ON International Day In Support of Victims of Torture, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) commiserates and supports victims and survivors of torture in the country and across the world.
International Day In Support of Victims of Torture commemorates the anniversary of the day, 36 years ago, when the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment became a binding legal obligation for countries that had ratified it.
Across the world, continuing impunity threatens to undermine the universally recognised and absolute prohibition of torture, which is embodied in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which entered into force in 1987.
Despite the near universal condemnation, torture and other violations of human rights including other horrendous abuses are still perpetrated around the world against human rights defenders and those who voice opinions that certain governments do not like including detainees and perceived political opponents.
On International Day In Support of Victims of Torture, ZLHR stands in solidarity with victims and survivors of torture and has assisted a significant number of people to obtain redress and to promote accountability for perpetrators who engage in these heinous practices, which have the effect of destroying the lives of victims.
Nonetheless, we are concerned that some architects of torture are yet to be held to account and we continue to receive reports of torture from across the country.
In recent years and months, the excessive use of force by members of the security services particularly members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) against human rights defenders and ordinary citizens, has been commonplace, despite some progressive provisions contained in section 51 of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom from torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.
ZLHR is concerned that the government of Zimbabwe has not criminalised torture, despite torture being a crime under international law and that it has been condemned as one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings on other human beings and cannot be justified under any circumstances.
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Government’s lack of commitment to eradicating the culture of torture is quite glaring as it has in the past accepted recommendations by several United Nations member States to ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and its optional Protocol.
As an organisation dedicated to fostering a culture of human rights and seeking justice for victims of torture through litigation and other forms of redress, ZLHR calls upon government to:
- Commit to eradicating torture by ratifying and domesticating the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
- Criminalise torture and investigate all incidents and prosecute all cases of torture;
- Ensure full accountability of all perpetrators and guarantee redress and rehabilitation to victims of torture;
- Ensure that monetary damages granted by courts in cases of torture are honoured timeously;
- Accept the outstanding request for a fact-finding country visit by the UN special rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to examine some questions relevant to rising incidents of torture with an aim to end the heinous practice;
- Establish an independent complaints mechanism and afford members of the public a platform to receive and investigate complaints about misconduct on the part of members of the security services and for remedying any harm caused by such misconduct. - ZLHR
Kudos to Zec
THE Election Resource Centre (ERC) Africa deployed monitors across the country to monitor the nomination court proceedings held by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) on June 21. The monitors were deployed to observe processes at National Assembly and Local Authority nomination courts.
The nomination court sat for the purpose of selecting candidates who qualify for the presidential, National Assembly and Local Authority elections. The electoral and political environments under which the nomination court was conducted were peaceful throughout the country with minimal skirmishes recorded.
Opening and closing of the nomination process
The ERC notes that on June 10, Zec published a notice on social media, notifying prospective nominees that the commission had opened the nomination process at district, provincial and national offices. On nomination day June 21, the nomination courts opened by 1000hrs as stipulated with only isolated incidents of courts not opening at the stipulated time as noted in Gweru, Midlands province.
While the gates closed at 1600hrs, observers noted that Zec officials managed to deal with all nomination processes until midnight as some candidates and political parties had not filed their nomination papers as at 1600hrs. This made the verification process to go on until midnight in centres such as Lupane, Plumtree and Bulawayo Provincial Magistrate Courts.
ERC commends the electoral commission and the nomination court officials for delivering administrative justice to all prospective candidates.
ERC monitors observed that most aspiring candidates had filed their papers prior to the nomination court sitting on June 21. ERC notes that the fairness of the nomination process was possibly impacted as a number of candidates were disqualified due to “illegal” nominators. This issue could have been avoided had the electoral commission availed a copy of the voters roll to political parties ahead of the nomination day for candidates to be able to verify their nominators registration status. ERC monitors also noted double candidature from the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party in a number of districts. Double candidates were noted in Bulawayo, Harare and Marondera districts.
As the ERC Africa, we commend Zec for taking all steps and measures to ensure all aspiring candidates have access to the nomination centres as well as getting all the administrative justice due to them. We applaud Zimbabweans for ensuring peaceful participation in this nomination process as observed in most centres across the country. - ERC
