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afrol News, 21 October - On the occasion of the African Day on Human and Peoples Rights, over 13,000 activists of the human rights group Amnesty International send an urgent appeal to South African President Thabo Mbeki to address the situation in neighbouring Zimbabwe. President Mbeki should use his powers and "intensify efforts" regarding the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe. Irene Khan, Secretary-General of the human rights group, edited the open letter to President Mbeki, which has been signed by "over 13,500 people from 126 countries." The petition calls for action from the South African President, who currently also is Chair of the African Union. According to the letter, "African leaders, including your government, need to intensify efforts to publicly signal to the Zimbabwean government that human rights violations including those perpetrated by 'militia' linked to the state, are unacceptable and to remind them that these acts are in clear violation of the human rights principles enshrined in the African Charter." Most recently through the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), African leaders had reaffirmed their commitment to take effective and concrete measures to promote principles of human rights, the Amnesty leader reminded the South African Head of State. - The disparity between the principles enshrined in the African Charter and the NEPAD Declaration, and the reality of human rights violations in Zimbabwe creates an urgent need for effective peer review in practice, the letter says. "The test is whether the good intentions of NEPAD and the African Union can be realised as a new dawn for human rights protection in Africa, particularly in countries like Zimbabwe." The South African President had been one of the principal architects behind the NEPAD initiative. NEPAD's emphasis on democracy, good governance and human rights as a framework for creating an environment for foreign investments had made it attractive to Western politicians. Western support has however been lukewarm since the Zimbabwean elections, which were endorsed by African countries, including South Africa. The Amnesty letter lists a large number of systematic human rights abuses by the Zimbabwean government. These included cases of political manipulation of the police; erosion of the independence of the judiciary; evasion of justice through the granting of presidential amnesties; obscuring the identification of state human rights violators and; attacks on human rights defenders and the independent media. - I believe that a stronger stand by South Africa, along with other leaders from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community is vital to ending impunity in Zimbabwe and to protecting the human rights of all Zimbabwean citizens, said Irene Khan. "I therefore once again call on your government to use its highly influential voice to encourage the Zimbabwean authorities to bring an end to human rights violations perpetrated by the government."
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