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Regional Advocacy programme to Mozambique

Wednesday, 17 November 2010 22:44 administrator

Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe is participating in a Regional Advocacy and Exchange program to meet Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and government officials/ministers from different ministries in Mozambique to discuss Zimbabwean issues and how Mozambican people and government can help in our quest for a democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe. The meetings are going to be organised by CEMO and JOINT which are CSOs working in Mozambique. Having noted that Mozambique is the current SADC Chair of the Organ on Politics and Defence, and SADC being the guarantor of the GPA in Zimbabwe, players within the Mozambican territory can be of paramount importance and can play a strategic role in as far as addressing the current Zimbabwean crises is concerned.

Proposed Dates: 19 – 23 November 2010
Organising Partners:
1. Centre for Mozambician and International Studies (CEMO) – Constancio Nguja, Executive Director
2. JOINT- Liga de ONGs em Mocambique – Simao Tila, Coordinador Executivo
Meeting city: Maputo
Number of people attending from ROHR: Three
Objectives

Lobby Mozambician CSOs and government to push the principals in the GNU to fully implement the GPA and to respect fundamental human rights,
To persuade Mozambicans to help Zimbabwe on Elections monitoring from an international perspective and if possible peace keepers from the region to be deployed before, during and after elections,
To mobilise support from Mozambican CSOs to publish and expose human rights abuses in Zimbabwe
To partner and share experiences on the Peace building and Transitional Justice processes, and fight for the restoration of Human Rights,
To strengthen regional advocacy and regional partnerships

Conclusion

It is out of these programmes that Zimbabweans can push other nations in the region and beyond to support the democratic cause and struggle in Zimbabwe. This will also strengthen CSOs work in both countries as well as sharpening advocacy skills, tools and instruments. We also seek to internationalise the struggle at the same time creating a platform to expose abuses and drawing the attention of regional and world communities and leaders.

Chief Chaka makes a peace declaration for Chirumhanzu

Tuesday, 16 November 2010 20:02 administrator

‘’I am not aligned to any political party. I want to unite people to live in peace, exchange ideas on what to do to stir development forward. Let’s be in the papers for good reasons not violence.’’ Chief Chaka

More than five hundred villagers among them, chiefs, counsellors, herdsmen, the representative from national youth service, church leaders, artists, women, youths, men, political party representatives and members from the MDC and from ZANU PF gathered on Sunday afternoon 14^th November at Muwani business centre, 5 km from Chaka business centre along the Harare – Masvingo road to commemorate the international day of peace organized by ROHR Zimbabwe.

The commemoration was celebrated in the form of rich probing poetry, incisive drama, soothing music , testimonials and deep speeches interwoven together to popularize the inevitable need for sustainable peace for development, its attainment and the underlying advantages of the absence of violence.

The moment came when his highness, the visionary Chief Chaka delivered the key note address directly to his people and the visiting chief Manhovo from the neighbouring villages. Unlike the other breed of chieftainship that has been mired in the political crisis rather than being part of the solution, chief Chaka made it known openly to the gathering that he was neither MDC nor Zanu Pf in assuming his priorities and duties as the leader. Below is the text of the speech delivered by Chief Chaka to his people.

I want to honour chief Manhovo and all the leadership represented here. I am so happy with the meeting for peace. As chief, I have already begun making efforts on spreading the gospel of peace in my constituency. I have gone around telling herdsmen and their people, that I do not want to hear about a person being beaten because of politics.

People should be free to live in harmony. I have said to people particularly the youths in my area, if I hear that you have burnt a house or that you have beaten other people because of politics then you have to depart from my area.

As leaders of constituencies we urge people to live in peace so that there can be development. Without peace there is no development.

This year I will partner with chief Manhovo to see that people vote in peace next year. We do not want to hear about people murdering each other or hear about demolition of houses .If there are pending disputes they have to be resolved before the elections. If you owe someone something, make efforts to resolve issues now and not wait to settle scores next year.

If I hear of any cases of violence in my area, I will summon the culprit and his or her parents to my court failure to which they will have to find another place to live where violence is tolerated.

I have come today because of the meeting on peace, if it was about politics I could have refused but because I heard it’s about peace – that’s what we want. Therefore can you also pray for the leaders of this country to unite in honesty.

Us as chiefs, we are not aligned to any political party but encourage people to live in peace, therefore I encourage chief Manhovo to tell his people and herdsmen not to threaten and intimidate one another. Chaka and Manhovo we are one people, we cannot have a situation where people from Chaka will go and beat people of Manhovo or vice versa.

As from today we do not tolerate any form of intimidation or any form of violence among the people of Manhovo and Chaka. We are one family therefore we encourage unity and development. I do not want to hear of any shaming incidence in newspapers of violence between Manhovo and Chaka.

You are lucky to have wise leadership that respects truth telling . . . that is why I am here today.

We want peace and unity. I am not aligned to any political party. I want to unite people to live in peace, exchange ideas on what to do to stir development forward. Let’s be in the papers for good reasons not violence.

I want to conclude saying to the youths, do not let people buy you beer or drugs to commit murder. Human blood is sacred.

With these words I want to thank the leadership of ROHR and urge them to continue teaching on peace. I thank you.

Chief Chaka

ROHR Zimbabwe’s vision is to see a peaceful, just and free nation that is conscious of and respects human rights.

For Peace, Justice and Freedom

ROHR Zimbabwe's Solidarity statement for ZIYON's ''Know your rights campaign''

Thursday, 11 November 2010 23:40 Ronald Mureverwi

‘’Human rights are not gifts given at the pleasure of governments, nor should governments withhold them or apply them to some people but not to others. Governments must be held accountable for promoting and protecting the human rights of all persons’’

62 years after the universally acceptable definition of human rights standards and norms to govern humanity were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 1948, these rights have remained either contested or elusive in Zimbabwe and the African continent as a whole. The UDHR is a non negotiable obligation for all the UN member states to safeguard the essence of the human rights principle that ‘’every individual regardless of age, birth, color, creed, disability, ethnic origin, familial status, gender, language, mental status, political or other opinion, public assistance, race religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, deserves to be honored, esteemed and respected”.

The hallmark principle of human rights is that they are inalienable, indivisible and interdependent; no right is of greater significance than the other as some have argued that land is the most basic and important right in our context.

As succinctly put by the former President of Ghana John Agyekum Kufuor, Africa needs a new breed of leaders who will defy the precedence of being remembered by history for their notoriety, disregard for human rights and good governance but rather want to be part of the forward match towards the establishment of a better life for their people by using the expertise gained over the years for the good of their people.

Ladies and gentlemen, today we are at a historical dawn of a coalition government brought about by the need to transform from a dark past legacy of violence – sponsored and organized, rampant abuse of rights of innocent men, women and children into a society that upholds the rule of law, equality of all, observance of human rights and broadly the existence of sustainable peace. Cognizant of the fact that there has been relative progress towards efforts to maintain peace, it is still regrettable that the coalition government has de-prioritized critical issues of justice, reforming of the state arms and government systems, structures to ensure the observance of human rights and existence of sustainable peace.

There is still a long way to go in addressing the loopholes at government level on policy and implementation, to assume a cross cutting standard of respecting, building a culture and management style that upholds human rights and human dignity. To mention but a few, ladies and gentlemen, the right to vote freely, elect leaders of choice and participate in political processes remains a pipeline dream, oppression remains a systematic weapon by certain political parties to deny social and economic liberties, freedom of expressions and association is yet to be achieved, media waves remain closed, heavily politicized to maintain a stranglehold on power against the people’s wishes, there is no equitable distribution of state resources, brutality by security forces continues unabated, selective application of the law is still rampant, culture of impunity surges on, while undermining of the rule of law has been institutionalized.

Noting the inadequacy of our current situation in achieving the desired standards and norms of an ideal society, ROHR Zimbabwe pledges its support to seeing a peaceful, just and free nation that is conscious of and respects human rights. We are honored to be part of significant priorities for the betterment of humanity such as the one which has gathered us today through the noble efforts and visionary leadership by one of the leading youth coalition organizations in Zimbabwe ZIYON.

We support their timely effort during this critical defining moment of transformation to ignite a revolution to raise awareness, conscientise and educate the youths about human rights and to popularize the need for a human rights culture at all times starting with this generation and the ones to come. We applaud the maiden resolve in our history by ZIYON to set aside 30 days of countdown to popularize each of the 30 basic human rights defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) starting with today until 10 December when the entire world comes together to celebrate the International human rights day.

We would like to partner with the youths in securing the future and laying the right seeds by taking charge of it today.

I thank you!
Ronald Mureverwi

For Peace, Justice and Freedom

Resist instigators and agents of violence!

Monday, 01 November 2010 22:14 administrator

From ROHR Zimbabwe Information Department – 31^st October 2010

Ngativakei Runyararo, Runyararo idonzvo redu tose! (Lets build peace, Peace is our collective goal, responsibility)

The people of Zimuto district yesterday around midday at Zimuto business centre, made a bold solidarity message pledging their undying commitment to jealously watch those sent to instruct people to assume violent actions against members of their community and resist them. The pledge was made during the commemoration of the International Peace Day organized by Victims Action Committee, a member of the ROHR Zimbabwe led consortium on peace building comprising four organizations.

VAC Masvingo provincial chairman, also a resident community member and master of ceremony, Farai Chinobva, said that Zimuto was one of the first places in which violence broke during the 2008 orgy of violence. He further highlighted the lessons the community had learnt, noting that most of the people who masterminded or brought instructions to order villagers of Zimuto to carry out heinous acts against each other were people who came from outside.

It was unanimously agreed that having been the first to experience violence and its ravaging effects, the people of Zimuto will be the first to end violence and resist instructors of violence to break the cycle of violence. All the attendants pledged to repossess the keys to the gates of Zimuto to be watchful, accountable and responsible about who they let in the community and what message they bring to the people. This comes after disturbing reports of a campaign by a notorious gang leader of war veterans Jabulani Sibanda who is reported to be on a tour in the Masvingo province to stir acts of political violence, intimidation and other politically motivated criminal activities.

“Peace building is one of the major significant priorities which must be assumed by the coalition government to bring transformational change to improve the lives of the people and ensure long lasting peace, particularly during contested times like on the holding of elections” said Fortune Muchuchuti, director of VAC.

Clifford Hlatywayo reiterated the chain of responsibility stressing that peace is a deliberate effort that begins with the individual before going to the family, community and nation as a whole. A victim from the 2008 election violence, John Mashakada gave a testimonial about his experience before encouraging the gathering to be part of the peace effort. Solidarity messages were made by attending representatives from ZimRights, ZINASU, prominent local human rights lawyer, resident councilors. The meeting was attended by traditional leaders, church leaders, youths, women, men, artist and children.

The peace commemoration is part of ongoing efforts by a consortium of four organisations, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ), Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ), Victims Action Committee (VAC) and Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe (ROHR) working towards building peace during the critical time of transformation in the history of the country. The project aims to build capacities, skills and encourage community members and leaders to deliberately be conscious and make purposeful efforts to contribute to the building and sustenance of peace.

Wonder Dangarembizi, the VAC national chairman who comes from the hotly contested Uzumba Marambapfungwe thanked the residents of Zimuto for their spirited courageous decision to be the difference, committing to end intra community violence.

For photos of the meeting check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/

For Peace, Justice and Freedom

Party leaders should restrain members from partaking in violence

Thursday, 21 October 2010 00:32 administrator

From ROHR Zimbabwe Information Department

ROHR Zimbabwe has learnt with shock the report of disturbances published by the local daily newspaper, Newsday 19/10/10, of youths suspected to be ZANU PF members who unleashed terror at a funeral of Sekai Kadyakumbura an MDC activist on Sunday in Mbare. The riotous youths are alleged to have run amok and ended up stealing property including electrical gadgets and blankets.

ROHR Zimbabwe notes with deep concern that the disturbances not only constitute a serious crime but also amount to willful disregard of the efforts being made to build peace and ensuring its sustenance during this transitional period from a legacy of violence.

ZANU PF should be worried by the irresponsibility and apparent lack of accountability by its members engaging in treacherous behavior that is tantamount to tarnishing the image of the party and damaging the national brand of the country at large. We cannot talk of peace when the rights of innocent men, women and children are being violently broken at the whim of individuals who partake of crime in the name of political patronage to appease political polarization.

ROHR Zimbabwe challenges all political party leaders to conscientise their supporters to bear the crucial responsibility of being active players to achieving peace, respect for human dignity and observance of the rule of law. The coming together of the three political parties towards an attempt to govern together is a huge statement that conflict or differences in political affiliation should never be a reason for a people to persecute each other for political expediency.

We reiterate that everyone has a right to partake in political activities of their choice without persecution and also that the police have a mandate of protecting not only that right but also the security of all citizens of Zimbabwe regardless of political affiliation as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

We also challenge the police to deal speedily with issues of political violence as they pose the biggest threat to peace as evidenced by the 2008 orgy of violence which claimed more than 200 lives.

It is sad to note that the coalition government has down-played the significant priority of accounting for the past and ensuring that justice takes centre stage in setting a good precedence for the future. ROHR Zimbabwe holds that justice is a key component to the realization of peace that can only be realized by functional independent arms of the state that include among others security forces, the judicial and independent commissions.

ROHR Zimbabwe is embarking on a media campaign to denounce political violence ahead of the next elections and advocate for a free environment that can guarantee a credible result as opposed to 2008.

For Peace, Justice and Freedom

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