Government has dismissed a joint statement by five United
Nations (UN) human rights experts, which concluded that three MDC-Alliance
youth leaders were abducted as “premature and unreasonable” since
investigations to get to the bottom of the matter are still ongoing.
In response to allegations by the five United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights Special Procedures mandate holders who concluded
that Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marowa had been tortured and
subjected to degrading treatment, the country’s Permanent Representative to the
United Nations Ambassador Pearson Chigidi said the “promotion and protection of
human rights of all Zimbabweans was a primary responsibility of the Government
of Zimbabwe working with national institutions, civil society and the people
themselves”, and therefore the Government cannot abduct its own citizens.
“Generally, the Government of Zimbabwe expresses its
concern that the five special procedures mandate holders fell short of the
standards that they are expected to comply with in their work and failed to
uphold their moral authority and credibility.
“Their joint communication and news release are punctuated
by subjective language and are over prescriptive on matters still under
investigation. Domestic remedies have not been exhausted in this matter, so it
was unreasonable and premature for the five special procedures mandate holders
to involve themselves at this stage,” he said.
Early this month, five UN human rights experts (special
procedures mandate holders) called on Zimbabwean authorities to immediately put
an end to the reported pattern of torture and disappearances, and this was not
just before investigations had been carried out but also based on hearsay.
Ambassador Chigidi said the fact that Zimbabwe has in the
past opened the doors for special procedures mechanisms is testimony that the
Second Republic has nothing to hide and values constructive and honest
engagement.
“Unfortunately in the case at hand, instead of engaging all
the relevant stakeholders, including the investigating authorities of the
State, the five special procedures mandate holders rushed to draw conclusions
after hearing only from one side, that is the alleged victims,” read the
response in part.
So far investigators into the alleged abduction of the MDC
Alliance trio of Mamombe, Chimbiri and Marowa have poked holes into their case.
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe
early this month indicated that a multi-agency investigation that is seeking to
establish whether the alleged kidnappings did occur and to identify the alleged
perpetrators, whether purporting to act on behalf of Government or other forces
and bring them to justice is still ongoing.
And thus raising concerns with the manner in which the five
special procedures mandate holders came to a conclusion on the alleged
abduction of the three MDC-Alliance officials, Ambassador Chigidi said they
disregarded their own code of conduct as detailed in Article 6 (a) of the code
of conduct for special procedures mandate holders, which states that they
should “always seek to establish the facts, based on objective, reliable
information emanating from relevant credible sources, that they have duly
cross-checked to the best extent possible”.
“Our expectation is that the special procedures mandate
holders should discharge their mandates with due respect to the time-honoured
and universally accepted principles of independence, transparency,
impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity”.
In their statement, they boldly stated that the charges
against the three MDC- Alliance activists should be dropped in a prescriptive
stance that also overreaches their mandate and ignores the fact that
authorities in Zimbabwe are investigating the alleged abduction.
While addressing the media, Minister Kazembe said the
ongoing investigations into the alleged abduction cannot be used to detract
authorities from a separate investigation and due process currently underway
concerning the trio’s alleged participation in an illegal demonstration in
Warren Park, Harare, on May 13.
Authorities have also raised concern with the pattern of
the numerous cases of so-called abductions, which are usually scripted to
coincide with major regional and international events.
For instance, the alleged abduction of the three MDC
Alliance officials coincided with the Sadc Troika Summit that was attended by
regional leaders.
In September last year, just before the UN General Assembly
and also when a high-ranking delegation was visiting Zimbabwe to assess the
human rights situation, Dr Peter Magombeyi, a leader of the Zimbabwe Hospital
Doctors Association (ZHDA) was also allegedly abducted in yet another case that
exposed machinations to soil the image of the Second Republic.
With the five Special Procedures mandate holders expressing
a desire to visit Zimbabwe again, Ambassador Chigidi said they should come with
an open mind and conduct proper and full investigations when granted such
visits. Herald
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