Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe

From ROHR Zimbabwe Information Department

Acknowledging that we have been called by our times to assume duty, deliberate effort and locate ourselves in the journey that Zimbabwe is on as a country, we reaffirm our undying commitment to the founding principles of peace, justice and freedom.

Our vision of seeing a peaceful, just and free nation that is conscious of and respects human rights still lurks in a distance at a time when much has been said and projected, with hopes raised in the advent of the Inclusive Government that followed the Global Political Agreement between the major political parties.

As ROHR Zimbabwe we strongly believe in the power of a governance model that is based on the will of the people through the universal democratic right to elect leaders of choice as opposed to the current arrangement which is at best a temporal truce designed to quell a violent political conflict that has dogged Zimbabwe for the past decade.

We note with deep concern that in many respects the coalition government has simply not lived to the people’s expectations and neither can it justify its existence insofar as tackling the root causes to the Zimbabwe political instability namely a culture of impunity, selective application of the rule of law, a distorted and corrupted democracy, state sponsored human rights violations, lack of basic freedoms, widespread corruption, among many over the two years it has been in office. More concerning is the continued domination and abuse of state institutions and central government arms by ZANU Pf to the overall, deliberate oppression and marginalization of the generality of the Zimbabwe people.

We are aware that ZANU PF has assumed a deliberate role calculated to frustrate efforts by sections of the coalition government targeted on reform and development and this is aimed at strengthening their stranglehold on power and much to the exasperation of a peace-loving nation.  We are also aware that the sustenance of ZANU Pf’s hold onto power, even against the will of the people, has been built upon an aura of cohesive force and an ideology that promotes fear and destitution among the people for ease of their manipulation.

We are further aware that the Inclusive government, at the instance of ZANU Pf continues to limit access to free media with a view to maintain its siege on the mindset of the oppressed people whilst feeding them only on partisan state propaganda. We are aware that the deployment of state propaganda and a restricted media space is calculated to work to the advantage of ZANU PF; come the next elections!

It has become clear that the current premature talk about elections by parties to the inclusive government, without first putting in place the necessary and acceptable conditions to achieve a credible election, is meant to send shock waves across the nation against the background of the state sponsored terror that characterized the 2008 election.

As a human rights defender, ROHR Zimbabwe therefore pledges to deploy all its energies and rally other civil society players in the battle to set free the mindset of the people of Zimbabwe insofar as their basic rights are concerned and unlocking the fear that has continued to alienate vast sections of the populations from making effective choices on issues of governance and their civil liberties. ROHR Zimbabwe also calls for perpetrators of human rights abuses to be brought to book in order to put an end to the prevailing culture of impunity and that this should be viewed as a step towards ensuring a free and fair election. Likewise, all victims of human rights violations must be acknowledged and measures taken to ensure justice.

We firmly believe that the future of Zimbabwe rest not on coercive power or any source of illegitimate authority but rather from the liberated free will of the people. We therefore re-dedicate ourselves to the struggle to set free the people of Zimbabwe from fear and to cause more cadres to join this transformational cause that seeks to bring about an end to the culture of violence and disregard for fundamental human rights.

In the same vein we challenge that the mindset of Zimbabweans be changed towards a culture of accountability, self respect, dignity and love. We further assert that all things unjust must be challenged if not resisted wherever, whenever and by whosoever and in doing so, we urge unison and solidarity among all progressive forces, the people and friends of Zimbabwe. 

As ROHR Zimbabwe we hold that elections should not be held under the prevailing defective conditions as this can only produce more of the same – a stolen election, more deaths and destitution among the voting populace, an illegitimate regime and more repression. If elections were allowed to happen, we foresee overtures being made towards another unity government to the detriment of the people’s will and fundamental freedoms. We hold that this would not be an acceptable outcome as this would result in the increased alienation of the people from matters to do with their own country. To ensure a credible, free and fair election, ROHR Zimbabwe demands that the Inclusive Government including all State agents prioritise forthwith the security of all persons regardless of political affiliation and that the same be true before, during and after elections. We further hold that elections in Zimbabwe can only be held after the following concerns are addressed:

• The Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) should be freed from the influence of the Executive and all political parties to ensure full control and impartiality in the discharge of its mandate.
• The Inclusive government, through the agreed Global Political Agreement, must cause the realisation of their pledges through the delivery of a people driven constitution, an honest and transparent truth and national healing process and institutional reform.
• The state must put an end to manipulation of security organs (police, army, central intelligence, prisons, etc) to end discrimination and ensure a return to professionalism and fairness in the discharge of their duties. 
• Draconian pieces of legislation such as POSA and AIPPA should be repealed to embrace freedom of expression, association and assembly.
• Independent investigation committees should be set up to investigate the allegations of the existence of the Infrastructure of violence and torture bases around the country.
• International and regional monitors must be allowed in the country and given full movement access into the grassroots communities to carry out investigative research on allegations of violence well before elections are held.

 For Peace, Justice and Freedom 

Human rights defenders who act to end discrimination.

ROHR Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world to recognize the lives, the work, and sacrifice of men, women and children anonymous, known, celebrated and not; who have dedicated their lives for the cause of fighting, defending and advancing the cause of improving humanity through human rights. We pay respects to all the women who have had to put up with the role of standing in the gap everyday to fight for the basic fundamental human rights for their offspring in an unsupportive environment in which rights are violated at the whim of politicians and unruly oppressive systems.

Human rights defenders in Zimbabwe have been at the centre of the struggle for justice, peace, freedom, democracy, good governance and fundamental human rights for more than a decade to undo unjust tendencies, oppressive legislation, illegitimate rulership, closed media space and the dictates of a discriminatory society. Their lives literally, are a fierce struggle within a struggle as efforts to speak out against violence, abuse of human rights is met with brutal vindictive action designed to snuff and silence the voice of reason. The watchdog role of demanding transparency and accountability has been persecuted systematically regrettably by the state and its incumbent institutions.

Characteristic enough, the security of human rights defenders has been and still continues to be a huge and serious cause of concern not only in Zimbabwe but in many other countries. Protesters, journalists, lawyers, political and human rights activists have had their security publicly and ruthlessly violated as a message and example to sent clear statements of discouragement to those who aspire to engage in the selfless work of fighting for human rights.

As we commemorate this year’s International Human Rights day and gather strength, courage and inspiration from the achievements by human rights defenders, ROHR Zimbabwe puts on record that the lives of human rights defenders remains at risk. It is of concern to note that nothing has been done by the coalition government to prioritise the security of the ordinary person let alone that of a human rights defender particularly during contentious times like elections . 

We note with grave concern that a lot needs to be done at government and state institutional level to build capacity, political will and professionalism of systems that protect and guarantee the security of human rights defenders without discrimination or prejudice. We strongly condemn the unfair treatment of human rights defenders before the law and judicial processes as has been the case in our situation. 

Appreciating that defending human rights is not an occasion but a lifetime commitment, we challenge the government and parliament to constantly monitor and evaluate the treatment of human rights defenders. It is our principled belief that a government’s treatment of campaigners of human rights determines the quality of that society’s democracy. Apart from security concerns as a grouping of human rights defenders we demand the following:

Delivery of justice without discrimination on the pending cases involving human rights defenders

• Freedom of expression, assembly and association without seeking clearance from the state institutions
• An end to impunity
• An end to brutality and torture of human rights defenders by the uniformed forces
• An end to the harassment and intimidation of the families of human rights defenders by state agents or any other group of people
• Human rights defenders should be compensated by the state when they are wrongly jailed and ill-treated.

As we remember those who have lost their lives, been tortured, raped, abducted, wrongly detained. In the worlds of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon “ let us be inspired by those seeking to make our world more just” and join the noble effort. “And let us remember that everyone - no matter what their background, training or education - can be a human rights champion.’’

Ronie Mureverwi
For Peace, Justice and Freedom