APRIL2018
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
ABOUT ZPP
The organisation was founded in 2000 by church-based and
human rights organisations. The current members of ZPP are
Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Zimbabwe Council
of Churches (ZCC), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace
in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ), Counselling Services Unit (CSU),
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), Civic
Education Network Trust (CIVNET), Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR) and Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe
(WCoZ).
Two major events helped to shape the
political climate and human rights
situation in the country in April. These
were the Independence Day celebrations
ZPP was established with the objective of monitoring,
documenting and building peace and promoting the peaceful
resolution of disputes and conflicts. The Zimbabwe Peace
Project seeks to foster dialogue and political tolerance through
non-partisan peace monitoring activities, mainly through
monitors who document the violations of rights in the provinces.
The monitors, who at full complement stand at 420, constitute
the core pool of volunteers, supported by four Regional
Coordinators. The Regional Coordinators relate with the
national office headed by the National Director and programme
officers in various units.
and the ZanuPF primary elections at the
end of the month. The Independence Day
celebrations resulted in a marked rise in
incidents of coercion as ZanuPF officials
in different parts of the country forced
members of the public to make donations
for the celebrations. The ruling party’s primary elections on the other hand
accounted for a noticeable rise in cases of intraparty squabbling and occasional
violence as aspiring candidates competed for nomination. The primaries also
accounted for the rise in cases of intimidation and harassment as members of the
public were forced to attend ruling party meetings, were forced to go and vote, or
as candidates were imposed on them. There was needless loss of life and a
compromise of people’s rights to health after government failed to deal with the
nurses’ strike in a constructive manner. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga
unexpectedly fired all the nurses on industrial action and this worsened the plight
of patients in health facilities. The reason for firing the striking nurses was that
there was a political agenda to the whole industrial action. It must have been seen
as deepening the factions within Zanu PF and the need to silenceG40 elements
linked to the former first family. The former president is the patron of the
Zimbabwe Nurses Association. This thinking emanates from the marked difference
between the doctors and the nurses’ strike all protesting for better working
conditions and equipment and other sundries to make their quest to deliver better
health a reality.
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