WUNRN
July
Amnesty International Report
Zimbabwe
Between a rock and a hard place – women human
rights defenders at risk
Introduction
The human rights situation in Zimbabwe has been deteriorating rapidly since
2000. Human rights violations are taking place in a context characterised by a
fast-shrinking economy that is being accelerated by government policies. Those
policies, particularly on land reform and forced evictions, have contributed
significantly to reducing the entire population’s capacity to obtain access to
their rights to food,(1) health, education and housing.
Zimbabwean women, who are active in dedicated women’s rights organizations and
in other human rights organizations, are mobilising to confront the government
in response to the violation of economic and social rights. They are demanding
respect for and protection of their own human rights and the rights of members
of their communities.
After the government of Zimbabwe‘s programme of mass forced evictions in 2005
an estimated 700,000 people lost their homes or livelihoods or both.(2) The
forced evictions drove people not only from their homes, but also from their
market stalls, depriving informal traders of their means of earning a living.
Women were disproportionately affected by this policy since they constitute the
majority of informal market traders and are often the primary providers, not
only for their own children but also for other children orphaned by the AIDS
pandemic.(3) Many women, from both urban and rural areas, are finding it
increasingly difficult to buy food, pay for medical care and earn a living.
As economic and social conditions have worsened, the government of Zimbabwe has
become increasingly intolerant of critics of its policies. Since 2000, the
government has condoned the widespread use by the Zimbabwe Republic Police of
excessive force, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention of government critics.
These include trade unionists, human rights defenders, media workers, NGO
workers, lawyers, students and other perceived opponents of the government.(4)
Since 2005, hundreds of human rights defenders, the majority of them women,
have been arbitrarily arrested and detained for engaging or attempting to
engage in peaceful protest marches or meetings. Most women interviewed by
Amnesty International have reported being subjected to beatings and
ill-treatment while in police custody. The beatings, in some instances,
amounted to torture.
Women, standing up to defend their economic and social rights, face further
human rights violations as women and as human rights defenders, including
sexist verbal abuse and derogatory accusations. Women human rights defenders
have been persistently denied their rights to freedom of expression,
association and assembly. In addition, women human rights defenders in rural
areas are being denied equal access to necessary cheap maize sold by the Grain
Marketing Board (GMB). Since 2000, the government has used the law, in
particular, the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), the Miscellaneous
Offences Act (MOA) and later the Criminal Codification Act to undermine the
ability of human rights defenders to promote and protect human rights. The
police have categorized as criminal all legitimate activities of human rights
defenders, as recognized in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders(5) and
reaffirmed by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in their
Resolution on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Africa.(6) Women
human rights defenders in detention have been humiliated and denied food,
water, medical care and access to lawyers. Some have even been detained while
pregnant or with their babies or infants. They are held in deplorable
conditions which fall far below international human rights standards.
The treatment of women human rights defenders in custody has had dire consequences
on them and their families, particularly on children who are often left without
care while their mothers or carers are detained for days.
However, in the face of an increasing government clampdown, Zimbabwean women
human rights defenders have demonstrated great resilience, bravery and
determination to end human rights violations. They are aware of the obstacles
and the dangers they face, yet they refuse to be intimidated.
About this report
This report focuses on the circumstances of women human rights defenders in
Zimbabwe. It explores their motivations and objectives. It documents human
rights violations experienced by women human rights defenders, and the tools of
repression used by the government to crush dissent. The report also looks at
the government of Zimbabwe’s obligations under regional and international human
rights treaties, and makes recommendations to the government of Zimbabwe, the
Southern Africa Development Community and the international community,
particularly the African Union.
Amnesty International understands human right defenders to be people who act to
promote and protect human rights. They may be victims and survivors of human
rights violations themselves, or friends or relatives of victims of human
rights violations seeking to redress the violations suffered by their
relatives. Alternatively, they may be journalists, lawyers, members of human
rights organizations or politicians who speak out against government
repression, who are working for the promotion and protection of human rights
for all. They are human rights defenders because of what they do, not because
of their job or profession.
Article 12 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders recognizes the right
of everyone "individually and in association with others, to participate
in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental
freedoms." It places an obligation on the state to "take all
necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of
everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence,
threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or
any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise
of the rights."
The bulk of the information in the report was gathered during a three-week
mission by Amnesty International to Zimbabwe in February and March 2007.
Amnesty International interviewed 59 women in Bulawayo, Insiza district in
Matabeleland South province, Masvingo, Chivi district in Masvingo province,
Mutare, Chegutu and Harare. Delegates interviewed professional women and
student activists, women from townships and rural areas. The women ranged in
age from late teens to women in their 60s. Amnesty International also
interviewed male human rights defenders who are experiencing similar
constraints and violations.
Amnesty International made several requests for meetings with government
officials, in writing and in person, but failed to secure a single interview.
Some of the names of the people mentioned in this report have been changed in
order to protect their identity.
Context
Zimbabwe is in the midst of what the World Bank has called unprecedented
economic decline for a country in peacetime.(7) The country also has one of the
highest prevalence rates of HIV and AIDS cases in the world, and more than a
million children have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic.(8) The pandemic has
also had a serious impact on a large number of households, since many
individuals suffering from AIDS are less able to contribute to household
income. In addition, erratic rainfall, coupled with shortages of farming inputs
such as seeds and fertilizers, have led to a significant reduction in food
production, making it difficult for families to find resources to pay for healthcare.(9)
Zimbabwe is ranking 151, out of 177 countries, on the United Nations
Development Programme’s Human Development Index.(10)
The standard of living in Zimbabwe, including average life expectancy
(currently 36.6 years) is at its lowest level in over thirty years;(11) 45% of
the population is malnourished, one of the highest rates in the world.(12)
Zimbabwe is experiencing hyperinflation which translates to daily increases in
the prices of basic goods and services. By the end of April 2007 the country’s
annual inflation rate had reached 3713%.(13) In contrast, household incomes
have remained static.
The majority of the women interviewed by Amnesty International came from
households that provide care to children who have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic.
With no assistance from the state or NGOs, the women have to feed and pay for
the education of both their own children and of other children under their
care. Two thirds of female-headed households care for orphans and vulnerable
children.(14)
Human rights concerns related to access to food and housing
The Zimbabwe government’s policies on land reform and mass forced evictions
have resulted in a significant reduction in the capacity of many households to
access the rights to adequate food, education, healthcare and housing. The
fast-track land reform programme,(15) which began in 2000, and the 2005
programme of mass forced evictions known as Operation Murambatsvina (Restore
Order), literally wiped out the ability of poor households to meet their basic
needs.
In 2004 Amnesty International concluded that the government of Zimbabwe’s
fast-track land reform programme had contributed to a drastic reduction in
domestic production of food and food security.(16) The land reform programme
also left some 70% of farm workers without jobs, greatly reducing their ability
to pay for food, healthcare, and education. Three years later, Amnesty
International found that the situation of former farm labourers has further
deteriorated. The few farm labourers who are still in employment are now more
vulnerable to exploitative forms of employment by the new settlers who pay the
labourers very low wages.(17) The General Agriculture and Plantation Workers
Union (GAPWUZ), a trade union representing farm labourers, reports that its
membership was significantly reduced to 55,000 from 300,000 before the
government’s fast-track land reform programme. The majority of the trade
union’s former members are now unemployed or can no longer afford to pay
membership fees. An estimated 150,000 former farm labourers were in need of
food aid because they had lost their livelihoods as a direct result of
Zimbabwe’s fast-track land reform between 2000 and 2002.(18) Farm evictions
were still being reported during the first quarter of 2007.
In March 2007 the minimum wage for general farm labourers was Z$32,000 per
month, a wage that would barely buy six loaves of bread. Members of GAPWUZ told
Amnesty International that many labourers are paid significantly below this
minimum wage. For example, Iris, a farm labourer from the farming town of
Chegutu in Mashonaland West province, told Amnesty International that she is
paid Z$4,000 a month. She is the mother of two school-age children and pays a
monthly rent of Z$30,000. Such low incomes often force women to engage in
commercial sex work to supplement their incomes, thereby exposing them to HIV
infection.
The government of Zimbabwe’s programme of mass forced evictions in 2005
contributed significantly to reducing the capacity of urban and peri-urban households
to obtain food, healthcare, education and housing.(19) With unemployment in
Zimbabwe standing at 80%, this had a drastic effect on the capacity of
households to earn a decent living. The mass forced evictions targeted flea
markets and vegetable vendors among other businesses in the informal sector.
Because of their preponderance as vendors and informal traders, women were
disproportionately affected by the government’s destruction of small
businesses. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) notes that by 1998
women accounted for 67% of all micro-enterprises (77% of those in urban areas
and 62% of those based in rural areas).(20) Operation Murambatsvina dealt a
severe blow to households headed by women, and undermined women’s ability to
provide for their families as their source of income was eroded.
The informal sector is the only source of employment and livelihood for a
significant proportion of the population in Zimbabwe. By 2004, the informal
economy was estimated to account for 40% of all forms of employment, and had
effectively become the mainstay of the majority of the urban population.(21)
Amnesty International has documented how Operation Murambatsvina resulted in
the destruction of at least 32,538 small and micro-businesses across the
country, creating a loss of livelihood for 97,614 people (mostly women) who
were targeted indiscriminately.(22)
In February and March 2007, Amnesty International delegates witnessed daily
increases in the prices of basic goods such as food and transport, while most
people’s wages remained static. Throughout the places visited by Amnesty
International, women were desperately trying to sell their goods, including
crafts, sweets, fruit and vegetables. At the same time they were attempting to
avoid being arrested and having their goods confiscated by police, and
sometimes were fined for contravening onerous municipal vending by-laws that
require vendors to be registered and to sell only at designated points.
Some of the vendors were operating legally before Operation Murambatsvina.
However, they are now deemed illegal because they have not been able to
complete the "vetting" and re-licensing process introduced by the
government after Operation Murambatsvina. Most women vendors fail to complete
the "vetting" process because they cannot afford the fees, or
because, even with a vending licence, they have not been allocated a site for
vending. Where vending sites have been allocated, they are often badly
positioned, and vendors struggle to sell anything.
The majority of those affected by government’s clampdown on the informal sector
were poor women. One organization providing credit to micro-businesses,
including many of those involved in street vending and trading, described the
impact: "Our business has totally changed. We do not work with the poorest
anymore. They are gone; 85% of our clients were poor women, and they have been
driven out of business by Operation Murambatsvina."(23)
In February 2007 women from townships reported being concerned about the government’s
policy of arresting street vendors. Amnesty International has documented
patterns of human rights violations, including police harassment and
ill-treatment of informal traders.(24) Amnesty International believes that the
arbitrary arrest and harassment of informal traders is taking away their only
source of livelihood, and constitutes a violation of the right to work.(25)
In Zimbabwe women are often not only responsible for their immediate family,
they also support members of the extended family by buying food and paying for
education. Female-headed households are extremely vulnerable to food
insecurity. For example, in 2003 about 70% of female-headed households required
food aid (compared with 58% of male-headed households).(26) In June 2007 it was
reported that an estimated 4.1 million people in Zimbabwe would experience food
shortages.(27)
In 2004, Amnesty International expressed concern about the politicisation of
food relief programmes in rural areas, particularly of maize distribution by
the GMB.(28) The government of Zimbabwe closely controls the management and
distribution of the country’s strategic grain reserves through the state-run
GMB.(29)
Amnesty International also documented a range of human rights violations in the
response to the food crisis. These included discrimination on the basis of
perceived political opinion, denial of access to justice, lack of independence
of the judiciary, failure to protect the rights of the most vulnerable people
(including farm workers) and unreasonable restrictions in the distribution of
necessary food aid. Finally, Amnesty International documented the political
manipulation of food aid, noting that food aid was often withheld from those
who did not hold a ZANU-PF loyalty card, and was used in attempts to influence
election results. In 2007 Amnesty International found that the manipulation of
food distribution persists, particularly of GMB maize sold in rural areas.
Impelled to act to defend their rights
If we follow what the ruling
party wants the whole country will die.
Rural activist from Matabeleland South province, February 2007
This [activism] is not about students [alone]. It is also about our mothers
who cannot afford to feed their families. Our silence results in more
violations.
Student activist from Harare, February 2007
It is not a new phenomenon for Zimbabwean women to take up human rights
activism. Since the country gained independence in 1980, women in Zimbabwe have
been active in lobbying the government to adopt laws and policies that promote
and protect their rights. Of particular significance has been the women’s
movement’s success in lobbying for the Legal Age of Majority Act, which was
passed in 1982. This gives legal recognition to women as majors when they reach
the age of 18. Most recently, women’s organizations such as the Zimbabwe Women
Lawyers Association (ZWLA), the Women’s Coalition and Women Action Group (WAG),
among others, have lobbied for the enactment of laws against domestic violence.
In November 2006 the Domestic Violence Act was passed by the lower house of
parliament. Women have also lobbied against discriminatory inheritance laws,
for reform of marriage laws and on other issues affecting women.
Like women human rights defenders elsewhere in the world,(30) those in Zimbabwe
often endure grave violations themselves as they are subjected to all forms of
attacks and ill-treatment by governments in an attempt to undermine their
causes.(31)
While this report focuses on the situation of human rights defenders as they
seek to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of association,
Amnesty International acknowledges that the women human rights defenders are
themselves victims of persistent violations of economic and social rights. All
women human rights defenders interviewed by Amnesty International from across
Zimbabwe repeatedly noted the difficulties they faced in feeding their
families, meeting school fees and paying for medical care for themselves and
other family members. Zimbabwe is a state party to the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which recognizes the rights to
food, education and health. It is often the denial of these rights which
motivates women in Zimbabwe to become human rights defenders and to confront
their government in demanding the respect and protection of these rights.
Other women become involved in activism due to personal or family tragedies
which they attribute to ill-considered government policies. Amnesty
International spoke with many women who have become human rights defenders
following repeated violations of their human rights by the government of
Zimbabwe.
Case studies
Grandmother denied access to food
Costa is a 64-year-old widow from Matabeleland South province. She is a
carer of six orphaned grandchildren aged between three and 18. She survives by
subsistence farming and by working in other people’s fields. Since 2002 she has
been denied access to GMB food by local politicians who suspect her of being an
MDC supporter. She has repeatedly appealed to the local councillor in the area
and has been told on each occasion that she cannot be registered to buy GMB
maize because she criticises the ruling party. Costa decided to join the
activist organization Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) to protest against her
victimisation. WOZA campaigns on social justice issues including equal access
to food, healthcare and education.
Widow waits three years for state pension
Sidumiso (36) is the mother of two children. She is an activist with the
Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET), a national NGO which campaigns against
political violence. She told Amnesty International that she decided to become a
human rights defender after the death of her husband in the Democratic Republic
of Congo in March 2000. Her husband was serving with the Zimbabwe National
Army. The army did not tell her of her husband’s death until two weeks after he
had died. When his body was repatriated to Zimbabwe, the family was not allowed
to view it – which contravenes local custom. After the death of her husband,
Sidumiso had no other source of income to support her family. She did not
receive her first widow’s pension from the army until August 2003, more than
three years after her husband’s death. Her grief for the loss of a husband in a
war which she feels was unnecessary, and the manner in which her family was
treated by the army, led her to join a human rights organization as a platform
to demand justice and campaign for an end to violence.
Women farm labourers working for pittance
Women who work on farms are routinely denied a wage which would secure them a
decent living and are vulnerable to other rights abuses.
A woman farm labourer from the farming town of Chegutu told Amnesty
International that she earns Z$4,000 per month. "I cannot buy anything
with that except a soft drink," she told Amnesty International. She has
one child and cannot afford education fees. She decided to join the GAPWUZ to
mobilise other farm labourers and campaign for better wages.
Survivor of repeated forced evictions and police brutality
Irene’s family was forcibly evicted from a farm in Matabeleland North province
in 2002 during the fast-track land reform programme, when the farm where she
lived with her grandfather, a farm labourer, was taken by the government and
given to a supporter of the ruling party. The family relocated to Bulawayo.
Soon after that, her father died (her mother was already deceased by the time),
and Irene was left to fend for herself and six siblings. She became a vegetable
vendor in order to earn money to buy food, pay rent and support her siblings’
education. In 2005 her rented home in Bulawayo was destroyed during Operation
Murambatsvina, when the government demolished backyard structures without
providing alternative shelter for the affected people. She now lives in a
single room with all her siblings in a high density suburb in Bulawayo. She
finds it increasingly difficult to sell vegetables – her sole source of income
– as she and other vendors are repeatedly arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic
Police and Bulawayo municipal police. The vendors have their goods confiscated
and are at times made to pay fines. She decided to join other women in her
community, and takes part in peaceful demonstrations organised by WOZA. Irene
has been arrested at least eight times after engaging in peaceful protest as a
member of WOZA.
In August 2006 Irene was arrested in Bulawayo during a peaceful march to the
offices of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). The march was organised by WOZA
to protest against the abuse of women and the arbitrary seizure of money by
police and youth militia at road blocks established by the RBZ and police to
enforce the new currency switch. Irene was kicked above the navel by a police
officer during the arrest. At the time she was two months pregnant. She was
later detained overnight at Bulawayo Central police station, where she noticed
that she was bleeding. Other women protesters detained with her alerted the
police officer on night duty that Irene was bleeding and that they feared she
could miscarry. The police officer reportedly told the detained women that
"that would serve her [Irene] right as she was doing things
[demonstrating] she should not be doing." The following morning Irene
requested to be given water to clean herself but she was refused. She also
asked to be taken to hospital and was reportedly told that she should wait for
her lawyer. When the lawyer came she was unable to see him because she had been
taken for questioning in another room. The lawyer was not allowed to consult
with each of the detained women. Only after her release did Irene receive
medical care through a private hospital with the assistance of WOZA. She had
miscarried so her womb was cleaned and she spent a week in hospital before
being discharged.
Women from locations visited by Amnesty International relayed similar
experiences. Amnesty International observed that the Zimbabwean women human
rights defenders were motivated to become activists in order to demand changes
to government laws and policies that cause and exacerbate their daily hardship
in obtaining food, and gaining access to healthcare and education for their
families. All these have become increasingly unaffordable to most households.
Denial of access to subsidised maize in rural areas
We cannot afford to continue
to feed the enemy because they are sell outs.
Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs, January
2007
The government of Zimbabwe has permitted discriminatory distribution of maize
in the rural areas as part of its strategy to retain its political support base
since the emergence of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).(32) Over the last seven years, Zimbabwe African National Union –
Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) politicians have used maize sold through the
state-owned Grain Marketing Board (GMB) as a tool to silence perceived
opponents.(33) In order to buy maize from the GMB, needy households in rural
areas are registered at the local level. The registration process is conducted
by councillors who are, in the majority of cases, members of ZANU-PF. These
councillors omit names of perceived and known MDC supporters, reportedly
stating that the "government should not be feeding its enemies."
Women human rights defenders have been labelled MDC supporters and are also
discriminated against in the sale of GMB maize.
Amnesty International interviewed women human rights defenders who were
excluded from buying maize from the GMB because they belong to human rights
organizations or speak out against discrimination and other human rights
violations in their communities. The decisions of the local ruling party
officials are rarely challenged. People who do challenge them are often
threatened with being beaten or evicted from their homesteads.
In Matabeleland South province, several WOZA members told Amnesty International
they had been informed by local ruling party officials that they cannot buy GMB
maize because they belong to an organization which criticizes the ZANU-PF
government. In February 2007, Amnesty International spoke to 15 women from one
district who had been stopped from buying GMB maize in 2002. Only four of the
women were eventually allowed to buy the subsidized maize, after appealing to
the local chief of the area who acted as a mediator.
Case studies
Eleven women targeted since 2002
Thami is a 45-year-old member of WOZA from Matabeleland Province. In 2002 she
and 14 other women were blocked from buying GMB maize on the grounds that they
were suspected to be supporters of the MDC. Thami mobilized some of the women
who were affected, and approached the local chief to demand access to GMB
maize. Prior to going to the chief, the women had lodged a complaint with the
police, who refused to intervene. The village head and his secretary were
summoned by the chief. The village head reportedly admitted to the chief that
he had been given instructions by ZANU-PF officials not to allow opposition
supporters to buy maize from the GMB. The chief could not help the women. On
returning from the chief’s court, Thami was summoned to a community meeting
where she was accused of making the police report and making false accusations
against ZANU-PF officials. When Amnesty International spoke to Thami in
February 2007 she was still not being allowed to buy GMB maize. Four of her
colleagues were later allowed to buy the maize.
Protester charged with "being disrespectful to men"
Clara is a 60-year-old widow from Chivi district in Masvingo province. She is a
member of the Women’s Coalition, a national women’s human rights organization.
In 2003 Clara spoke out at a community meeting to challenge discrimination
against perceived supporters of opposition parties in the distribution of GMB
maize in her village.(34) Local ZANU-PF officials accused her of being a member
of the MDC – an accusation which put her at risk of being assaulted, abducted
or even killed by war veterans and ZANU-PF youth militia.(35) Clara was also
summoned to the chief’s court and was accused of "being disrespectful to
men" – a charge grounded in pervasive gender stereotypes according to
which women should not challenge men and women may have no say in public life.
In August 2006, the chief’s court found Clara "guilty of being
disrespectful to men" and she was fined a goat. She refused to pay because
she did not accept that she had committed any offence and told her accusers
that the "charge" had no basis. By February 2007 Clara was still not
being allowed to buy GMB maize.
Violations of the right to food
Amnesty International is concerned that women human rights defenders are being
discriminated against in sales of GMB maize, thereby violating their right to
adequate food. The right to adequate food and to be free from hunger is
enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR, Articles 11(1) and (2)), to which Zimbabwe is party. This right is to
be respected, protected and fulfilled for the whole population, without
discrimination, including on the basis of "political or other opinion"
(ICESCR, Article 2(2)). As a state party to the ICESCR, Zimbabwe must also
ensure the equal right of men and women to obtain adequate food (ICESCR,
Article 3). Furthermore, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (CESCR), which is responsible for monitoring states’ parties compliance
with the ICESCR, has noted that violations of the right to food include the
"denial of access to food to particular individuals or groups, whether the
discrimination is based on legislation or is proactive."(36)
Zimbabwe, as a party to the ICESCR, has an immediate obligation to take the
necessary action to mitigate and alleviate hunger as provided for under the
ICESCR, even in times of economic recession.(37) States must take steps to
achieve progressively the full realization of the right to adequate food.
Achievement of this objective is subject to resource availability, but the
ICESCR requires that states immediately prioritise the duty "to ensure for
everyone under its jurisdiction access to the minimum essential food which is
sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe, to ensure their freedom from
hunger."(38)
The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights has also upheld the right
to food, stating:
The African Charter and international law require and bind
[states] to protect and improve existing food sources and to ensure access to
adequate food for all citizens. … the right to food requires that the
[government] should not destroy or contaminate food sources. It should not
allow private parties to destroy or contaminate food sources, and prevent
peoples’ effort to feed themselves.(39)
Under
the ICESCR women human rights defenders have a right to be protected from
discrimination in accessing the right to food and other rights enshrined in the
treaty.
The ICESCR provides in Article 2(2) that:
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to
guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised
without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status.
Thus,
the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is responsible for
ensuring states parties’ compliance with the ICESCR, has stated that any discrimination
in access to food, as well as to means and entitlements for its procurement, on
grounds such as political or other opinion, national or social origin or other
status, with the purpose of nullifying or impairing the equal enjoyment of
economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to adequate food,
constitutes a violation of the Covenant.(40)
The International Covenant on Civil and political Rights (ICCPR), which
Zimbabwe has ratified, provides in Article 26, that all persons are equal
before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law without
discrimination. The human rights committee has clarified that this extends to
all human rights – economic, social and cultural as well as civil and
political.(41)
Amnesty International believes that, by allowing the local ZANU-PF officials in
rural areas to refuse permission to women human rights defenders to buy GMB
food on the basis of their opinion, the government of Zimbabwe has failed in
its obligations to respect and protect the right to food and the right to
protection from discrimination.
Experiences of women human rights defenders in police custody
I would rather die standing
up for my rights than to be labelled a coward by future generations.
WOZA member, February 2007
The government of Zimbabwe has used the Public Order and Security Act (POSA)
(42) to deny human rights defenders permission to hold peaceful demonstrations.
Police use the POSA to break up peaceful demonstrations and arbitrarily arrest
and detain human rights defenders. Others have been charged under POSA or the
Criminal Codification Act after engaging in peaceful protest. On 20 February
2007 police used Section 27 of the POSA to impose a three-month ban on public
demonstrations and rallies within some areas of Harare. This, however, appears
to violate Section 27 of POSA, which sets the maximum period for such a ban at
one month. The ban on public demonstrations and rallies has been extended and
remained in place as of the end of June 2007. Section 27 (1) of the POSA
states:
If a regulating authority for any area believes on
reasonable grounds that the powers conferred by sections twenty-five and
twenty-six will not be sufficient to prevent public disorder being occasioned
by the holding of public demonstrations or any class thereof in the area or any
part thereof, he may issue an order prohibiting, for a specified period not
exceeding one month, the holding of all public demonstrations or any class of
public demonstrations in the area or part thereof concerned.
Amnesty
International is concerned that the detention of women human rights defenders
has not been carried out in accordance with due process of law. Women human
rights defenders have been ill-treated while in police custody after engaging in,
or attempting to engage in, peaceful protest. They are often held in
overcrowded cells for periods ranging from a couple of hours to several days
before being taken to court or released. Police often deny human rights
defenders access to lawyers and to food. In addition, human rights defenders
who are injured as a result of police beatings during arrest and/or while in
custody, are also denied access to medical care.
These human rights violations have gender specific manifestations and a gender
specific impact on women human rights defenders.
Amnesty International has documented several cases of police brutality during
arrest and detention of women human rights defenders.
Case study
Women and baby injured during peaceful protest
On 29 November 2006, police in Bulawayo used excessive force to disperse over
200 WOZA members participating in a peaceful protest outside government offices
at Muhlahlandlela building, despite the fact that the protesters had all sat
down ready to be arrested.(43) About 30 police officers in riot gear used
excessive force to arrest and disperse the protesters, resulting in some 25 of
them being seriously injured and later hospitalized. Among the injured were a
woman and a baby, both of whom suffered broken legs. Around 36 protesters,
including six mothers with small babies, were arrested and detained at Bulawayo
Central police station.
Detention of pregnant women and mothers with small children
Amnesty International has documented several cases where, as well as the lives
or health of women human rights defenders being put at risk during detention in
police custody, the lives and health of their small children were also
endangered.
A number of women human rights defenders from WOZA sometimes take their small
babies with them to marches. The women told Amnesty International that most of
them have no one else to leave the babies with. In most instances the babies
are still breastfeeding and cannot be separated from their mothers for
prolonged periods. Amnesty International notes that these women tend to be
single mothers living on their own.
Although most women human rights defenders who are arrested with babies are
released earlier than women without children, and do not spend nights in police
cells, some have not been so fortunate. Amnesty International has documented
cases where the police subjected mothers and babies to cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment and at times even appeared to justify such treatment.
Case studies
Women with babies detained overnight
On 29 November 2006 six mothers with babies were arrested and detained
overnight at various police stations in Bulawayo after having spent the whole
day at Bulawayo Central police station in the rain, in a fenced area in an
open-air courtyard. When the WOZA leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga
Mahlangu, who were also in detention, objected to the ill-treatment of the
women, particularly the mothers with babies, police reportedly told them that
"they deserved the treatment".(44) Later that evening the police
transferred the detainees to several police stations in Bulawayo. The mothers
with babies were not released until 30 November.
Bulawayo woman detained with baby
Rumbidzai, a 26-year-old WOZA member, was one of the mothers with babies
arrested on 29 November. At the time, her baby was nine months old. Police took
away her bag with nappies and would not allow her to change the baby’s soiled
nappy. The women pleaded repeatedly with the police but were told that they
"should have stayed at home if they wanted better treatment." In the
evening, Rumbidzai was transferred together with 13 other protesters, including
another woman with a small baby, to Queens Park police station. She was only
allowed to change the baby’s nappy around midnight after lawyers finally managed
to obtain access. As a result the baby developed an infection and Rumbidzai had
to seek medical care.(45)
Women forced to stop breastfeeding
Another woman was forced to stop breastfeeding her baby after being arrested
and detained at Harare Central police station following a demonstration
organised by the National Constitutional Assembly in February 2003. She had
travelled to Harare from Bulawayo early in the morning to take part in the
demonstration, intending to go back to Bulawayo that afternoon so she could
breastfeed. However, she was arrested and detained, and despite pleading with
the police to be allowed to return to Bulawayo that day to breastfeed her baby,
she was kept in detention until the following day. Police told her that if she
had a baby she should not have been demonstrating.(46)
Pregnant women detained overnight
On 1 December 2005, Gladys, an activist with the Women and AIDS Support
Network, was arrested by police for attempting to participate in a peaceful
march on Harare’s First Street, as part of a campaign in support of women’s
access to anti-retroviral therapy. The march had been sanctioned by the police.
Despite the fact that Gladys was six months pregnant, she was detained
overnight at Harare Central police station in a very cold cell with no
blankets.
Amnesty International is deeply concerned that the Zimbabwe Republic Police
have demonstrated total disregard for the rights of arrested and detained women
human rights defenders who are pregnant or mothers or carers of young children.
Such disregard results in violations of women’s and children’s human rights.
Amnesty International also spoke to women human rights defenders who are
concerned about the welfare of family members, particularly small children, who
are often left without care while the mothers are in detention. Women human
rights defenders having day-to-day responsibility for care of young children or
elderly parents, often find it hard to continue their human rights work knowing
that arrest and detention would prevent them from fulfilling that role in the
family.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "Motherhood and
childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children … shall
enjoy the same social protection." (Article 25(2)).
In accordance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, states must give "the widest possible protection and
assistance" to the family as "the natural and fundamental group unit
of society", particularly "while it is responsible for the care and
education of dependent children". (Article 10). It also requires that
"special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable
period before and after childbirth." (Article 10(2)).
The Convention on the Rights of the Child requires: "In all actions
concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare
institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies,
the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration." It also
binds states parties to ensuring "the child such protection and care as is
necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties
of his or her parents." (Article 3). Furthermore, states have to
"ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents
against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial
review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such
separation is necessary for the best interests of the child." (Article 9).
Acknowledging "that women most of the time have major responsibilities for
children", the Sixth UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the
Treatment of Offenders accordingly recommended that states "ensure that
the woman offender is treated fairly and equally during arrest, trial, sentence
and imprisonment, particular attention being paid to the special problems which
women offenders encounter, such as pregnancy and child care".(47) In its
General Comment 28 on the equality of rights between men and women, the UN
Human Rights Committee has noted: "Pregnant women who are deprived of
their liberty should receive humane treatment and respect for their inherent
dignity at all times and in particular during the birth and while caring for
their newborn children."
While relevant to the sentencing of mothers, these human rights obligations
must also be heeded in relation to the arrest and pre-trial detention of women
who are (or are about to become) mothers. Giving due consideration to their
human rights validates a presumption against the imprisonment of pregnant or
breastfeeding women and mothers of infants or small children. The International
Centre for Prison Studies advises: "Pregnant women should only be held in
prison in the most extreme circumstances."(48) A women’s rights commentary
on the UN Standard Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners notes: "As with
pregnancy, a woman who is breastfeeding should only be imprisoned where there
are compelling reasons why this is necessary in her particular circumstances."(49)
Equally, the 8th UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders noted that imprisonment of "mothers with infants or small
children should be restricted and a special effort made to avoid the extended
use of imprisonment as a sanction for these categories."(50)
Amnesty International does not believe that the detention of mothers with small
children and pregnant women were justified in any of the circumstances
documented. The organization is convinced that this was done as a punitive
measure in order to discourage women human rights defenders from exercising
their rights guaranteed in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the
ICCPR and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Denial of medical care in detention
Human rights defenders often need treatment for injuries inflicted by the
police during arrest or while in detention. Hundreds of human rights defenders
taken into police custody after being injured by police at the time of arrest
have, in almost all the cases reported to Amnesty International, been denied
access to medical care.
Other detainees were in need of medication for chronic diseases, including
asthma, high blood pressure, and AIDS. Lawyers told Amnesty International that
they have great difficulty in ensuring that detained activists can obtain
medication. On occasions where access to medical care is granted, police often
do not allow lawyers to consult with their clients individually or in private
to find out what medication is needed. Since many people living with AIDS in
Zimbabwe fear stigmatization if their HIV status becomes known, denial of
private consultation with lawyers makes it difficult for women living with AIDS
to speak freely. In particular, those who are on anti-retroviral therapy may be
reluctant to disclose their HIV status and medication needs to lawyers in the
presence of others in detention, even other human rights defenders.
Denying individuals access to the medical care they require while in state
custody is a violation of their human rights. Where individuals require access
to medical care as a result of being subjected to ill-treatment by state
officials, denial of such access is a grave violation of their right to a
remedy. Detainees must be able to discuss their medical needs with a healthcare
professional or lawyer, and receive the required treatment confidentially. If
women's routine of taking medication is disrupted it can have a long-term
negative impact on their health. It is important that the women are able to
take their medication (and obtain food) regularly and reliably.
Denial of access to medical care for persons in police custody is a serious
violation of human rights. Principle 24 of the Body of Principles for the
Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment states
that a "proper medical examination shall be offered to a detained or
imprisoned person as promptly as possible after his admission to the place of
detention or imprisonment, and thereafter medical care and treatment shall be
provided whenever necessary. This care and treatment shall be provided free of
charge."
Article 5 of the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials states that
"[n]o law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act
of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".
The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials further states in Article
6: ""Law enforcement officials shall ensure the full protection of
the health of persons in their custody and, in particular, shall take immediate
action to secure medical attention whenever required." This means, where
police arrest or have control of individuals suffering chronic illnesses such
as asthma or heart disease, they should not only secure medical attention for
those needing it but also should take all reasonable measures to ensure that
such individuals are able to take their medication as recommended. In no case
should affected individuals have their medication removed or be otherwise
prevented from taking necessary medicines.
Humiliation and sexist verbal attacks
Amnesty International notes that most women human rights defenders who are
arrested and taken into police custody are humiliated and subjected to sexist
verbal attacks. These include being called "whores" and being told
that they are "bad women" who deserve no sympathy from the police
authorities. Women human rights defenders are portrayed as deviant women who
have malicious intentions. This form of treatment amounts to sexuality
baiting,(51) which is aimed at undermining the work of women human rights
defenders by discrediting their activities and isolating them from the rest of
the human rights movement. This affects the credibility and legitimacy of women
human rights defenders who advocate on issues that specifically concern women.
Amnesty International received credible information of how women who dare to
challenge violations of economic and social rights in Zimbabwe are subject to
derogatory or sinister accusations by the police, which are aimed at discrediting
their character.
Lawyers in Bulawayo, Mutare and Harare, who have represented women human rights
defenders when they are arrested, told Amnesty International that male police
officers subject women human rights defenders to sexist verbal abuse. Statements
made to the women by police officers include the following:
"I am not here to sleep with you."
"You should go and find husbands instead of wasting time engaging in WOZA
things."
"Why do you leave your husbands to be detained in police cells."
"Your husbands are not giving you enough sex – that is why you have the
energy to confront the government."
Older
women are told to "go and practise witchcraft" instead of engaging in
activism.
Almost all women interviewed by Amnesty International had been subjected to
sexist verbal attacks by police while in custody. Such attacks are evidence of
the police’s endorsement of negative gender stereotypes and gender
discrimination. They insinuate that women human rights defenders have no
business becoming active in the public sphere in defence of human rights.
Attacks of this kind amount to violence against women and constitute violations
of women’s human rights.(52)
These attacks often translate into physical assault of women human rights
defenders during arrest and detention, and denial of other rights, including
access to lawyers, medical care and food, while in police custody.
Deception and disinformation to evade accountability and justify suppression
of dissent
All opposition forces in
Zimbabwe and beyond our borders have been, for a long time, working either
individually, separately and jointly in strategizing for regime change in
Zimbabwe(53)
Zimbabwe Republic Police, 2007
Since we are in a struggle for human rights, we are seen as enemy combatants
by the police.
Woman human rights defender with the National Constitutional Assembly, February
2007
The government has manipulated a genuine grievance concerning the stark
imbalances in land ownership, created during colonialism, to shield itself from
being held accountable for human rights violations. Many such violations extend
well beyond those related to the fast-track land reform programme. The
government of Zimbabwe justifies suppression of dissent, including the use of
excessive force, torture and violence against government critics and members of
the political opposition parties.
The government alleges that international criticism of its human rights record
is mainly the result of an attempt by the former colonial power – the United
Kingdom – to undermine its land reform programme. The government of Zimbabwe
has repeatedly portrayed human rights defenders as violent individuals bent on
removing the government. It has claimed that civil society organizations in
Zimbabwe are being sponsored by western governments to effect regime change.
This is despite the fact that even the ZRP has publicly acknowledged that
organizations like WOZA are engaging in non-violent peaceful action.(54)
This strategy has been effective in galvanising support for President Robert
Mugabe and his government from African leaders who have, until recently,
expressed unqualified solidarity with the government. Instead of demanding
investigations into human rights violations and government accountability for
them, African leaders either remained quiet about the situation in Zimbabwe or
shielded Zimbabwe from being discussed at multilateral level, including in the
UN and the African Union.
False accusations against human rights defenders by senior government
officials; a failure to institute investigations into alleged human rights
abuses by the police; combined with a failure to bring to justice suspected
perpetrators within state security organizations of abuses against human rights
defenders, have created a culture of impunity within these organizations. In
particular, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department’s Law and Order
Section of the ZRP have subjected human rights defenders to ill-treatment,
beatings and torture with the full knowledge that they will not be held accountable.
Police officers have become partisan in how they enforce the law. They see it
as a duty to defend the ruling party.
Amnesty International was told by women human rights defenders that police
often accuse them of being "used by the British and American governments
to remove the ZANU-PF government". In Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare, Chegutu
and Harare, human rights defenders complained of being ill-treated by police
officials who accused them of being agents of "regime change". This
is usually followed by beatings and harassment while in police custody.
Amnesty International believes that the government’s allegations against women
human rights defenders, aimed at undermining the perceived legitimacy of their
struggle for the realization of human rights in Zimbabwe, are in bad faith.
Unfounded as such allegations are, they create a climate in which the
government feels able to justify abuses against human rights defenders and
denial of their right to a remedy where they have suffered violations of their
human rights. The government of Zimbabwe is obliged to respect, protect and
fulfil the right of women human rights defenders – as of all individuals – to
defend their human rights.
By accusing them of illegal and violent activities, the government is not only
making false accusations against women human rights defenders, it is also
failing to acknowledge its role in and responsibility for the human rights
violations for which human rights defenders are demanding accountability and
redress. The government is isolating itself from accountability. Part of this
effort is an attempt to deny direct causal connections between government
policies and the deepening of poverty and serious human rights violations in
the country.
Legitimization of police violence against human rights defenders
Amnesty International notes that there have been reported incidents of violence
targeted against the police and public property. However, the organization is
concerned that the government has used these isolated incidents to justify
serious and indiscriminate curtailment of the rights of all human rights
defenders. Amnesty International takes very seriously the reported incidents of
violence directed at police, and calls for those responsible to be brought to
justice through a process in which the rights of accused persons are observed,
including their right to a fair trial. However, under no circumstances do
incidents of violence by protesters justify excessive use of force, torture and
ill-treatment by the police.
Amnesty International is concerned that the ZRP, through widely circulated
public documents, is manipulating incidents such as road barricades, the
stoning of a bus, burning of motor vehicles and alleged petrol bombings of
police posts by persons suspected to be opposition supporters, to divert
attention away from or even justify, grave human rights violations committed by
the police. These include arbitrary arrest, killing of National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) member Gift Tandare,(55) and torture and ill-treatment of human
rights defenders during demonstrations and while in police custody.
In a report released in March 2007 by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, entitled Opposition
forces in Zimbabwe: A trail of violence, the ZRP names the two factions of
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) – the main opposition party – the
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU), Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe, Women/Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA/MOZA),
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR) and Christian Alliance as the organizations responsible for what the
police termed "a trail of violence". The report argues that these
organizations are campaigning "for regime change and overthrow of the
democratically elected Government of Zimbabwe" resulting in "a
plethora of criminal activities and political violence in the country,
especially in Harare, where people have been attacked, buses stoned and cars
burned to ashes, police officers seriously injured." The report
then outlines some of the activities of these groups which, it claims, confirm
these assertions.
Yet, for example, the description of the activities of WOZA/MOZA and the ZCTU
cited in the report, does not give a single example of a violent incident
attributed to these organizations. The activities, of WOZA and the ZCTU –
holding meetings, training workshops and peaceful assemblies – described by the
police are universally recognized activities of human rights defenders and
trade unions.
Case studies
Women/Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA/MOZA)
Reporting on a meeting by WOZA held on 18 January 2007 at the Women Training
Bureau in Harare, the ZRP report states:
Williams(56) told participants that the economic situation
in the country causes poverty, adding that people are living in a state of fear
and uncertainty. She said the poor health delivery has created thousands of
orphans through HIV/AIDS.
She said WOZA commands respect from the United Nations as human rights
defenders. She urged participants to respect human rights by holding
non-violent demonstrations. She encouraged trainers to write good reports.
Kasinamunda(57) encouraged trainers to instil courage among supporters and plan
for future demonstrations.(58)
Amnesty
International has documented activities of WOZA since the organization was
formed in 2003. In April 2006 and February 2007, Amnesty International observed
some of WOZA’s training workshops in the city of Bulawayo and rural Insiza
district. As confirmed by the report written by the ZRP and posted on the
Ministry of Home Affairs website(59) Amnesty International observed that WOZA
leaders always insist on disciplined membership and non-violent peaceful
action. The police report is one example of a malicious attempt to undermine
and discredit WOZA/MOZA and other human rights defenders in Zimbabwe.
In the last four years Amnesty International has documented over 30 occasions
where hundreds of women protesters have been arrested and detained by the
police across the country after engaging or attempting to engage in peaceful
protest. These protesters are often severely beaten by police during arrest
and/or in detention.
On at least five occasions WOZA and MOZA members have been acquitted by the
courts following arrests. In most cases, the human rights defenders were
acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence. No WOZA/MOZA member has been charged
for violent conduct. But still, the police continue to unlawfully arrest,
detain and ill-treat them for exercising their right to peaceful assembly and
freedom of association. The intention of police action against WOZA members is
to stop the organization’s members from exercising their right to freely
assemble.
Amnesty International has also documented cases of women human rights defenders
who were subjected to torture after participating in peaceful protest.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
On 13 September 2006, Lucia Matibenga, the first Vice-President of the ZCTU and
14 male activists were arrested in Harare while attempting to engage in
peaceful protest. They were severely beaten by police during the arrest. The
beating of the ZCTU members as they were arrested was captured on film. The
film(60) clearly shows the trade unionists cooperating with the police during
arrest. However, the police can be seen in the film beating the activists,
despite the fact that they offered no resistance. The activists were later
systematically tortured at Matapi police station in the township of Mbare where
they were detained overnight. Lucia Matibenga had one of her eardrums
perforated and doctors stated that eight of the detainees had injuries
consistent with a torture method called Falanga (beating the soles of
the victim’s feet), which can leave victims with difficulties in walking for the
rest of their lives. Doctors also say that victims risk needing amputation if
they do not have appropriate medical care in time.
Despite the video evidence and doctors’ reports, the government of Zimbabwe
insisted that police used minimum force to arrest the protesters, who they said
were resisting arrest; they vehemently denied that the trade unionists were
tortured or beaten in police custody. President Mugabe made this statement on
25 September 2006, while addressing Zimbabwe’s embassy staff in Cairo Egypt:
We cannot have a situation where people decide to sit in
places not allowed and when the police remove them, they say no. We can’t have
that, that is a revolt to the system. Vamwe vaakuchema kuti takarohwa, ehe
unodashurwa (others are crying that we were beaten up, yes you would be beaten
up). When the police say move, move. If you don’t move, you invite the police
to use force.(61)
Save
Zimbabwe Campaign’s prayer meeting, 11 March 2007
The police report also attempted to justify the use of excessive force,
including the killing of NCA member Gift Tandare by police, and beatings and
torture of several human rights defenders and leaders of the MDC in Harare on
11 March 2007. In the report, police deny that the activists were tortured or
severely beaten while in police custody at Machipisa police station. However,
there are inconsistencies in the police report that cast doubt on the police
explanation of these events.
For example, Sekai Holland, a 64-year-old member of the MDC and a longstanding
women’s rights defender, is listed in the report(62) as one of the persons
arrested on the way to the venue of a prayer meeting in Harare’s low income
suburb of Highfield. There is no mention of Holland resisting arrest. However,
Holland sustained serious injuries all over her body. She maintains that she
was tortured by police officials while in custody. This account is backed up by
a number of eye witness accounts and supported by medical reports. According to
eye witness reports and Amnesty International interviews with the victims, the
detainees were beaten while in detention at Machipisa police station, and
beatings continued at various police stations to which they were later
transferred. Several other people, including Grace Kwinjeh, one of the MDC leaders
Morgan Tsvangirai, and the NCA chairperson Lovemore Madhuku, were severely
injured and needed hospitalization.
Amnesty International believes that the repeated blocking of peaceful
gatherings and arrest of women human rights defenders by the government of
Zimbabwe, through the police, constitute a violation of the rights of women
human rights defenders to peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
Zimbabwe is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) which recognizes the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of
association provided for in Articles 21 and 22 of the ICCPR respectively. The
right to freedom of association in Article 22 of the ICCPR protects the right
to form political parties, trade unions and private associations such as
non-governmental organizations, including human rights organizations. States
party to the ICCPR must also ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is
guaranteed on the strict conditions of the Covenant, and that limitations on
its exercise do not exceed those expressly laid down in Article 21. This means,
in particular, that rules requiring prior permission for the holding of
assemblies or demonstrations or any other rules or requirements governing the
holding or conduct of public assemblies must be limited to those necessary in a
democratic society for the legitimate purposes enumerated in Article 21. A
wholesale ban on demonstrations for reasons such as public safety and national
security is not compatible with freedom of peaceful assembly as guaranteed by
Article 21 of the ICCPR.
Zimbabwe is also a party to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights
(hereafter referred to as African Charter). The African Commission on Human and
Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has also recognized that limitations on the exercise of
the right to freedom of association, recognized in Article 10 of the African
Charter, must not undermine the fundamental human rights and freedoms
guaranteed by national constitutions or international legal standards.
Another regional instrument, the ACHPR’s Kigali Declaration, explicitly
recognizes the important role of civil society organizations, and human rights
defenders in particular, in the promotion and protection of human rights, and
calls upon all member states to protect them and encourage their participation
in decision-making processes.(63)
In interpreting the obligations of states under the ICCPR, the UN Human Rights
Committee (HRC) has stated that the right to participate in public affairs,
recognized in Article 25 of the Covenant:
"[R]equires the full enjoyment and respect for the
rights guaranteed in articles 19, 21 and 22 of the Covenant, including freedom
to engage in political activity individually or through political parties and
other organizations, freedom to debate public affairs, to hold peaceful
demonstrations and meetings, to criticize and oppose, to publish political
material, to campaign for election and to advertise political ideas."(64)
Moreover,
the HRC recognizes that the right to freedom of association "including the
right to form and join organizations and associations concerned with political
and public affairs" is an essential element of the rights protected by
Article 25 of the ICCPR.
Excessive use of force encouraged within the police force
Amnesty International notes that there appears to be a strong conviction within
the police force that it is legitimate to use violence against human rights
defenders as a form of punishment for criticising government and as a way of
intimidating them so they will refrain from engaging in further criticism.
Senior officers within the ZRP have failed to denounce criminal conduct which
constitutes human rights violations by the police, particularly beatings,
torture and other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees at
police stations. This appears to be interpreted as tacit approval by lower
ranks within the police force, who perpetrate ill-treatment of human rights
defenders. Police authorities fail to investigate and hold accountable junior officers
who commit human rights violations against human rights defenders during arrest
and while in police custody.
A report released in May 2007 by the ZRP states:
There is no doubt that the mushrooming of multifaceted
western sponsored politically aligned non-governmental organisations,
masquerading as champions of democracy, human rights and good governance, are
simply there to peddle the regime change agenda meant to dislodge a
democratically elected government through such futile attempts as the Save
Zimbabwe Campaign.(65)
One
of the outcomes of such public statements has been the use of excessive force
by police to break up peaceful gatherings or marches organised by women human
rights defenders. Excessive force has been used in circumstances where
protesters were complying with police orders or were not resisting arrest; this
often resulted in serious injury of protesters. The use of force by the police
under such circumstances was unnecessary and unjustified. Amnesty International
has received credible reports that, after inflicting injuries on protesters
during arrest, police have denied them access to medical care as a form of
punishment.(66)
Amnesty International believes that the government of Zimbabwe has failed to
protect women human rights defenders engaged in peaceful protest from the use
of excessive force by police. In situations where law enforcement officials
resort to force, their conduct must be guided by standards respectful of the
human rights of individuals. Such standards must be enforceable against
officials who break them. Authoritative interpretations on the use of force by
law enforcement officials clearly recognize that force can only be used where
it is strictly necessary and to the extent required by the situation.(67) In the
commentary on Article 3 of the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials,
it is pointed out that:
"National law ordinarily restricts the use of force by
law enforcement officials in accordance with a principle of proportionality. It
is to be understood that such national principles of proportionality are to be
respected in the interpretation of this provision. In no case should this
provision be interpreted to authorize the use of force which is
disproportionate to the legitimate objective to be achieved."
The
Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
deal with the policing of unlawful assemblies.(68) Principle 12 states:
"As everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and
peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, governments and law enforcement agencies and officials
shall recognize that force and firearms may be used only in accordance with
principles 13 and 14."
Principle
13 reads:
"In the dispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but
non-violent, law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or, where
that is not practicable, shall restrict such force to the minimum extent
necessary."
The
adverse differential treatment of human rights organizations, trade unions and
opposition parties by police is evident in the way in which lawyers
representing human rights defenders are treated. Women human rights defenders
are denied access to lawyers while in police custody. Lawyers interviewed by
Amnesty International indicated that representing human rights defenders in
custody entailed a process of negotiation with the police which they compared
with hostage negotiation.(69) Lawyers have resorted to sit-ins at police
stations, first to negotiate access to the clients, then to negotiate for
access to food, water and medical care for the detainees. They also have to
negotiate for the release of their clients – often a long process that can
extend for up to five days. Police are often spiteful and abusive to lawyers
and even threaten to arrest and detain them.(70)
Amnesty is deeply concerned that police in Zimbabwe flagrantly violate the
rights of human rights defenders to have access to lawyers. The UN Basic
Principles on the Role of Lawyers Article 8 states the right of "all
arrested, detained or imprisoned persons" to be provided with
"adequate opportunities, time and facilities to be visited by and to
communicate and consult with a lawyer, without delay, interception or
censorship and in full confidentiality."
Torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
Amnesty International is deeply concerned that, in most instances where women
human rights defenders and their male counterparts are arrested and detained,
they have been subjected to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment. The
beating, torture, as well as sexist verbal attacks and other forms of inhuman
and degrading treatment of women human rights defenders while in police custody,
violates Section 15 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which guarantees the
right to be protected from torture, inhuman or degrading punishment.
Although Zimbabwe is not a state party to the UN Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), it has
ratified the ICCPR and the African Charter which also outlaw torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 5 of the African
Charter and Article 7 of the ICCPR unequivocally prohibit the practice of
torture.
The CAT defines Torture as:
"Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether
physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as
obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him
for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having
committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason
based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted
by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public
official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include
pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful
sanctions."(71)
Additionally,
Article 10 of the ICCPR recognizes the right of all persons deprived of their
liberty to be treated humanely. The UN Human Rights Committee, responsible for
interpreting the obligations of states under the Covenant, has explicitly
stated:
"Treating all persons deprived of their liberty with
humanity and with respect for their dignity is a fundamental and universally
applicable rule. Consequently, the application of this rule, as a minimum,
cannot be dependent on the material resources available in the state party.
This rule must be applied without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social
origin, property, birth or other status".(72)
Failure
to respect and protect rights of women human rights defenders
Overall, Amnesty International believes that the government of Zimbabwe has
violated the rights of women human rights defenders to promote and protect
their rights. The government has used the law, allowed the use of excessive
force against peaceful women protesters, and torture, inhuman and degrading
treatment of women human rights defenders in order to stop them from going
about their activities to campaign for the protection of their human rights.
Such measures by the government of Zimbabwe breach internationally recognized
rights of human rights defenders.
The Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and
Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms (also known as the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1998 by consensus. Its
text fleshes out the obligations of states to protect human rights defenders,
building on pre-existing human rights obligations found in numerous
international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was then
incorporated by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights into the
Grand Bay Declaration,(73) as well as the Resolution on the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders in Africa, which called on member states "to promote and
give full effect to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, [and] to take
all necessary measures to ensure the protection of human rights
defenders".(74)
The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders recognizes that the work of human
rights defenders is vital to promoting human rights, democracy and rule of law.
It represents the aspirations of members of the United Nations to create an
enabling environment for human rights defenders to go about their work without
fear. Many of the underlying principles found in the Declaration are also
recognized by other international treaties to which Zimbabwe is a party, such
as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. By failing to
sanction peaceful protests, and by interfering with the internationally
recognized activities of women human rights defenders and organizations, the
government of Zimbabwe and, in particular, the state police, are violating
Article 12 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which recognizes the
right to engage in peaceful activities, individually and in association with
others, in defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Conclusion and recommendations
Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the government of Zimbabwe’s
increasing intolerance of dissent, and its denial of the rights of women human
rights defenders to exercise the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of
association. The organization is concerned that women who are exercising or
seeking to exercise their civil and political rights in order to highlight
violations of economic and social rights, brought about by the declining
economy and fuelled by government policies such as Operation Murambatsvina, are
being arbitrarily arrested and detained. They then face further violations
while in police custody, including beatings, and denial of access to lawyers,
food and medical care.
The government of Zimbabwe needs to invest in a process that addresses the
underlying violations of economic and social rights which motivate women to
become human rights defenders, rather than increasing repression, intolerance
and human rights violations against them and criminalising their legitimate
activities in defence of human rights. Women human rights defenders should be
detained only in accordance with due process of law. The government must not
condone abuse and mistreatment during arrest and detention, and must actively prosecute
perpetrators of such abuse.
Women human rights defenders must be ensured due protection where they are
pregnant or mothers of small children. Where children accompany women human
rights defenders at the time of their detention, the police must take special
care to safeguard the child’s best interests.
Amnesty International stresses that the international community must publicly
condemn violations of human rights by the government of Zimbabwe, including
organised violence by state actors, torture and ill-treatment, and more broadly
the denial of human rights (including the right to be free from hunger) of
women human rights defenders. In particular, the African Union and the Southern
Africa Development Community should use their position of influence as
important regional actors to send a clear and unequivocal signal to the
government of Zimbabwe of their disapproval of state-sponsored attacks and
other violations of the rights of women human rights defenders and their male
counterparts.
The government of Zimbabwe should recognize the positive aspects of the work of
women human rights defenders as enshrined in the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders, and should create an environment which is conducive to women human
rights defenders going about their work without fear of arrest and
discrimination. Women human rights defenders are an important resource for the
development of the country. They are playing – and will continue to play – a
pivotal role in addressing the many human rights challenges the country is
facing. The government must acknowledge the legitimacy of their work and
actively challenge any manifestations of gender discrimination and stereotyping
against women, including physical or verbal attacks. The government must
refrain from violating women’s human rights as defenders of human rights, and
must prevent, investigate and punish any instances of human rights violations
against them.
Recommendations to the government of Zimbabwe
Amnesty International urges the government of Zimbabwe to fulfil its
obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of human rights defenders
by adopting and implementing the following recommendations:
Recommendations to improve the operational environment for the promotion and
protection of human rights
In respect of policing, the government should:
In
respect of detention of pregnant women, mothers with babies and carers of
children, the government should:
In
respect of law reform to fully protect the rights of women human rights
defenders, the government should:
In
respect of violations of economic and social rights of women human rights
defenders, the government should:
Recommendations
to President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa in his capacity as facilitator of
talks between the government of Zimbabwe and the MDC(75)
In relation to the current SADC mediation process, President Mbeki should:
Recommendations
to the international community
The international community, in particular the member states of the African
Union, should:
In relation
to financial and material support to women human rights defenders,
Glossary
ACHPR African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
African Charter African Charter on Human and People’s Rights
CAT Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
GAPWUZ General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe
GMB Grain Marketing Board
HRC UN Human Rights Committee
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
MDC Movement for Democratic Change
MOZA Men of Zimbabwe Arise
NCA National Constitutional Assembly
POSA Public Order and Security Act
RBZ Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
UN United Nations
WAG Women Action Group
WOZA Women of Zimbabwe Arise
ZANU-PF Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front
ZCTU Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
ZIMCET Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust
ZINASU Zimbabwe National Students Union
ZLHR Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
ZRP Zimbabwe Republic Police
ZWLA Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association
********
(1) Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: Power and Hunger – violations of the right
to food, 15 October 2004, AI Index: AFR 46/026/2004.
(2) United Nations: Report of the Fact Finding Mission to Zimbabwe to Access
the Scope and Impact of Operation Murambatsvina by the UN Special Envoy on
Human Settlements Issues in Zimbabwe, 22 July 2005.
(3) According to UNICEF an estimated 1.1million children had been orphaned by
the AIDs pandemic by 2005, http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zimbabwe_statistics.html#25
(4) See Amnesty International: Zimbabwe Rights Under Siege, May 2003, AI Index:
AFR 46/012/2003.
(5) Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and
Organs of Society to Promote Universally Recognised Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1998.
(6) Resolution On The Protection Of Human Rights Defenders In Africa 74. ACHPR
/Res.69(XXXV)04 http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/africa/resolutions/rec74.html
(7) Hartwig Schafer, the World Bank’s representative in Zimbabwe, reported in
Zimbabwe's economic fall unprecedented 'in peacetime', Globe and Mail, 27 July
2005 (Reuters News Service).
(8) UNICEF estimates of children aged 0-17 who have been orphaned by AIDS by
2005. www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zimbabwe_statistics.html#25
(9) World Food Programme, Where we work – Zimbabwe, http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp?country=716
(10) UNDP, Human Development Report 2006, p285. The Human Development Index
measures: (i) healthy life expectancy at birth; (ii) knowledge (literacy and
education); (iii) a decent standard of living.
(11) UNDP, Human Development Report 2006, p290. The Human Development Index
measures: (i) healthy life expectancy at birth; (ii) knowledge (literacy and
education); (iii) a decent standard of living.
(12) Ibid, p307
(13) Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, www.rbz.co.zw/about/inflation.asp
(14) United Nations, Zimbabwe 2006 Consolidated Appeals Process.
(15) The majority of former farm workers were not allocated land under the
government’s fast-track land reform.
(16) Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: Power and Hunger – violations of the
right to food, 15 October 2004, AI Index: AFR 46/026/2004.
(17) Interview with Juliet Sithole, Gender Coordinator with the General
Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe, February 2007.
(18) United Nations, Zimbabwe 2006 Consolidated Appeals Process.
(19) In May 2005, the government of Zimbabwe embarked on a programme of mass
forced eviction known as Operation Murambatsvina (Restore Order) which left an
estimated 700,000 people without homes or livelihoods or both. Operation
Murambatsvina first targeted informal businesses.
(20) Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, The economic impact of the clampdown on
the informal economy, code named Operation Restore Order/Murambatsvina, 28 June
2005.
(21) Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe to Assess the Scope and
Impact of Operation Murambatsvina by the UN Special Envoy on Human Settlement
Issues in Zimbabwe, 22 July 2005, p24.
(22) Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: No justice for the victims of forced
eviction, 8 September 2006, AI Index: AFR46/005/2006.
(23) Amnesty International interview with micro-lending organization in
Masvingo, April/May 2006.
(24) Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: No justice for the victims of forced
evictions, 8 September 2006, AI Index: AFR 46/005/2006.
(25) See UN ICESCR, General Comment No 18, paragraph 20.
(26) Zimbabwe National Vulnerability Assessment Committee, Zimbabwe Emergency
Food Security Assessment, April 2003.
(27) More than one-third of Zimbabweans face food shortages – drought and
economic crisis to blame, FOA/WFP report says, World Food Programme, 5 June
2007, http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2511.
(28) Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: Power and Hunger – violations of the
right to food, 15 October 2004, AI Index: AFR 46/026/2004.
(29) The Grain Market Board manages the country’s strategic grain reserve. In
areas experiencing acute food shortage the GMB sells grain to the most
vulnerable households. GMB grain is subsidized by the state and is generally
affordable to many poor households. However, because of the monopolistic nature
of the programme, it has been susceptible to political manipulation. The
government has encouraged and allowed ruling party officials at local level to
discriminate against outspoken human rights defenders, members of the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) and members of civil society organizations. The
selection for beneficiaries is usually done by local councillors, many of whom
are members of Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), and
traditional leaders who are either forced by the local ruling party officials
to leave out perceived opponents of the party or are willing to cooperate.
(30) One such women’s organization is the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in
Argentina, a human rights organization set up to campaign for justice on behalf
of their children and other relatives who "disappeared" during the
years of military rule (1976 - 1983). They have earned international
recognition for their activism.
(31) See Amnesty International, Urgent Action, AI Index: AMR 13/013/2001.
(32) In February 2000 the government lost a referendum on a new constitution.
In the same year the ruling party ZANU-PF narrowly won the parliamentary
election; this triggered a wave of violence which targeted members of the main
opposition party, the MDC.
(33) Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: Power and Hunger – violations of the
right to food, 15 October 2004, AI Index: AFR 46/026/2004.
(34) Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: Power and Hunger – violations of the
right to food, 15 October 2004, AI Index: AFR 46/026/2004.
(35) Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: Toll of impunity, 25 June 2002 AI Index:
AFR 46/034/2002.
(36) UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No.
12, The Right to Adequate Food, E/C.12/1999/5, para 19.
(37) Ibid, para 28.
(38) Ibid, para 14.
(39) African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, The Social and Economic
Rights Action Center for Economic and Social Rights v. Nigeria, Communication
No. 155/96, October 2001.
(40) General Comment 12, para. 18.
(41) Human Rights Committee, General Comment 18, Non-Discrimination, UN Doc.
HRI\GEN1\Rev.1 at 26 (1994).
(42) Amnesty International, Zimbabwe: Rights under siege, p.17, 2 May 2003, AI
Index AFR 46/012/2003.
(43) Sitting down and complying with police orders is one of the tactics that
members of WOZA use to illustrate that they are protesting peacefully and are
cooperating with the police.
(44) Police seem to feel justified in ill-treating women in detention as
punitive measure. Human rights defenders are subjected to systematic
ill-treatment while in police custody, including verbal abuse and beatings,
which in some instances amount to torture.
(45) Interview with AI delegation in Bulawayo, February 2007.
(46) Interview with AI delegation in Bulawayo, February 2007.
(47) Sixth UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders, Resolution 9, Specific needs of women prisoners, A/CONF.87/14/Rev.1,
p. 12-13.
(48) A. Coyle (2002) A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management: Handbook for
prison staff (International Centre for Prison Studies).
(49) Megan Bastick, ‘Women in Detention - A commentary on the Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners’ (Discussion draft), Quakers United
Nations Office, July 2005. http://www.quno.org/geneva/pdf/humanrights/Commentary-SMR-women-in-prison.pdf
(50) Report of the 8th UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of
Offenders (1990), UN Doc. A/Conf.144/28/Rev. 1, p164.
(51) The practice of discrediting and controlling people, organizations and
political agendas through strategic use of allegations related to sexuality.
(52) See CEDAW General Recommendation No 19 (11th Session, 1992) on Violence
Against Women. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/recommendations/recomm.htm
(53) Zimbabwe Republic Police, Opposition forces in Zimbabwe: A trail of
violence, March 2007.
(54) Ibid.
(55) NCA member Gift Tandare was shot dead by police in Harare on 11 March 2007
when police broke up an attempt to hold a prayer meeting in Highfield by the
Save Zimbabwe Campaign. About 50 protesters including the two MDC faction
leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara were arrested. Several of the
protesters were severely tortured while in police custody.
(56) Jennifer Williams is one of the leaders of WOZA.
(57) Alice Kasinamunda is a trainer with WOZA.
(58) ZRP, Opposition forces in Zimbabwe: A trail of violence, p. 25-26, March
2007.
(59) www.moha.gov.zw/violencereport1.pdf
(60) A patriotic force, Solidarity Peace Trust, December 2006
(61) President Mugabe addressing staff at the Zimbabwe Embassy in Cairo, Egypt
on 23 September 2006. His comment followed the beating of ZCTU protesters
during arrest by police in Harare on 13 September. The protesters were tortured
at Matapi police station later the same day.
(62) Zimbabwe Republic Police, Opposition forces in Zimbabwe – A trail of
violence, p13, March 2007.
(63) Kigali Declaration, Adopted at the Ministerial Conference on Human Rights
in Africa, 8 May 2003, Article 28.
(64) Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 25 (Participation in public
affairs and the right to vote), para. 25.
(65) Zimbabwe Republic Police, A trail of violence – Opposition forces in
Zimbabwe – The naked truth, Volume 2, p37, May 2007.
(66) Amnesty International has written to the Commissioner of Police in
Zimbabwe on numerous occasions raising concern over reported denial of medical
care to injured protesters. For example, on 12 March 2007 the organization
issued a press release calling on the government of Zimbabwe to allow access to
medical treatment to activists when police arrested protesters for attempting
to attend a prayer meeting in Harare organised by the Save Zimbabwe Campaign.
AI Index: AFR 46/001/2007 (Public).
(67) Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, G.A. Res. 34/169, 17
December 1979, Article 3.
(68) Adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime
and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, Cuba, 27 August to 7 September 1990.
(69) Interview with Advocate Perpetual Dube, February 2007, and reports from
human rights defenders sent to Amnesty International.
(70) On 14 February 2006, Tafadzwa Mugabe, a lawyer with the Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights was arrested by police at about 13.00hrs along Nelson Mandela
Avenue in Harare when he approached a senior police officer to enquire about
WOZA members who had just been arrested. The lawyer was taken to Harare Central
police station and was interrogated before being handed over to the ZRP Law and
Order Section at the police station. He was only released at about 18.00hrs, without
being charged.
(71) Article 1 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9
December 1975.
(72) Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 21: Article 10 (Humane
treatment of persons deprived of their liberty), para. 4.
(73) Grand Bay (Mauritius) Declaration and Plan of Action, Adopted at Grand
Bay, Mauritius, 16 April 1999, Article 19 (calling on African governments to
take appropriate steps to implement the Declaration in Africa).
(74) ACHPR, Res. 69 (XXXV) 04: Resolution on the Protection of Human Rights
Defenders in Africa. 35th Session, 4 June 2004, section 3.
(75) See Communique from the 2007 Extra-Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and
Government Held in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania 28th to 29th
March 2007, http://www.sadc.int/news/news_details.php?news_id=927
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