Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Women forced to flee their homes for refusing to reveal their vote

Published by on August 6, 2013

6 August 2013 Amnesty International Women political activists in rural Zimbabwe told Amnesty International they have been threatened with violence and forced to flee with their children for refusing to reveal their vote to supporters of Robert Mugabe’s party during harmonized elections. The women said they resisted instructions from Zanu-PF supporters to feign illiteracy, blindness or physical injury, which would have meant someone else marking the ballot on their behalf, At least six women said they left home with their 12 young children after facing intimidation from village heads in Mukumbura district, Mashonaland Central Province soon after the 31 July Read the full article…

Zimbabwe: Dispatches: Major Flaws in Zimbabwe’s Elections

Published by on August 1, 2013

Human Rights Watch 1 August 2013 Zimbabweans are waiting for official results from yesterday’s presidential elections but President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party seems confident of victory. We’ve spent weeks investigating the run-up to the poll as well as informally watching the voting, and what we saw supports wider concerns raised today by local monitors. They report that a high number of “ghost” or duplicate voters were present on the voters’ roll and that large numbers of people were unfairly turned away from polling stations. In the run-up to election day, we documented major flaws in the electoral process, including Read the full article…

Zimbabwe Elections Rife With Irregularities and Intimidation

Published by on August 1, 2013

Freedom House 1 August 2013 Freedom House condemns the serious flaws in Zimbabwe’s July 31 elections, notably the manipulation of voter rolls and widespread intimidation on the part of ZANU-PF, the party of longtime strongman Robert Mugabe. These elections can be considered neither free nor fair and the United States government, the Southern Africa Development Community, African Union, United Nations and democratic nations should denounce them as such. On Election Day, local NGOs noted systematic disenfranchisement, with significantly more voters being turned away in urban strongholds of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change than in rural ZANU-PF strongholds. Although the Read the full article…

Zimbabwe’s Elections: Mugabe’s Last Stand

Published by on July 29, 2013

International Crisis Group 29 July 2013 A return to protracted political crisis, and possibly extensive violence, is likely, as Zimbabwe holds inadequately prepared presidential, parliamentary and local elections on 31 July. Conditions for a free and fair vote do not exist. Confidence in the process and institutions is low. The voters roll is a shambles, security forces unreformed and the media grossly imbalanced. The electoral commission is under-funded and lacked time to prepare. Concerns about rigging are pervasive, strongly disputed results highly likely. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) face severe credibility tests. They must Read the full article…

Information Centre Asylum and Migration Briefing Notes

Published by on July 15, 2013

Germany: Federal Office for Migration and Asylum 15 July 2013 Security situation On 25.06.13, several Taliban fighters attacked the presidential palace in Kabul. After explosions and gunfire erupted for more than an hour, the attackers were killed. On 01.07.13, an attack in northern Baghlan province claimed the lives of a district police chief and of three police officers. In the capital Kabul, members of the security forces killed a suicide bomber before he was able to detonate himself in front of the National Directorate of Security NDS. In western Badghis province, Taliban attacked three border checkpoints; twelve insurgents were killed Read the full article…

Making love a crime: Criminalization of same-sex conduct in Sub-Saharan Africa

Published by on June 25, 2013

Amnesty International 25 June 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an analysis of the legal environment and wider context of human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent years have seen increasing reports of people being harassed, marginalized, discriminated against and attacked because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. This is occurring in countries whose legal systems still condone the criminalization of consensual same-sex behaviour, and in countries where the police and justice systems are failing to prevent these crimes from happening. The continued criminalization of consensual same-sex Read the full article…

Zimbabwe: Failed States Index 2013: The Troubled Ten

Published by on June 24, 2013

Fund for Peace By J. J. Messner & Kendall Lawrence 24 June 2013 Zimbabwe Zimbabwe saw a significant improvement on the 2013 FSI moving from 5th place in 2012 to 10th this year, the fourth year of consecutive improvement. The economic situation in Zimbabwe improved as the European Union (EU) lifted sanctions on members of government, though not President Mugabe himself. The biggest improvement came at the end of the year as the EU lifted further restrictions and began giving foreign assistance directly to the Zimbabwean government. Although sanctions against the government were relaxed, there was not immediate reports of Read the full article…

Zimbabwe: Examining Prospects for Democratic Reform and Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe

Published by on June 18, 2013

Testimony of Dewa Mavhinga of Human Rights Watch to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 18 June 2013 Excerpt: In September 2008 President Mugabe’s ZANU-PF and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, agreed to a Global Political Agreement (GPA) to form a power-sharing government, formed officially in February 2009. The main purpose of the so-called unity government was to establish institutional and legal reforms to create a conducive environment for the holding of free and fair elections. The unity government, however, left Mugabe and ZANU-PF—because of their control of Read the full article…

Zimbabwe: Southern African leaders must ensure peaceful elections in Zimbabwe

Published by on June 13, 2013

Amnesty International 13 June 2013 Southern African leaders must ensure human rights are prioritized in the run-up to elections in Zimbabwe, Amnesty International said ahead of a key summit on the country. The Southern African Development Committee (SADC) meets Saturday in Maputo, Mozambique to review the electoral process in Zimbabwe, where a general election will be held before 31 July. “The SADC has played a critical role in easing the tension in Zimbabwe since the political violence of 2008. Now it has the duty to ensure that the coming elections are held in an environment free from human rights violations, Read the full article…

Zimbabwe elections process must safeguard human rights

Published by on June 13, 2013

Amnesty International 13 June 2013 Zimbabwe’s government must focus on protecting human rights in the run-up to elections, Amnesty International said today as the country’s leaders publicly disputed the date the vote should be held. “Whatever date is decided for the election, the government’s absolute priority must be making sure the violence that erupted during the 2008 vote is not repeated,” said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Africa director. “All the rights enshrined in Zimbabwe’s new constitution must be respected by the security forces. This is especially important in view of the role they played in organizing violence against perceived political Read the full article…