African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to adopt resolution on Zimbabwe

By Tererai Karimakwenda
29 November 2005

The 38th Session of The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights is currently underway in Banjul in the Gambia, and many NGOs have sent representatives there to lobby for a resolution on Zimbabwe. The NGOs conducted a public session last week, where they adopted a resolution which was passed on to the commissioners to consider in their private sessions. Their efforts seem to be paying off, as there was already talk on Tuesday that commissioners had agreed on a Zimbabwe resolution. A final statement will be given at a press conference on December 5, and an open letter from the African NGOs has also been published by a number of newspapers in Africa.

Participants meeting at the Forum passed a resolution condemning human rights violations in Zimbabwe and calling on the government to immediately stop forced evictions around the country. The resolution called on Zimbabwe to adhere to its obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and other international human rights instruments. It also urged the government of Zimbabwe to implement the recommendations of the African Commission Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe, and the recommendations of the UN Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka. A total of 12 recommendations were made by the African NGO forum, which requested that the measures taken to implement these recommendations be made public. The full text of these recommendations can be found on our website.

Many Zimbabwean organisations are in the Gambia for this summit, and have been making their own efforts to pressure for change back home. We spoke to Wilbert Mandinde of The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), who are lobbying for greater freedom of expression. We also spoke to Abel Chikomo who is in the Gambia with The Media Monitoring Project. Statements to the Commissioners from both organisations are also on our website.

MMPZ on ACHPR

MISA on ACHPR