‘Zimbabwe’s recurring patterns of human rights abuse, discrimination and coercion remain a concern’, says watchdog

ZIMBABWE recorded a slight increase in documented human rights violations in August despite a sharp decline in the number of people affected, the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) has said.

The rights watchdog said that recurring patterns of abuse, discrimination and coercion remain a concern.

ZPP recorded 137 human rights violations during the month, up from 132 in July, representing a 3.8% increase.

However, the number of people affected fell from 2,585 in July to 1,151 in August, a decline of more than 55%.

Although the number of people affected dropped sharply from 2,585 in July, ZPP said the violations recorded in August should not be treated as isolated incidents.

“The 137 human rights violations (HRVs) documented during the month should not be viewed as isolated incidents.

“Rather, they point to recurring patterns of abuse, discrimination, coercion and failures by duty-bearers and other actors to uphold and protect fundamental rights and human dignity,” reads the report.

The violations documented during August included denial of social services, restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, unjustified arrests and detention, forced displacement, violations of personal security and discrimination.

Of those affected, 626 were men and 525 women, while 10 were persons with disabilities.

The figures suggest that while fewer people were affected in August than July, the number of individual violations continued to rise, pointing to the persistence of rights abuses across the country.

ZANU PF members remained the largest category of alleged perpetrators, accounting for 30.85% of the violations, although this was down from 37.50% in July.

Local authorities and government officials each accounted for 14.95%, followed by traditional leaders at 14.02% and Zimbabwe Republic Police officers at 11.21%.

State security agents accounted for 3.74%, school authorities 1.87% and artisanal miners 0.94%, while perpetrators could not be linked to a specific organisation or institution in 7.47% of cases.

The involvement of traditional leaders and State-linked actors featured prominently in ZPP’s assessment of the human rights situation.

ZPP said the two issues demonstrated the consequences when authority is exercised without adequate constitutional safeguards.

“Both issues demonstrate how the exercise of authority, when unchecked by constitutional principles, can directly affect citizens’ dignity, freedoms, livelihoods and access to justice,” the organisation said.

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