Zimbabwe
The
human rights environment in Zimbabwe continued to stabilise throughout 2010 and
the economy grew stronger. Many
well-respected human rights defenders acknowledge that the situation, while
still serious, has greatly improved from 2008 when violence erupted after the
election and before the presidential run-off election. Levels of harassment and abuse have reduced
since the Government of National Unity took office in February 2009.
The
year 2010 saw other steps forward. The
country-wide consultation on a new constitution brought isolated outbreaks of
violence, including one death in Harare, but overall did not produce the
expected tensions that many observers had predicted. The Zimbabwean government, through the
judiciary, made progress in beginning to look at how it can strengthen its role
in administering family law. Most
protest marches proceeded without trouble, and often with police cooperation. Licences were awarded to another four
independent newspapers and the reports of human rights abuses that were
occurring in the Chiadzwa diamond mining area have largely diminished. Reginald Austin was appointed as head of the
Human Rights Commission.
Notwithstanding
this, however, it remains the case that minimal progress has been achieved in
bringing about the reforms that would underpin fundamental and sustainable
improvements to human rights, governance and political freedoms. A culture of impunity remained throughout the
year, and the attorney-general’s office continued to pursue prosecutions on a
political basis. The use of torture as a
tool for questioning by police and the military continued to go unchallenged by
the state and the Human Rights Commission was unable to start its work because
implementing legislation had not yet been passed to parliament.
Encouraging
an improvement in human rights and good governance remained central to UK
policy. We continued, along with the EU,
to support the Government of National Unity and its commitment to improving
human rights and ongoing wider reforms.
Our Embassy in Harare worked with NGOs, human rights defenders and other
diplomatic missions in 2010 to ensure effective monitoring of the human rights
situation and coordination of development assistance. We continued to support the efforts of the
southern African region to secure implementation of the Global Political
Agreement which underpins the Government of National Unity. Ministers regularly discussed Zimbabwe with
their counterparts in the region.
A
new and properly constructed constitution will be important for building the
foundations for democracy in Zimbabwe.
We supported several civil society groups in their efforts to increase
citizen awareness of their human rights, raise people’s expectations of the
state, and provide support for a constitution which reflects the will of the
people and strengthens democracy in Zimbabwe.
In 2010 we spent more than £1.5 million on support to human rights
defenders, including on developing capacity for monitoring, access to legal
advice and support for victims of abuse.
The
period since the formation of the Government of National Unity has seen a
significant reduction in the level of human rights violations but the renewed
focus on possible elections has brought to mind for many Zimbabweans the
violence, displacement and harassment of 2008.
The memory of those violations is still fresh and remains a powerful
tool of coercion. There remains a danger
of human rights deteriorating in the run-up to future elections.
Under
the terms of the Global Political Agreement, Zimbabweans were due to vote on a
new constitution in early 2011, although this date has already been delayed by
several months and now seems unlikely to happen before September. Although the first phase of the constitutional
process unfolded more smoothly than many anticipated, there remains the
potential for individuals and organisations promoting draft versions of the
constitution that are not favoured by hard-line elements to be subject to
intimidation.
Therefore, we expect our main focus in 2011 to be encouraging the
successful completion of the constitutional process laid down in the Global
Political Agreement, and the putting in place of conditions to allow for the
eventual holding of free and fair elections.
Steps to nurture and extend the voice of civil society and to protect
human rights defenders will remain a key element in our effort to bring about
an improvement in human rights and governance and to ensure that free and fair
elections can take place.
Access to justice
The
justice system in Zimbabwe continues to be controlled by a system of patronage
which stifles judicial independence and continues to create a lack of
confidence around the rule of law. Two
pieces of legislation, the Public Order and Security Act 2002, and the Criminal
Procedure and Evidence Act, were regularly abused by the attorney-general’s
office, which is headed by political hardliner Johannes Tomana. Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence
Act, which ensures that a defendant remains in custody for at least a further
seven days, was regularly invoked by prosecutors after magistrates awarded bail
to a defendant. For example, on 22
November, a prosecutor used this mechanism to prevent bail of $100 that had
been granted to Nqobani Ndlovu, a reporter for the independently owned Standard newspaper.
The
Supreme Court is slow in hearing cases and reaching judgments but one
high-profile case was concluded in 2010. The Supreme Court agreed with the claim of
Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu of Women of Zimbabwe Arise that their
constitutional rights were violated by their imprisonment in 2008. The pair subsequently began proceedings to
sue the police over their imprisonment and the way they had been treated but
the slow nature of justice does little to curb the culture of impunity that
surrounds state-sponsored violence and abuse.
A
more positive sign was the judiciary’s stakeholder conference in November to
discuss establishing a formal family court.
This bodes well for the future.
Political
interference was suspected in many cases involving opposition politicians and
other human rights defenders in 2010. In
May, the trial of Senator Roy Bennett of the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai
(MDC-T), was finally brought to a close by the High Court’s dismissal of the
prosecution’s case. The trial, which
began on 19 October 2009, saw Senator Bennett charged with terrorism,
insurgence, sabotage and banditry and carried the death penalty. Senator Bennett’s swearing in as deputy minister
of agriculture was one of MDC-T’s key outstanding issues under the Zimbabwean
Global Political Agreement. However, the
attorney-general appealed against the acquittal and the chief justice reserved
judgment in July on whether the appeal should be allowed. In a further twist Judge Chinembiri Bhunu,
who was responsible for the acquittal, issued a summons in September against
Senator Bennett for defamation. Senator
Bennett is now in exile to avoid the constant harassment he has suffered.
Our
Embassy monitored many such court cases and embassy staff often attended court
in person to support human rights defenders who were facing prosecution.
Death penalty
The
death penalty continues to be handed down as a sentence, although executions
are rarely carried out. There were 55
people on death row at the end of 2010, including two women. The last execution was carried out in 2005 but
the most recent death sentence was issued in 2010. The EU unsuccessfully lobbied the Zimbabwean
government to support a UN General Assembly resolution proposing a moratorium
on the use of the death penalty.
Torture and other ill
treatment
The
use of torture remains endemic across Zimbabwe, and it is regularly used by
police officers when interviewing suspects in criminal cases. It has also been used by the security sector
in politically motivated interrogations.
In 2010, we helped to provide assistance for victims of torture and also
supported studies on the use of torture in Zimbabwe.
Prisons and detention
issues
Overcrowding,
unhygienic conditions and inadequate nutrition and medical care continue to be
problems in Zimbabwe’s prisons.
Infectious diseases can spread rapidly in these conditions. The International Committee of the Red Cross
has been feeding inmates in 26 Zimbabwean prisons since April 2009. We support local groups in Zimbabwe who work
to raise the profile of prisoners’ welfare and to provide legal advice to
inmates.
Human rights
defenders
The
state harassed human rights defenders sporadically throughout 2010,
particularly those who spoke out against the state or against the “Kariba”
version of the constitution, which is preferred by the Zimbabwe African
National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).
Several court cases were resurrected after they had been dismissed
months or years earlier. In November, a high
court judge rejected an attempt to appeal against the acquittal seven months
earlier of prominent human rights lawyer Alec Muchadehama and high court clerk
Constance Gambara. Prosecutors also
reissued a summons for 13 leaders of Women of Zimbabwe Arise that dated back to
2008.
Two
human rights defenders who were threatened, trade unionist Gertrude Hambira and
journalist Stanley Kwenda, fled the country in fear for their safety. Mr Kwenda had received a death threat after
writing a story about a senior police officer.
Gertrude Hambira, secretary-general of the General Agricultural and
Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe, had released a documentary and report
critical of the effects on farm workers of the government’s land seizures. Three months later, Ms Hambira and some of
her colleagues were interrogated by the Joint Operations Command, a body that
contains senior military and government figures and coordinates state
security. At a similar time, police
questioned three members of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions for
conducting a civic education workshop.
They were detained for five hours before being released without charge.
The
arrest of Farai Maguwu, executive director of the Centre for Research and
Development, on 3 June brought international attention. The Centre was the leading civil society
organisation reporting on human rights abuses and level of compliance with
Kimberley Process standards in the diamond-producing area of Chiadzwa. Mr Maguwu was charged with publishing
falsehoods against the state with the intention to cause prejudice to the
security or economic interests of the country.
His arrest came after he had shown a confidential government document he
had obtained to the Kimberley Process monitor, Abbey Chikane. Mr Maguwu remained in police custody for five
days before his first court appearance, considerably longer than the permitted
48 hours. In court, the prosecutor
declared that he would “rot in jail”. In
contravention of the court order, police removed Mr Maguwu from Harare’s Remand
Prison on 11 June for four days without informing his lawyers and denied him
access to his medicine or medical treatment.
Prosecutors eventually withdrew the charges in October.
Generally,
however, space for civil society continued to open up during 2010. A surprising amount of criticism aimed at the
government was allowed to be aired in the independent press, in public debates
and in civil society publications.
Several marches and demonstrations were held peacefully, many with
police cooperation. But civil society
groups and the MDC-T were still unable to rely on an unrestricted right to
assembly. In late October, the police
prevented Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai from holding meetings with
supporters in three Harare suburbs, claiming that they had not been informed in
time. The Women of Zimbabwe Arise
protest march through Harare on International Day of Peace in September led to
83 members being charged with criminal nuisance.
Another
positive sign is that the slew of charges against MDC-T members of parliament
seen in 2009 slowed in 2010, although some MPs and MDC-T activists and
supporters were still harassed and arrested.
Four MDC-T MPs were sentenced in 2009 on spurious charges and suspended
from parliament. Three of them, Ernest
Mudavanhu, Mathias Mlambo and Shuah Mudiwa, have since won appeals against
their convictions and that of the fourth, Meki Makuyana, is waiting to be heard.
Freedom of expression
State
broadcasting outlets and one of the daily newspapers are controlled by
ZANU-(PF) and continue to broadcast or publish ZANU-(PF) propaganda. However, there are lively independent
newspapers in Zimbabwe which publish with greater openness than may be
expected. Independent journalists were,
on occasion, harassed during 2010.
Police served summonses on two journalists with the Zimbabwe Independent
that related to a story about the police commissioner’s opposition to electoral
reforms. But all broadcast media is
state-owned and no new broadcast licences have been issued. We welcomed the issuing of licences to four
new daily newspapers and the fact that the BBC can now report from Zimbabwe.
Artists
also faced harassment in 2010. Owen
Maseko, a Bulawayo-based artist, was arrested in March for undermining the
authority of or insulting the president and causing offence to a particular
race, or religion. His crime was to
exhibit an installation that depicted Joshua Nkomo bleeding from the neck as he
signed the agreement with President Mugabe to form a unity government in the
1980s. Mr Maseko’s case was referred to
the Supreme Court to assess whether his constitutional rights had been violated
by his arrest. Mr Maseko’s gallery director,
Voti Thebe, was also arrested and photographs of the election violence in 2008
from an exhibition hosted by ZimRights were removed temporarily by the police.
Freedom of religion
and belief
Zimbabwe
generally displays tolerance towards different religions. However, the Anglican bishops of Harare and
Manicaland and their congregations have been harassed, prevented from
worshiping, and even tear-gassed by police acting on behalf of Nolbert Kunonga,
a former bishop who has established a parallel Church and taken possession of
the Anglican Church’s property. We were
in regular contact with the Anglican Church, both in the UK and in Zimbabwe,
and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Women’s rights
Zimbabwe
has women in many high-profile positions, in politics, the civil service and
commerce. But because many families
cannot afford to pay school fees, girls are often overlooked in favour of their
male siblings when parents are deciding which of their children to
educate. As in other countries, women
and girls carry a disproportionately heavy burden when it comes to poverty,
lack of access to education and health services and lack of productive
opportunities.
We
maintained a close relationship with several women’s rights groups and our Embassy
in Harare participated in several activities alongside the Ministry of Women’s
Affairs, Gender and Community Development, helping to develop the role of women
in Zimbabwe. Our Embassy also worked
with a domestic violence unit to help police deal with cases of gender-based
violence.
