|
||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
PROGRAMS
 |
| |
ABOUT US
|
| | CONTRIBUTE | | |
MEDIA ROOM |
| |
 |
|
|
||||||||||||
| 
|
|
|
|
African Civil Society Consultation on Zimbabwe On August 5 and 6, 2003, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, along with DITSHWANELO, the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, held an African Civil Society Consultation on Zimbabwe in Gaborone, Botswana. This meeting of a range of civil society representatives from seven African countries provided an opportunity for Zimbabwean human rights and civil society activists to meet with their counterparts from Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Zambia and Malawi to exchange information, ideas, experience and strategies. The groups represented included human rights organizations, trade unions, church groups, women’s organizations and youth groups.The Consultation was the first time that such a broad range of regional civil society groups had met to focus entirely on the crisis in Zimbabwe, as well as to think together about methods to individually and jointly address that crisis. It provided an opportunity for the Zimbabwean participants to give details about the nature of the current situation in Zimbabwe and to counter the tremendous amount of misinformation that exists in the region concerning Zimbabwe. Such a sharing of information was extremely useful for the non-Zimbabwean groups represented, as the details provided by the Zimbabwean participants gave them the necessary tools to engage in advocacy on Zimbabwe upon their return to their home countries. For the Zimbabweans, the Consultation was an important occasion to meet their regional counterparts, to learn from their experiences and to share ideas, all of which provides them with crucial support and encouragement for their ongoing struggle. The Consultation opened formally with a reception on the evening of August 4, 2003. The following morning the participants met to start the substantive discussions of the Consultation, which continued through August 6. Archbishop Pius Ncube presented the keynote address at the beginning of these discussions, outlining the current human rights and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. Thereafter, the discussions were divided into thematic sessions, addressing political violence, restrictions upon human rights defenders, and economic and social rights. These topics were discussed in detail by three break-out groups, which were each charged with sharing ideas and formulating strategies to address the various issues raised. In addition, the participants discussed regional and international advocacy mechanisms that could be utilised by civil society groups to bring pressure for an end to ongoing human rights violations in Zimbabwe. At the closing of the Consultation, the participants adopted a concluding
statement condemning the human rights and humanitarian crisis
in Zimbabwe and called for urgent action by regional governments and institutions,
as well as the international community, to end serious human rights violations
in the country.
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
