Amnesty and 100 NGOs urge Mbeki & SADC to place human rights at centre of dialogue on Zimbabwe

By Tererai Karimakwenda
29 June, 2007

South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki and other SADC leaders have been urged to make sure human rights are at the centre of any mediation efforts on the Zimbabwe crisis, and to pressure the government of Zimbabwe to end human rights violations in the country. The appeal came from Amnesty International, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and was endorsed by 100 other non-governmental organizations, mostly in Africa.
In a joint statement issued on Friday, the groups said they were concerned that 3 months after the extra-ordinary SADC Summit that took place in Tanzania when Mbeki was appointed the key mediator on Zimbabwe, the situation on the ground is getting worse. Simeon Mawanza of Amnesty said that violence, arrests, torture and intimidation of human rights defenders, political activists and civil leaders in Zimbabwe had escalated.
Mawanza said it was disturbing that some of the serious violations of human rights in the country were emanating from the police force. Almost all human rights defenders who were arrested in the last few months had been tortured or severely assaulted while in police custody. Mawanza stressed that it is the responsibility of the government of Zimbabwe to end all violence, no matter where it came from. It is also the government’s obligation to end violence under international law.
So far Mbeki’s mediation has centered on talks between the opposition and ruling party. Mawanza said he must recognize the need to hear the concerns of civil society, and should include some of the organizations in the negotiation process.
Mawanza said SADC must also find remedies for the victims of Operation Murambatsvina, the Zimbabwe government’s so-called cleanup campaign that displaced nearly one million people. Many of the victims of this disastrous campaign are still struggling to find accommodation and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Mawanza told us the statement will be delivered to president Mbeki in his capacity as the SADC appointed mediator, Zambia’s president Levy Mwanawasa as the incoming SADC chairman and Tanzania’s president Kikwete since he chairs the SADC organ on security.
The full joint statement can be found on our website at www.swradioafrica.com

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