the way for new elections in 2011. But some civil society groups which have assembled under the umbrella of the National Constitutional Assembly have refused to be part of the process led by the government.

"Some civil society organizations and churches have objected to a process led by politicians because it will be premised on protecting the interests of those who rule while alienating the interests of those who matter, the constituents," the Catholic publication noted.

The current constitution has been tinkered with several times at the behest of veteran President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party which won elections from 1980 until it lost the parliamentary vote in an election in 2008 and Mugabe lost the first round of the presidential poll. He won the run-off election after his opponent withdrew, citing widespread intimidation.

The Students Christian Movement of Zimbabwe in the meantime has criticised the country's attorney-general over what they view as a biased handling of cases involving members of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party. "To date more than eight MDC legislators have either been convicted or are facing trial for various unfounded and fabricated allegations being peddled by Zanu-PF machinists," the students' statement said.

"If the so-called attorney-general is so eager to play his duty why then was he silent and is still silent on Zanu-PF perpetrators of violence in the run-up to last year's June 27 presidential run-off," the students group said. "There were a number of cases of people who were hurt, killed, displaced and some raped and yet to date nothing has been done to effect the arrest of the perpetrators who are mostly Zanu-PF."

The statement followed a series of arrests of lawmakers and office bearers from Tsvangirai's MDC party, which is part of a government of national unity with Mugabe's party. Those arrested include the deputy minister for youth Thamsanqa Mahlangu who was detained after being accused of stealing a mobile phone belonging to a leader of a war veterans' association renowned for backing Mugabe's policies. [510 words]

Ecumenical News International

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See http://www.eni.ch/rss/

ZIM BLOOD DIAMOND CAMPAIGN ENDORSES CALL FOR ZIM SUSPENSION

2009-08-13T15:15:00.002+02:00

MEDIA RELEASE
12 August 2009
Johannesburg, South Africa

The Zimbabwe Blood Diamonds Campaign (ZBDC) today added its voice to the
call for Zimbabwe's suspension from the Kimberley Process Certification
Scheme (KPCS).

Last month, the KPCS in a report produced after an on-site visit to Zimbabwe
recommended a six-month suspension of Zimbabwe from the sale of rough
diamonds until security, control and accountability systems are put in place
by the Zimbabwean government. On 9 August, Finance Minister Tendai Biti admitted that control processes were not effective when he observed that the looting of diamonds in Chiadzwa
was "an embarrassment and a mess". However, Zimbabwe's Mines Minister Obert Mpofu has opposed a ban, arguing that Zimbabwe's economy, which needs a resuscitation package of about US$8.3 billion, will be adversely affected.

ZBDC co-coordinator and human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba dismisses this
fear as unfounded, since no evidence has been produced so show how the
"Marange" diamonds have contributed to the national fiscus. The call is not for a permanent embargo, but a limited one that seeks to among other things the demilitarization of the diamond fields, an end to human rights violations and the immediate halting of the illegal trade.

Commenting on the KPCS report, Mr Shumba observed: "ZBDC is relieved that
its lobbying and advocacy efforts with the KPCS have paid off. In particular
we are encouraged by the fact that the KPCS was able to confirm that rampant
human rights violations are taking place in Chiadzwa."

"We can confirm that over 300 people have died and hundreds of others have
been maimed by government security forces that are in the area allegedly to
stem illegal mining, but are in fact illegally extracting the diamonds
themselves," he said.

"Women have been raped, and children maimed. There is very little doubt that
Chiadzwa diamonds are tainted with the blood of Zimbabweans. ZBDC has
incontestable proof of these violations," he confirmed.

Although President Robert Mugabe denied army atrocities in Chiadzwa
yesterday, the allegations by the ZBDC were echoed by Wilfred Mhanda, a
liberation war hero with the Zimbabwe Liberators' Platform.

On Defence Forces Day yesterday, Mr Mhanda* accused the army of spearheading
the campaign of violence in Chiadzwa, Marange.

ENDS

Submitted by / for further information:

Gabriel Shumba

Co-coordinator Zimbabwe Blood Diamonds Campaign

Human Rights Lawyer

Cell: +27 72 639 3795 or

Tel: +27 12 639 3795. (012) 322 6969

Alert: Documentary on Prison Conditions in Zimbabwe on Swiss TV

2009-08-12T12:51:00.003+02:00

Dear Friends,

Tonight, Wednesday. 12 August, at 20.50hrs Swiss-German TV station, SF1, will be airing a documentary on the plight of prisoners in Zimbabwe since the interventions of local and international humanitarian organisations.

To watch online see the link below

http://tvprogramm.sf.tv/12.08.2009

Zimbabwe Advocacy Office
Geneva

ZimHealth_Important announcement for your diary

2009-08-06T10:20:00.002+02:00

ENGLISH VERSION (version française ci-dessous)

Dear Friends,

As you may know, Zimbabwe is trying to recover from a serious humanitarian crisis. One of the major aspects of this crisis has been the collapse of the public health care delivery system. This continues to have severe health consequences on ordinary Zimbabweans.

The Zimbabwe Network for Health (ZimHealth) seeks to raise funds to procure and distribute medicines, diagnostics, vaccines and other commodities, in an effort to contribute to the rehabilitation of the health facilities in Zimbabwe.

Over the past six months, ZimHealth has already sent out material to Mbare Polyclinic in Harare, which caters primarily for low income urban and rural women and children. A recent generous donation from the City of Geneva will allow us to send a further consignment. But there are many other Hospitals and Clinics that urgently need material help in order to continue providing the medical services that are so desperately needed by the population of Zimbabwe.

ZimHeath intends to hold a fundraising social event and a presentation of its activities on

Saturday 3rd October, in the afternoon and evening, in Geneva.

The venue and details will be communicated at the beginning of September. Please book this date for this very important event, and feel free to transmit it too all persons who might feel concerned.

Further details at:

http://www.zimhealth.org/

If you are unable to attend, any contributions would be very welcome. Our bank details:

Account Name: ZimHealth ( Zimbabwe Network for Health )
Account No 295834.40E (Please note full stop between 4 and 4)
Bank: UBS SA, Geneva-O.M.S 0279/86
IBAN: CH900027927929583440E
BIC: UBSWCHZH80A

FRENCH VERSION

Chers amis,

Comme vous le savez peut-être déjà, le Zimbabwe tente de se remettre d'une crise humanitaire grave. Un des aspects majeurs de cette crise a été l'effondrement du système de santé publique. L'impact sur la santé des zimbabwéens ordinaires a été et continue d'être très grave.

ZimHealth (réseau zimbabwéen pour l'accès à la santé) cherche à récolter des fonds servant à procurer des médicaments, vaccins et autres matériels afin de contribuer à la reconstruction des infrastructures médicales du Zimbabwe.

Ces six derniers mois, ZimHealth a pu envoyer un premier lot de matériel à la Polyclinique de Mbare à Harare, qui dessert surtout des femmes et enfants aux revenus modestes de la zone urbaine. Un récent don généreux de la Ville de Genève permettra un envoi supplémentaire. Mais il y existe bien d'autres Hôpitaux et Cliniques qui nécessitent un soutien matériel urgent afin de continuer à fournir les services médicaux dont la population zimbabwéenne a tant besoin.

ZimHealth compte tenir une collecte de fonds ainsi qu'une présentation de ses activités le

samedi 3 octobre, durant l'après-midi et la soirée, à Genève

Le lieu et les détails suivront au début du mois de Septembre. Entre-temps, nous vous encourageons de bien vouloir réserver cette date importante et de transmettre ce message à toute personne qui pourrait se sentir concerné.

D'autres détails sur nos activités sont disponibles sur note site Internet:

http://www.zimhealth.org/

Si vous ne pouvez pas venir, toute contribution serait la bienvenue! Les détails de notre compte sont:

Titulaire du comte: ZimHealth ( Zimbabwe Network for Health )
Numéro de compte: 295834.40E (Notez le point entre le 4 et le 4)
Banque: UBS SA, Genève-O.M.S 0279/86
IBAN: CH900027927929583440E
BIC: UBSWCHZH80A

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Police action disturbs Bishop

Biti sounds warning over Zim elections

Pastoral Letter of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference 2011

First certify pre-poll conditions …. ZESN tells SADC

Swiss Church Group criticizes certification of Zimbabwean diamonds

SADC: Urgently Deploy GPA Monitors to Zimbabwe

EU banks blacklist Zimbabwe over sanctions

Tsvangirai: 'Zimbabwe's conflict will end with credible election'

Zimbabwe back to the polls next year

Zimbabwe's cabinet this week unanimously agreed that fresh elections would be held next year amid opposition from a wide cross-section of Zimbabweans.

Breaking news from Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

Diamonds sharpen Zimbabwe power struggle

Zim to probe rights abuses

'Stop using students as political tools,' says Zimbabwe student

More corruption ahead for diamond industry

Zimbabwe in top 10 list of food-insecure states

UN: 1,7-million Zimbabweans need food aid

HARARE, ZIMBABWE Aug 10 2010 13:35

Civil society demands action from SADC leaders

Call For More Donor Funds For Zimbabwe

Zim: A second liberation?

Protect Jewelry Industry from the Taint of Blood Diamonds

International Rights Groups Protest Rise in Persecution of Zimbabwe Unionists

Civil society warns of worsening rights abuse

US Government Extends Sanctions on Zimbabwe

Notice of Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Zimbabwe

The polarised lives of Zimbabwe's rich and poor

Zimbabwe: Abuse of Human Rights Continues Under Unity Government

OHCHR and AU Commission strengthen cooperation for human rights in Africa

Zimbabwe stalemate persists

22 WOZA members arrested in Bulawayo for discussing constitution

Zimbabwe: NEW CONSTITUTION DRAFT PROCESS UNDERWAY

Zimbabwe's Mugabe Accuses West of Double Standard on Climate, Human Rights

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SA urged to arrest Zim rights violators

UN launches new appeal as farmers lament failed agricultural season

UN halves Zim humanitarian appeal

"Each hour is critical," warns UN Special Rapporteur on Torture after being denied entry to Zimbabwe

Organizations lament the refusal of Zimbabwe to receive the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

In Geneva, President Mugabe of Zimbabwe Takes Aim at Western Broadcasters

New Beginning for Zimbabwean Churches and International Partners

Swiss Food Giant Linked to Deals with Mugabe Family

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