GENEVA, Switzerland – United Nations human rights experts on Wednesday called on Zimbabwe to immediately end a reported pattern of disappearances and torture that appear aimed at suppressing protests and dissent.
The urgent call comes after three female MDC activists – Member of Parliament Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova – were stopped at a police checkpoint in Harare and subsequently abducted, tortured and sexually assaulted.
The three women were coming from a peaceful protest organised by the MDC Alliance Youth Assembly on May 13.
After almost 48 hours, the three women were dumped in Bindura. They were immediately hospitalised to be treated for the injuries they sustained while they were abducted.
A few days later, they were charged with violating Covid-19 regulations on public gatherings and for purportedly intending to promote public violence and breach of peace.
“The charges against the three women should be dropped,” the experts said. “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.”
The experts are Nils Melzer, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; David Kaye, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Dubravka Šimonovic, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and members of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances – Luciano Hazan (Chair-Rapporteur), Tae-Ung Baik (Vice Chair), Bernard Duhaime, Houria Es-Slami, and Henrikas Mickevičius.
The experts called on the authorities of Zimbabwe 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” to ensure the effective protection of women against sexual violence, and to bring those responsible to account.
The experts expressed grave alarm over concerns this was not an isolated instance. In 2019 alone, 49 cases of abductions and torture were reported in Zimbabwe, without investigations leading to perpetrators being held to account.
“Enforced disappearances of women often involve sexual violence, and even forced impregnation, with enormous harm inflicted not only on their physical health and integrity, but also in terms of the resulting psychological damage, social stigma and disruption of family structures,” the experts said.
“Under the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, which includes enforced disappearance and violence against women, Zimbabwe must take all measures in its power to prevent such abuse, to investigate suspected violations, and to bring any perpetrators to justice,” the experts said.
They also urged the government to allow official visits of UN human rights experts with a view to assessing the human rights situation in the country.
The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world.
Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.
