statements of criticism and concern from a number of African countries, let alone the EU, the US, and
United Nations Secretary-General.5
Against this background, the Human Rights Forum is issuing this brief report, to compliment the
reports already issued, adding to the calls for strong international action to be taken in order to
ensure the integrity of the coming poll, and to call for immediate steps to be taken to protect the
rights of ordinary Zimbabwe citizens to chose their leaders without coercion, and in a climate in which
their basic freedoms are respected, enforced, and protected under the Constitution. This report raises
explicitly the allegation that crimes against humanity have been committed in the period since the
March poll.
Crimes Against Humanity
This is a very serious charge to bring against a government, perhaps the most serious charge,
together with genocide and war crimes, that can be brought. It is, however, not a new charge against
the Zimbabwe government, and has been brought in the past by both Zimbabwean NGOs and other
international bodies.6 In 2003, Zimbabwean NGOs and civil society organizations raised the issue of
crimes against humanity indirectly in a symposium held in Johannesburg, where the symposium
delegates, comprised of members of more than 70 NGOs and civil society organizations concluded:
From 2000 onwards there have been increasing levels of violence
resulting in pervasive human rights abuses. All available evidence
indicates that the government has engaged in a widespread,
systematic, and planned campaign of organised violence and
torture to suppress normal democratic activities and to unlawfully
influence electoral process. The government has also created and the
law enforcement agencies have vigorously applied highly repressive
legislation. These measures were directed at ensuring that the
government retained power rather than overcoming resistance to
achieving equitable land redistribution and correcting historical iniquities.
According to the definition contained in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, crimes
against humanity are inferred when any of the following acts are carried out in peacetime:
5
6
Murder;
Extermination;
Enslavement;
Deportation or forcible transfer of population;
Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of
fundamental rule of international law;
Torture;
Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced
sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity;
A short summary of events since the March poll is provided in Appendix 2.
See International Bar Association (2003), The IBA's Human Rights Institute Calls for Robert Mugabe to be Investigated for
Crimes Against Humanity, Friday, March 07, 2003.