Rights bodies flag UN over Zim rights violations
BY MOSES MATENGA
GLOBAL and local human rights organisations have written to the United Nations to red-flag Zimbabwe for alleged continued persecution of human rights defenders.
The organisations that include Committee to Protect Journalists, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights wrote to Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
In the letter, also sent to six other UN Special Rapporteurs, the rights defenders said Zimbabwe was under siege as citizens’ rights continue to be violated.
Demolitions to Resume in the Next 30 Days – Kubatana net kubatana.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kubatana.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tonderai Kasu
Chitungwiza town clerk Tonderai Kasu said the municipality has no imminent plans to demolish illegal settlements following a complaint from the Chitungwiza Residents Trust (Chitrest).
This comes after the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights on behalf of Chitrest wrote to the municipality seeking clarity regarding proposed demolitions in the town.
A leaked internal memo stated that the municipality would soon demolish 11 000 properties illegally constructed on wetlands, sewer lines and areas reserved for railway lines.
Meanwhile, people that built houses and businesses on wetlands must expect demolitions after the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) ordered them to vacate the land before it institutes prosecutions or demolitions of the buildings once a new law on preservation of wetlands is gazetted.