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Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) in coordination with other similar organisations in Sadc has attacked the bill against human rights NGOs recently passed in Zimbabwe to cut the NGOs’ international funding programme.
Speaking during a press conference in Blantyre on Friday, HRCC member Vera Chirwa, who is also Executive Director for Malawi Carer, said although Malawi has its own burning issues, Zimbabwe deserves a helping hand right now when about 44 human rights activists in the country have already been arrested.
In Zimbabwe, she said, a bill has been drafted to abolish the Private Voluntary Organisations Act and establish new NGOs Act which will allegedly provide for enabling environment for the operations, monitoring and regulation of all NGOs.
“We know that Zimbabwe government is tormenting its watchdogs for fear of being watched but we can’t let this go on as our aim as a human rights body is to promote and protect human rights,” said Chirwa.
Chirwa added: “In this bill basing on Clause 17 which says ‘No local NGO shall receive any funding or donation to carry out activities involving or including governance issues’ we note, like in Malawi, that it is a provision which is aiming at government control of NGOs.”
She also said she does not think Zimbabwe can afford to fund all its local NGOs effectively, in respect to the country’s present situation in economy.
“We know Zimbabwe has passed that bill deliberately so that the NGOs should finally die so that there should not be anybody to effectively watch the government,” she added.
Billy Banda, a Member of HRCC who is also Executive Director for Malawi Watch, said Zimbabwe is directly conflicting with principles of the New Partnership for African Development (Nepad).
He said the principle is that Nepad will not condone behaviour where countries may not respect human rights, and in this case, Zimbabwe.
“In this respect we are calling for immediate and unconditional drop of charges of the 44 human rights activists that have been arrested,” he said, adding that the commission also wants scrapping of the bill as it is an infringement on the people of Zimbabwe.
“We are also calling for an international action before the condition in Zimbabwe degenerates into a situation where nobody will be able to change anything,” he said, adding that this will spill over to all African countries and finally the whole world if it remains untouched now.
He said HRCC has seen that this is the right time for Malawi to intervene after staying idle for so long.
He said the same operations by HRCCs are also taking place in all countries in Sadc to rescue Zimbabwe’s HRCC.
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