United Nations (UN) human rights experts expressed “grave alarm” at the “pattern of disappearances and torture aimed at suppressing dissent” in Zimbabwe, and called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to “cease all abductions, torture and hold perpetrators to account as a matter of urgency”.
The UN’s call for action came after an incident in May, when three female opposition activists–Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova, and Member of Parliament (MP) Joanna Mamombe–were pulled over by police in Harare and then abducted, tortured, and sexually assaulted. After they were released 2 days later, they were charged for violating COVID-19 regulations on public gatherings, and for promoting public violence and breach of peace. The three women were scheduled to march in a peaceful protest on May 13 that was organized by the Alliance Youth Assembly of the principal opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change.
The UN experts called for the charges against the women to be dropped, saying, “Targeting peaceful dissidents, including youth leaders, in direct retaliation for the exercise of their freedom of association, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression is a serious violation of human rights law.” Thus, they urged authorities to “urgently prosecute and punish the perpetrators of this outrageous crime, and to immediately enforce a policy of zero tolerance for abductions and torture throughout the country”.
They also added that this was not an isolated incident, and highlighted that there had been 49 cases of abductions and torture during 2019 alone, and emphasized on the “enforced disappearances of women”. Hence, the UN experts also called for the protection of women from sexual violence to protect their “physical health and integrity” to prevent “psychological damage, social stigma, and disruption of family structures”.
The group of experts was staffed by: special rapporteurs on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment; special rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; special rapporteurs on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; special rapporteurs on violence against women, its causes and consequences; and the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. These special rapporteurs, independent experts, and working groups form part of the Special Procedures within the UN Human Rights Council.
The UN is not alone in calling for an end to human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. In March, the United States (US) imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe’s State Security minister and its ambassador to Tanzania for their role in the killing and abduction of protestors. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Zimbabwe to “immediately end state-sponsored violence including against peaceful protestors” and investigate human rights abuses. His sentiments were echoed by Deputy Treasury Secretary Justin Muzinich, who said that the Trump administration will hold Zimbabwean ‘elites’ “accountable […] for their repressive and violent rule”.
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State Security Minister Owen Ncube is a close ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and stands accused of ordering the abduction and torture of government critics during protests in 2019. Meanwhile, Zimbabwean Ambassador to Tanzania Anselem Sanyatwe, a former commander of the presidential guard, is alleged to have deployed soldiers to attack unarmed protestors, resulting in the death of six civilians following the 2018 election.
The European Union, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe for roughly 20 years over human rights violations and electoral fraud.
Their claims are also corroborated by independent international organizations. For example, Human Rights Watch’s 2020 report on Zimbabwe states, “Despite President Emerson Mnangagwa repeatedly voicing his commitments to human rights reforms, Zimbabwe remained highly intolerant of basic rights, peaceful dissent, and free expression in 2019.” Similarly, Amnesty International recorded at least 15 extra-judicial killings by Zimbabwean security forces during protests on January 14, 2019.
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Image Source: CBS News