Source: Zim human rights situation deteriorates: UK – DailyNews Live
Maxwell Sibanda, ASSISTANT EDITOR 22 July 2017
HARARE – The United Kingdom (UK) has released a report in which it says
the human rights situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated on the back of
violations by security agents.
In its July 2017 global report titled Human Rights and Democracy the UK
grouped Zimbabwe together with Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Somalia, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Libya, Eritrea, Egypt and
Sudan, which it said were rights priority areas in Africa.
The cited human rights abuses in Zimbabwe are illegal demolition of homes,
continued violations of property rights, abductions and torture, and
politically-motivated sexual violence by State actors.
“An increase in public protest over the summer in response to the
political environment and the deteriorating economic situation saw police
respond using dogs, tear gas, water cannon and baton charges.”
“The government denied permission for activists and opposition parties to
hold rallies but granted similar requests by the ruling party. Reports of
intimidation, rape, assisted voting and vote buying primarily by the
ruling party marred two by-elections. Partisan distribution of food by
government agencies was also reported in seven provinces in October 2016,”
it said.
This was in reference to several demonstrations by pro-democracy groups
and July 2016 riots which were both crushed by heavily-armed police in
Harare and Beitbridge, respectively.
On July 1, last year, the small border town of Beitbridge witnessed riots
which were sparked by government’s ill-advised decision to ban the
importation of consumer goods mainly from South Africa.
Angry protesters looted shops and set alight a warehouse belonging to the
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) prompting police to call for
re-enforcements from Harare.
On July 4, police, apart from severely assaulting commuter omnibus crews
in Mabvuku and Epworth, set dogs on jobless youths who were barricading
roads in solidarity with transporters who were complaining over too many
roadblocks along their routes.
And on July 6, in one of the most successful strikes ever to be organised
in Zimbabwe, thousands of impoverished workers heeded calls by activist
clergyman Evan Mawarire to stay-away from work – in a move which saw
authorities clashing with jobless youths in poor townships.
The UK report also re-visited promises made by government when Zimbabwe
engaged with the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session where it
committed to step up efforts to improve prison and police cell conditions
and to reconsider its approach to the death penalty.
“At the UPR, the UK welcomed Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution but expressed
concern at the slow progress of legislative alignment and called for the
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to investigate allegations of political
violence.
“We will press for delivery on the UN UPR commitments, through the
tripartite process (Government of Zimbabwe, UN and NGOs).
“We also reiterated the importance of respect for the right to shelter and
property.
“The Government of Zimbabwe accepted our recommendations to accede to the
Convention against Torture, and noted our recommendation to align
electoral, public order and media laws with the 2013 Constitution before
the end of the current Parliament,” the report said.
The UK said it will continue to prioritise human rights and the rule of
law in Zimbabwe in keeping with the country’s status as a human rights
priority country.
“The UK funded training on human rights legislation and the constitution
for Zimbabwean prosecutors. We worked through the multi-donor
Transparency, Responsiveness, Accountability and Citizen Engagement
(TRACE) Programme to improve access to justice, media and information
freedom and the electoral environment in advance of the 2018 elections.”
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association director, Okay Machisa, urged government
to take heed of the report’s concerns.
“Equally, the government must take steps to ensure that the Constitution
and its human rights friendly Bill of Rights in Chapter 4 is respected,”
said Machisa.
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