DESPITE THE formation of a unity government last February, Zimbabweans are still subjected to “persistent and serious” human rights violations, Amnesty International’s secretary general Irene Khan said yesterday.
“The human rights situation in Zimbabwe is precarious and the socio-economic conditions are desperate for the vast majority of Zimbabweans,” she told a press conference in Harare after her six-day fact-finding mission in the country.
All in all, Ms Khan gave a grim assessment of life in Zimbabwe four months on from the formation of the new unity government, which comprises the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change parties and president Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party.
She said “persistent and serious human rights violations, combined with the failure to introduce reform of the police, army and security forces or address impunity and the lack of clear commitment on some parts of the government are real obstacles that need to be confronted by the top leadership of Zimbabwe”.
The delivery of the downbeat assessment has come at a bad time for Zimbabwe’s fledgling government, with prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai currently in the midst of a two-week tour of the West to secure the $10 billion (€7.16 billion) he believes is needed to kick-start the economy.
The majority of the countries he has visited so far, including Germany, Sweden and the US, have insisted upon proof of the restoration of human rights, press freedoms and the rule of law before increasing the amount of assistance they will give .
However, Ms Khan urged donors not to withdraw crucial humanitarian assistance because of the continued climate of oppression, because ordinary Zimbabweans were struggling to survive due to the grave economic situation. “The human rights assessment is grim but should not be used by donors to withhold funding that can make a difference to humanitarian needs. We believe humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe should be expanded,” she said.
An Amnesty statement on Ms Khan’s assessment highlighted the fact that activists, lawyers and journalists continued to be intimated, harassed and threatened while carrying out their work.
It added that a number of political and human rights activists detained illegally last year remained before the courts, and worryingly, others who were taken remain unaccounted for despite a search of the country’s prisons and detention centres.
“For the climate of intimidation to end, President Mugabe and prime minister Tsvangirai must make public statements clearly instructing all party activists to stop harassment, intimidation, and threats against perceived political opponents, including teachers and lawyers,” said Ms Khan.
The assessment also noted that violent farm invasions persisted; and most of the 700,000 people evicted from their urban dwellings during Operation Murambatsvina (which translates as clean-up) in 2005 still live without adequate housing.
“Whenever we raised the issue of human rights change, the government answered that it needed more resources,” said Ms Khan, who was the first secretary general from the human rights watchdog to be allowed to visit Zimbabwe.
“Ending attacks on human rights defenders, lifting restrictions on the media, and allowing public protests do not require more money – they only require political will,” she said.