ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) calls upon government and other stakeholders to foster peace in Zimbabwe and contribute to ensure the attainment of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
International Day of Peace provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to peace despite all differences and to contribute to building a culture of peace and make it a commitment day for all-year-round peace actions across the world.
The 2023 theme for the day is, “Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #Global Goals”. The International Day of Peace, is commemorated every year on 21 September.
The UN theme could not be more appropriate as it implores governments, global citizens and other stakeholders to take action for peace by promoting and protecting human rights, fight inequality, drive action on climate change, and practising tolerance
Individual and collective actions must be galvanised to foster global peace and ensure the realisation of SDG’s. It is critical to prioritise building a culture of human rights as a pre-condition to achieving a state of peace because sustainable and lasting peace and security can only be achieved when all human rights are fulfilled.
A culture of peace can be achieved when citizens understand universal problems, listen to and understand each other and acquire skills to resolve conflicts peacefully. In Africa and the world at large conflicts continue to take centre stage.
In Zimbabwe, the International Day of Peace is being commemorated at a time when the country has just emerged from holding harmonised elections, whose conduct, freeness, fairness and credibility has been hotly contested by the opposition. In addition local, regional and international election observer missions have observed that the elections failed to meet local, regional and international standards.
The run-up to the elections was relatively peaceful but the country recorded cases of political violence, assault, and intimidation and voter suppression. The fact that Zimbabwe continues to record incidents of loss of lives during election campaign periods is an indictment on the resolve to hold peaceful elections.
ZLHR condemns the recourse to acts of violence by political parties to coerce citizens to vote in a certain way.
Resorting to violent actions has the effect of limiting the rights of people to exercise their constitutionally protected freedoms and rights, which are guaranteed in the Constitution and Zimbabwe’s regional and international human rights obligations.
For ZLHR, the full and universal enjoyment of human rights and freedoms is an indisputable cornerstone of peace and government must facilitate enjoyment of human rights and not take actions that undermine enjoyment of these rights.
t is saddening that Zimbabwean authorities have done little to end the pervasive culture of impunity obtaining in the country as perpetrators of violence and of gross human rights violations have not been held to account for their egregious transgressions.
Failure to holistically address these human rights excesses and bringing the perpetrators to justice cannot guarantee lasting peace in Zimbabwe.
To foster peace and ensure the realisation of the SDGs, ZLHR urges government to;
- Immediately take essential measures to maintain peace and ensure that all persons are protected from all forms of violence and build a society free of violence, fear, intimidation and hatred;
- Provide mechanisms to ensure that political party supporters refrain from resorting to violence as a means of resolving differences;
- End impunity and hold perpetrators of violence and human rights violations accountable for their commissions and omissions including ending impunity;
- Repeal repressive legislation such as the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Act
ENDS
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
Kodzero/Amalungelo House
No. 103 Sam Nujoma Street, Harare, Zimbabwe
Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 242 764085/705370/708118
Email: info@zlhr.org.zw
www.zlhr.org.zw
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