UPR: MISSED OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE OF GOVERNMENT’S MISREPRESENTATION

UPR: MISSED OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE OF GOVERNMENT’S MISREPRESENTATION

Zimbabwe is up for its first review during the current cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council, under which all United Nations (UN) member-states report on measures taken to push towards the respect of “Red” Rights (Civil and Political) and the progressive realization of “Green” Rights (Socio-Economic) in their countries. The report is made to the UN Human Rights Council, with scrutiny coming from fellow UN members. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa will, on 10 October, deliver to the UN, Zimbabwe’s human rights score card.

A reading of the report, however, shows that there is a clear attempt to gloss over and subvert the truth of the situation over the last 4 years, and a self righteous allocation of blame. This allocation of blame, for an otherwise poor human rights record, on sanctions, is the sine qua non of the report that Chinamasa is in Geneva to sell. This is clearly discernable from the fact that it is part of the starting premise in the governments report, and is part of its conclusion, as well as a major element of the challenges that the state cites for non-compliance and fulfillment of some rights.

Several government apologists have, over the weeks, abused the ‘Opinion Pages’ of Public Newspapers, strongly advancing this half-baked argument, which fails to explain how the “sanctions” have led to sustained assaults on civil and political rights, while also failing to engage the issues around lack of transparency and accountability in the administration and exploitation of the country’s vast mineral wealth. For instance, In-spite of vast deposits of diamond-bearing rocks having been found in Marange, the Ministry of Finance professes not to  have seen a single cent from them, while the Ministry of Mines has hailed the exploitation, without clearly stating how much is being generated from these gems, or where the revenue generated is going. For the bulk of Zimbabweans, the only way of knowing that there is money coming from diamonds, is what we have heard of Mines Minister Mpofu’s sprawling fortune, and the splashing of more than a million dollars on a soccer tournament by Mbada Diamonds.

One of the cardinal rules to progress is that, you have to face the hard facts, and then develop a plan for dealing with them. The harsh reality is that there is wanton disrespect of human rights in Zimbabwe, and unfortunately a lot of these violations are state-sponsored. The bigger tragedy is that when opportunities like the UPR come up, the government turns a blind eye to the facts, choosing instead to grandstand and point accusing fingers at everyone but themselves. Where there is no honest reflection, and acknowledgement of the shortcomings, whatever recommendations are posited will not work, as they will be based on a foundation of lies.

One of the things that the government report cites is the indigenization drive, as a key Policy and strategy seeking to “Correct the colonial imbalances by facilitating access to, and ownership of means of production by the indigenous Zimbabweans”. It is difficult to argue against the notion of indigenization and empowerment, as a policy, when the sponsors are genuine. In our case however, the reality is that this noble agenda is driven by a money hungry elite, whose motivation is less the attainment of economic empowerment for ‘the people’, but more to further fatten the bustling pockets of the fat cats in government and their praise singers. The agendas are selfish, poorly thought out, and in themselves, are spanners in the works towards progressive realization of socio-economic rights for the people of Zimbabwe, in their current construct.

It should be clear that, Progressive realization of socio-economic rights in Zimbabwe should not be about making Indigenization Minister Kasukuwere and his band of hangers-on super-rich. Neither should it be about creating a new breed of tenderprenuers, with access to government tenders but no production. Indigenization and the progressive realization of economic rights should be about, not just sharing the little that investors have brought in, but mainly, creating wealth from the soil underneath our feet. Real Economic empowerment should be about the people and how they can be able to genuinely access the economy.  Gone are the days that Thomas Mapfumo sang about, where the people were ZANU and ZANU was the people, if they ever existed. Zimbabwe is more complex than that, with citizens wearing different political hats or none at all, but all in need of relief economically, socially and politically. In light of our riches, our challenge for broad based economic prosperity lies, mainly, in our failure to transparently exploit and manage this wealth, and distributing it in a manner that benefits our entire society.

So it may be, that the UPR may come and go as an opportunity, because, where Zimbabwe is concerned, the process is founded on a report that at best is a misrepresentation, cover-up and  dishonest. Add to this, the mobilization currently going on in Geneva of Countries with poor Human Rights records and the “ African Brotherhood”, to be first to comment on the Zimbabwe report, and you can be sure that several pats on the back, and congratulatory messages will be passed to this ” land locked “ country, for nothing.

The real Human Rights challenge in Zimbabwe is known to its residents, and those who have been following the country’s developments over the last decade or so. If as the report states, Zimbabwe is “desirous of promoting and upholding human rights for all”, here is what the state must do:

1.     Respect civil liberties - Allow people to assemble, interact, associate and speak freely.

2.     Grant us our rights to water, power, education and health.

3.     Dismantle the infrastructures of violence, including vigilante groups like Chipangano, that have been at the centre of torture, summary killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, cohesion and other forms of politically motivated human rights infractions.

4.     Stop abusing our security sector, and develop them into a non-partisan professional security sector that doesn’t meddle in the political affairs of civilians, and is not used, as the blunt instrument of choice, in dealing physically with perceived enemies of the establishment.

5.     Develop genuine empowerment policies that are not aimed at expanding the patronage base of those who occupy the state, or which only serve small political and economic elite, as this does nothing for the progressive realization of socio-economic and cultural rights.

6.     Remove the “sanctions” that the state has placed on the people, which have manifested themselves in the shrinking of democratic space, and the wanton disrespect of human rights (including rights to title and property).

7.     Repeal and amend laws that give life to these “sanctions” on our people like POSA, AIPPA and the Criminal Law Codification Act.

8.     Remove the “economic embargoes” that corruption, cronyism, primitive looting, government largesse and political patronage have placed on our people’s access to the economy and a more prosperous life.

The government needs to stop lying to the world, its people and itself, because perpetuation of these lies is tantamount to building a house on sand – it will not stand, and will sooner rather than later be washed away.