MARTIN MAWAYA
HARARE-Zimbabwe recorded over 77 human rights violations including 28 arbitrary arrests and detention from January to March 2023, human rights has said in its latest report made public.
It said the main perpetrators were state apparatus and main political players in the country.
According to the first quarter Political Violence Report released by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, 22 Assaults and torture cases and 20 incidences of violations against journalists were recorded in the month of January.
With 27 violations of arbitrary arrests and detention also occurring in the same month.
The rights group also reported an increase in attacks of freedom of assembly and association where 5 cases were recorded in February compared to one recorded in January of the same year.
However, NGO Forum said one incident of hate speech or political intolerant was recorded in March whilst no extra judicial killings occurred during the first quarter of the year.
The report further audited the rights violations in the run up to local authorities and parliamentary by-elections as well as the ZEC’s delimitation process, where it condemned the use of lawfare to silence and crack down on perceived voices of political dissent and closing the democratic space in the country.
“It has been asserted that civil and political rights lose their significance if they are not available to all people. The bedrock of democracy is the ability of a citizen to actively demand and enjoy their civil and political rights without fear of victimization.
However, what emerges from the 2023 1st Quarter Political and Human Rights Violation Report is that Zimbabwe is a country that remains embattled with democratic regression that impedes the full enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms by its citizens.
“The period under review was also characterized by the use of lawfare to crackdown on perceived voices of political dissent. This is invariably the norm in respect of autocratic and repressive regimes who are strongly rooted in the liberation struggle narrative which figures strongly in their claims to be legitimate and stay in power.
“This is done by instilling and harvesting fear within the citizenry as an overt political strategy to exclude and repress perceived and real voices of political dissent,” reads part of the report.
The Forum feared that the situation can further deteriorates if the socio-economic and civil and political deficiencies haunting the country are not addressed comprehensively.
It urged the government to uphold the “constitution, promote and protect fundamental human rights by ratifying the United Nations Convention Against Torture as well as other cruel, inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) and it’s optional protocols”.
The rights group also called for the investigations into the allegations of human rights violations perpetrated by members of the security sector.
On political parties, the Forum implored political leaders against making divisive utterances that do not engender a culture of political tolerance which involves acceptance and respect for the basic rights and liberties of others.
