By IPS Correspondents
GABORONE, Mar 25 2004 (IPS)

Human rights activists from Zimbabwe have called on African leaders to condemn what they describe as ongoing human rights violations in their country. This came during the biennial meeting of the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS), which ended Thursday (Mar. 25).

The conference brought together hundreds of delegates from around the globe under the theme “Acting Together for a Just World”. CIVICUS, based in Johannesburg, is an alliance of groups that work to give people a voice in the governance of their countries.

The Zimbabwean activists said the policy of “quiet diplomacy” which certain leaders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had adopted towards Harare was not effective.

“We want to see a lot more public criticism. We want African governments, especially SADC, to be a bit more robust and question one another about the crisis that has been unfolding in Zimbabwe,” Everjoice Win, a women’s rights lobbyist, told IPS.

Zimbabwe has found itself in the international spotlight since the start of 2000, when veterans from the country’s war of independence and others began occupying farms owned by minority whites. Although Zimbabwe celebrated two decades of independence in 2000, most of the country’s prime agricultural land was still in white hands at that time.

Critics allege that Zimbabwean authorities helped organise the farm invasions to divert attention from the ruling ZANU-PF party’s track record, in the run up to parliamentary elections. Pre-election violence marred both this poll and the presidential election held in 2002, which was won by the incumbent, Robert Mugabe.

Win said the fact that several countries had signed up to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights made the reluctance of African leaders to speak clearly on the Zimbabwean crisis especially disappointing. The charter entered into force in 1986.

However, she also acknowledged that Mugabe’s role in leading Zimbabwe to independence had prompted some caution amongst African governments: “He (Mugabe) is a leader of one of the most celebrated liberation movements on the continent whose achievements in the first ten years of independence, economically and socially, cannot be ignored.”

In recent months, Zimbabwean authorities have enacted a series of repressive laws, including the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act – and the Public Order and Security Act. The activists said these laws were being used to silence government critics.

The Secretary General of CIVICUS, Kumi Naidoo, also spoke out against quiet diplomacy, noting that Zimbabweans had not followed this path during South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.

“The resolutions taken by African leaders and their opinions of African renaissance do not translate to what is happening in Zimbabwe. African leaders need to be bold and take the lead on the Zimbabwe question,” he observed, adding that this would show the world that Africa truly supported the concept of good governance.

Other delegates to the conference also emphasised that Zimbabweans themselves needed to challenge their government more forcefully.

“The inhabitants need to use all the platforms at their disposal to raise such issues. Students, church leaders and academics – being “think tanks” of society – should take the lead,” said Thami Ngwenya from the Durban-based Centre for Public Participation, in South Africa.

He also called for scrutiny of the situation in Swaziland, where multiparty politics have been suspended since 1973. The tiny Southern African country is Africa’s last absolute monarchy.

Earlier, attention turned to the World Bank, which received a scolding from CIVICUS delegates who felt that its policies had failed to deliver real benefits to developing countries.

“The bank needs to open its institutions and accommodate inputs from the masses…Its top down approach…has proved to do more harm than good,” said Sandy Tjaronda, Chairperson of the Namibia Non-Governmental Organisations Forum.

The leader of the Social Watch Coalition in India, John Samuel, added that the relationship between the bank and civil society had been characterized by disillusionment and frustration.

“NGOs (non-governmental organisations) want to know who determines the terms of engagement between the World Bank, civil society or governments. Civil society and the World Bank should regard each other as partners as they are all working towards fighting poverty through development,” he noted.

World Bank Vice President Ian Goldin said the institution was trying to strengthen its relationship with civil society, as it realised many civic groups were knowledgeable about community needs.

“The World Bank needs civil society to meet its goals through engagement at the global and local level,” he told delegates.

One of the issues debated at the CIVICUS meeting was whether globalisation could be beneficial for the world’s poor.

Goldin said the World Bank viewed it as the best path to development, but only if markets were liberalized across the board.

“We feel, for example, that globalisation cannot benefit the poor as much…when poor people face double the trade barriers of rich people, due to policies that are hypocritical.”

In addition, Goldin said his institution was concerned about the situation in the Middle East – particularly the high unemployment rate amongst young Palestinians.

“We believe that helplessness and unemployment is a breeding ground for terror. That’s why we believe that our mission to overcome poverty is absolutely aligned with the global mission to overcome terrorism,” he observed.

Since peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials stalled in 2000 over the status of Jerusalem, the region has witnessed escalating violence. Earlier this week, Israel assassinated a leading member of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, prompting international condemnation.

Kumi Naidoo said civil society would hold the World Bank accountable and use all avenues to ensure that it operated in a fair manner.

“We want to have an impact on the bank, while pushing for better frameworks and policies through dialogue,” he said.

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