Zimbabwe promises respect for human rights

When Justice and Legal Affairs Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, attended the 19^th Session at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2012, he made a number of promises to improve the human rights situation, including special attention to women’s rights. But with the Government of National Unity’s poor track record when it comes to respecting human rights, it is questionable if these promises will translate into actual changes on the ground.

In October, 2011, Zimbabwe underwent the Universal Period Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Chinamasa, accepted a wide range of recommendations aiming to improve the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, including 15 recommendations directly dealing with women’s political participation and prevention of marginalisation and gender-based violence.

Since October, Chinamasa has had some time to think, and in his address to the Human Rights Council on 15^th March he made further promises, such as implementation of domestic policies to prevent political violence; ratification of the Convention Against Torture and operationalizing the Human Rights Commission to enable it to investigate human rights abuses.

Zimbabwe Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa, speaking at the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

These words are full of promises of a brighter future for women of Zimbabwe, but knowing the history of the current regime’s disregard of its obligations to protect its citizens and promote human rights and social justice for all, there is limited hope that the words will lead to significant changes for men and women of Zimbabwe.

On the contrary, Zimbabwe’s regime has over the years repeatedly proved that promises and signatures on conventions have very limited impact on the actual actions on ground. The Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) serves as a good example.

Zimbabwe ratified CEDAW in 1991, but at the review by the CEDAW Committee in February this year, it became glaringly clear that the state had done very little to live up to its obligations to protect and promote women’s right to take part in the social, economic and political development of Zimbabwe. Despite rosy words and intentions laid out in the Zimbabwean State Report to the CEDAW Committee, the result of the review showed that in reality very little has been done to protect and promote the rights of women.

Women in Zimbabwe are still to a large extent excluded from influence on equal terms with men, and in addition female politicians and civic activists, associated with the democracy movement, are direct targets of state-sponsored political violence.  No serious efforts have been made to end impunity for perpetrators of political violence and make sure women are free and safe to participate in politics and public life.

In spite of the increased pressure on Zimbabwe’s government based on the international human rights obligations, these are only small steps towards greater respect for the rights of all Zimbabweans.

International human rights treaties and review mechanisms are important ways of identifying and addressing human rights violations, but the only way Zimbabweans will see real improvements on the ground is when people stand up and demand their rights as human beings and as citizens of Zimbabwe. Civil society and the broader democracy movement plays an important role in mobilising and organising Zimbabweans to push for the government to become accountable to its people.

Will a new constitution lead to peaceful elections?

Despite hopes that a new constitution will lead the way to free and fair elections, there are limited signs that Zimbabwe is heading for a peaceful transition to democracy.

Zimbabwe’s constitution-making process is moving into its last stage before a referndum as the Constitution Select Committee (COPAC) is putting the final touches on the draft constitution. Although the political parties seek to give the impression that COPAC is in charge of the drafting, but there is no doubt that the final draft will be a politically negotiated settlement between the parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU), ZANU-PF, MDC-T and MDC-M.

Looking back at the GNU’s disastrous track record, when it comes to finding solutions to Zimbabwe’s economic, political and social challenges, there is a high chance that the constitution will reflect the will of the political elite, rather than the people’s desire for a democratic and socially just Zimbabwe.

What is more worrying, however, is the GNU’s inability to change the political climate in Zimbabwe. For decades the political contest has been characterised by violent repression of pro-democracy forces, which culminated in the extreme levels of political violence during the 2008 elections.

Turning the culture of violence and impunity into a peaceful society based on democratic principles will as a minimum require a re-building of the professionalism in the police, military and court system, which have been heavily politicised in the past decades. Unfortunately the signs are pointing in the opposite direction. A recruitment campaign of ZANU-PF activists into the military and police and Iran’s pledges of military support to Zimbabwe, indicates what to expect as Zimbabwe moves towards the constitutional referendum and elections.

Even in the unlikely event that a democratic constitution is put forward for a referendum and Mugabe gives up his control of the security sector, there is no guarantee that this will lead to an end to the culture of violence and impunity, which has become part and parcel of Zimbabwean politics. Development of a genuine democracy must  come from a broad-based mobilisation of democratic forces, which can push the political elite to become accountable to the people of Zimbabwe.

ICC finds Congolese rebel leader guilty of war crimes but remain silent on violence against women

Rebel leader found guilty of recruiting and using child soldiers but the International Criminal Court remains silent on allegations of the use of rape as a weapon of war by soldiers under his command.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday found former militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) guilty of recruiting children to the Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC) and using them in hostilities in 2002-3. This landmark judgement sends a strong signal of the need to pay special attention to vulnerable groups during periods of conflict and war.

While this is certainly a very welcome development, it is disturbing that the issue of rape as a weapon of war was not included in Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo’s charges against Lubanga.

According to Human Rights Watch hundreds of thousands of women have been raped or sexually abused during the conflict in DRC. In relation to the Lubanga case, the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice has documented gender based crimes committed under the command of Lubanga and submitted the evidence to Ocampo.

The evidence was presented in a dossier detailing 51 individual interviews with predominantly women survivors of rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence, of which 31 were victims of crimes committed by the UPC under Lubanga’s command. However, evidence was not considered sufficient to include rape and gender based violence in the charges.

Without international mechanisms that acknowledge the crimes against women, there is still a need for a joint push for prosecution of the perpetrators of political violence against women.

Another brick in the wall of impunity

When President Robert Mugabe last Thursday unilaterally extended Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri’s contract to 2014, he once again demonstrated his unwillingness to comply with the Global Political Agreement (GPA). This sends a strong signal that there will be no end impunity for political violence against political opposition to ZANU-PF and pro-democracy forces in Zimbabwe as long as Mugabe remains in power.

Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri 

It is no secret that Chihuri is a ZANU-PF supporter and he has openly declared that he sees his role as Commissioner General as a political platform for ZANU-PF rather than a non-partisan leader of Zimbabwe’s police force. He has allegedly stated that he would never allow the MDC to take power, while he is alive, arguing that Tsvangirai is a “puppet of the West” in foreign powers’ attempts to take over power in Zimbabwe.

Chihuri has demonstrated his commitment to maintain ZANU-PF’s power through violence rather than democratic electoral processes, and was in 2010 quoted of telling junior police officers that “this country came through blood and the barrel of the gun, and it can never be recolonised through a simple pen, which costs as little as five cents.” Over the years, he has been implicated in several cases related to illegal seizures of farms and cases of corruption. Furthermore he is among the people who have had their assets frozen and been barred from entering the EU as part of the Unions targeted measures against Zimbabwe (often referred to as ‘sanctions’).

According to the GPA, reappointment of the Police Commissioner General must be approved by the principals of the Inclusive Government. However, Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara have not agreed to the reappointment, stating that this can only happen after regularisation of the Police Service Commission. Adding to the tension, Attorney-General Johannes Tomana has threatened to arrest anyone who claims that the principals must be consulted about reappointments.

By continuously refusing to comply with the provisions of the GPA, disregarding the rule of law and allowing hate speech against democratic voices, ZANU-PF has once again made it clear that they will never allow a pluralistic political debate. As long as Chihuru remains in control of the police there are little prospects of an end to impunity for political violence.

Will Zimbabwe pass the international Human Rights examination today?

If I was the Zimbabwean government I would be shaking; my hands would be sweaty; I would want to pull a sickie and stay at home until it was all over. Zimbabwe is being examined today on its human rights record at the United Nations Universal Periodic Review, in short the UPR.

The UPR is a process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States every four years. It is an opportunity for each state to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations and to fulfil their human rights obligations. And today the turn has come to Zimbabwe.

An examination report packed with lies

The Zimbabwean government has handed in a report on the human rights situation in the country to the UN General Assembly in preparation for the review. They mainly blame economic sanctions for the poor economic state of the country, which apparently hinders the government in taking the necessary steps towards guaranteeing human rights. They also claim that there are a number of national frameworks, laws and remedies protecting human rights. Most of these are dubious while others are straight up lies. One examples is “The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] which, inter alia, criminalises all forms of sexual abuse perpetrated on any individual.”

If this was true, political violence would not be an issue in Zimbabwe. Victims of political rape would simply go to the police and report the incident without being turned away. Today they can’t. The police would report on political violence without being afraid of losing their job. Today they don’t report. And an independent court would put an end to the impunity that exists today. Today impunity is one of the main reasons why political violence is taking place.

Another point the government is making is that, with regards to women, “Zimbabwe has enacted a Domestic Violence Act and created centres for victims of domestic violence.” The group of civil society organizations from Zimbabwe who has also handed in a report to the UN General Assembly with recommendations and concerns are asking, “Are there any measures being undertaken to assist women victims of other forms of violence within the communities?” And I agree with them. Why is the issue of politically motivated violence against women not included in the government’s efforts to improve and protect women’s rights? It looks as thought the government is actively avoiding to touch upon this issue.

Need of investigation of Political Violence

So if the Zimbabwean government is serious about the Criminal Law and the improvement of women’s rights I want to see them investigate and punish the people who has been involved in politically motivated violence. Not only the physical perpetrators, but more importantly the ones who order the violence from above such as politicians, “war veterans”, leaders in the security sector and in the military. As long as there is no government induced investigation of the past 10 years political violence there is no “criminalisation of all forms of sexual abuse perpetrated on any individual.” Nor is there any improvements of women’s rights now or in the future.

Therefore I also agree with the Zimbabwean civil society when asking the government,“how is the Zimbabwean government going to ensure that the justice delivery system facilitates access to justice for all without discrimination?”

Not a word arbitrary arrests and harassment of human rights defenders

Another issue that these civil society organizations point to is the many arbitrary arrests and detention of human rights- and political activists that take place in the country. The Zimbabwean government do not mention these with one word in their report (maybe because there is no way they can be linked to the issue of economic sanctions).

Nor do they mention the restrictive laws on freedom of expression, assembly and association such as the AIPPA (Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act) and the POSA (Public Order and Security Act). These laws should be reformed together with the Criminal Law Code and the Broadcasting Services Act as long as they are used to limit freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of opposition to the leading party.

Free and fair elections?

Another critical question asked by the civil society organizations is“What measures are being taken to protect the voter and the vote before, during and after the next elections?“ And I am looking forward to the response for that one. Not in writing or in words, but in action. Is the next election going to be free and fair? In my view it all depends on how all of the above issues are tackled.

There will not be a possibility for a free and fair election in an environment of impunity; police and security sector violence; restrictive laws on human rights activists and on critical voices in general; and lack of a free press.

Unfortunately I doubt that the Zimbabwean government is as nervous as I would be before an exam. Because they will probably pass the test with words and lies. But they will continue to fail in real life where real people are raped, tortured and silenced. And up until now this does not seem to bother them at all.

The practice and culture of political violence.

On the 1^st of May activists from Africa Contact expressed solidarity with women in Zimbabwe – and the activists worked to get other people to join forces with them in their virtual petition, to stop political violence against women, thereby sending a strong signal that backing and support is there for them, in their fight for a more democratic and just society – also as far away as in Denmark.

For women in Zimbabwe being subjected to politically motivated violence is regrettably a fright they have to live with when being politically active in any way or even when it’s not the woman herself but her husband or other male relatives who are involved with the political opposition or civil society organizations. This of course represses the scope for both personal and democratic freedom as well as it is threatening the development of institutions and processes encouraging democratic participation.

Political violence is by no means a new phenomenon in Zimbabwe. In the new book; When a State Turns Against its Citizens: Institutionalized Violence and Political Culture, Lloyd Sachikonye, associated Professor at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Zimbabwe, explicates how Zimbabwean politics of today and the continual violence that emanates from it have origins in the Liberation War (1964-1979), in the inter-party conflicts that arose at this time and in the actions of the Rhodesian armed forces during the war. Seen in this light Zimbabwean politics have become entrenched in a tradition and practice of violence.

Lloyd Sachikonye’s focus in the book though is on the period since 2000. In this last decade political violence has increased in Zimbabwe and democratic space has withered as the state has become progressively more authoritarian and suppressive regarding the political opposition and civil society. In 2008 violence erupted during election period and again this year, by assumptions of an upcoming election, violence has escalated once more.

As the perpetrators of violence enjoy impunity, this makes the fight against political violence even harder and necessitates an even stronger voice to advocate for the victims as well as for democratic progress.

Zimbabweans are struggling for democracy, for freedom and for their rights and especially the women are systematically targeted with violent actions as beatings and rapes. We should all join in giving our support and encouragement to keep up the fight against the practice and culture of political violence.

Read more on Lloyd Sachikonye’s book at: http://jacana.book.co.za/blog/2011/03/23/new-release-when-a-state-turns-against-its-citizens-by-lloyd-sachikonye/