BY Anyway Yotamu and Lovejoy Mutongwiza
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) praised the government of Zimbabwe for its notable efforts in enhancing the human rights landscape, countering the perception that it is an anti-government organization, and asserting its mission to improve the quality of life for all Zimbabweans.
During the World Torture Day commemorations held in Harare on Wednesday, ZPP Director Pelagia Kapuya lauded the government’s commitment to human rights. “As ZPP, we believe that the establishment of institutions such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission and the ratification of international treaties like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights are testament to the government’s dedication to safeguarding human rights, and we commend these efforts,” Kapuya stated.
Kapuya emphasized the ZPP’s role in providing empirical, credible, and verified information on the human rights situation, thereby supporting the government and other entities tasked with human rights protection. “Let me therefore emphasize that perceptions by some quarters that ZPP is perpetually anti-government are baseless and manifestly unfounded. If anything, ZPP grabs every opportunity to collaborate with government and other human rights stakeholders that are key in improving the human rights situation in Zimbabwe,” she added.
However, Kapuya stressed the urgent need for the government to ratify international conventions related to torture, highlighting that torture remains a significant focus of ZPP’s work. “Torture is one of the many human rights violations that ZPP has documented. As we commemorate this day, ZPP would like to encourage the government of Zimbabwe to sign, ratify, and domesticate the Convention Against Torture (CAT),” she urged.
While there has been a notable decrease in torture cases in recent years, the issue remains a grave concern. Between 2019 and May 2024, ZPP recorded 63 cases of torture. This is a sharp decline compared to the period between 2008 and 2018, which saw 811 cases, with 2008 alone accounting for 452 violations. In 2023, ZPP documented 15 incidents of abduction where most victims were tortured, leading to deaths and enduring psychological trauma.
The ZPP called on potential perpetrators to reject torture for economic or political gains, noting the alarming level of tolerance for torture in Zimbabwe. “It must be expensive for anyone to be a perpetrator of human rights violations, whether that cost is political, economic, or social, but it must not be easy to do so. The current situation in our country seems to suggest that there is no cost, or it does not cost much, or it’s quite affordable,” Kapuya remarked.
As Zimbabwe moves forward, the ZPP remains steadfast in its mission to hold the government accountable and to ensure that human rights are respected and upheld, making the nation a safer place for all its citizens.
