Douhan, who is from Belarus, is in the country for 10 days
to probe the impact of sanctions on human rights in Zimbabwe.
According to the itinerary, she is expected to meet Cabinet
ministers, the central bank, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission and Chief
Justice Luke Malaba, among others.
There is no indication that she would meet with civil
society or the opposition.
Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi referred questions on
whether Douhan would meet stakeholders outside government to the Foreign
Affairs ministry.
Foreign Affairs deputy minister David Musabayana said: “We
agreed not to manage or interfere with her interactions.”
United Kingdom-based law expert and political analyst Alex
Magaisa said Douhan’s itinerary pointed to a predetermined outcome.
“What Zanu PF is doing is akin to calling a tsikamutanda
(witchhunter) to the village and telling him which households to enter and
which ones to sidestep and all along they already gave him a tokoloshe (goblin)
which he will announce as his finding at a targeted clansman’s homestead,”
Magaisa said.
“In other words, the so-called special rapporteur who comes
from Belarus, one of the world’s biggest human rights violators, which is also
facing sanctions, is hardly an honest broker. Her itinerary, which is brazenly
one-sided, is a clear indicator that the script has already been written in
advance,” he said.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba said the envoy
would hold a joint Press briefing with the government after her mission.
Charamba said the special rapporteur came at the invitation
of the Zimbabwean government.
“After collating information, the rapporteur will hold a
joint Press conference with Zimbabwe where she will share her preliminary
findings. The final report will be tabled in September 2022 in Geneva,” he
said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday claimed that
sanctions were the biggest impediment to the wellbeing of the people as they
affected ordinary citizens.
“It was a pleasure to welcome the UN special rapporteur for
human rights to Zimbabwe. Her 10-day trip aims to assess the impact of punitive
economic sanctions on ordinary Zimbabweans,” Mnangagwa said after meeting with
Douhan in Harare.
“These sanctions are illegal and hurt the most vulnerable
in our society.”
In 2018, two months after claiming the Presidency from then
President Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa had
claimed that there was no need for continuous mourning about sanctions and that
he was on top of the situation.
While Mnangagwa and his government have blamed sanctions
for the country’s economic woes, the opposition and other stakeholders said the
state the nation was in was a result of corruption and looting by the regime.
The United States and the United Kingdom have also insisted that Zimbabwe
should end human rights abuses for sanctions to be removed.
The opposition MDC Alliance said it had sent its input on
the issue of sanctions and was expecting to meet with Douhan. Newsday
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