Towards A Zimbabwe where there is Peace, Justice, Dignity and
Development for All
ZPP is a Non-Governmental Organisation that was founded in 2000 by a group of faith
based and human rights NGOs working and interested in human rights and peacebuilding initiatives. ZPP has become a vehicle for civic interventions in times of political
crises. In particular, ZPP seeks to monitor and document incidents of human rights
violations and breaches of peace.
ZPP joins the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day of Enforced
Disappearances which is commemorated annually on 30 August. During elections, ZPP
recorded a number of enforced disappearances of opposition party activists, including 2
women who conducted a door-to-door exercise campaigning for their aspiring local
authority candidate) and a male CCC activist on 26 August following the disruption of
the CCC presser by suspected members of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID)
Law and Order police section and state security agents. It is alleged that the victim was
abducted and tortured at the hands of state security agents. Amnesty International
reports that the CCC activist was part of a crowd of people that prevented suspected
security officials from abducting Promise Mkwananzi, spokesperson of the CCC, during a
press conference in Harare. Later that evening, the victim was reportedly picked up by
suspected security officials at his home in Highfields, Harare. They allegedly took him to
an unknown place where they tortured him and later dumped him in a forest in Mapinga,
Mashonaland West Province.
It is regrettable to note that female activists are being targeted and humiliated which
has a big impact on their livelihoods. The time the victims have to recover costs them
their productive time. The time spent doing unpaid work, could have been utilised to earn
income. According to a 2018 UN Women study, time poverty is a significant barrier
preventing women from participating fully in activities that generate income. Unpaid
work leaves women with limited opportunities to voice their opinions. The families of the
victims have been impacted and most of the victims have relocated their children for
safety. The spouses of these victims are afraid to go to work and it has a negative impact
on their ability to support their families.
ZPP calls for the government to sign and ratify the International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance guaranteeing freedom from
enforced disappearances.
ZPP implores the government to abide by all the provisions of the Constitution which
guarantees freedom and safety for all citizens, regardless of political affiliation, social
class, race or ethnicity as enshrined under Section 52.ZPP urges the government to
investigate all reports of enforced disappearances and respect the civil and political
rights of all Zimbabwean citizens.
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