CRISIS IN ZIMBABWE COALITION OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL ON THE MOVE BY THE ZIMBABWEAN GOVERNMENT TO VOTE AGAINST ITEM 35-A/75/L.82 ON THE PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AGAINST GENOCIDE, WAR CRIMES, ETHNIC CLEANSING AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
The UN Secretary General
H.E Mr. Antonio Guterres
42nd Street,
New York, NY 10017
Cc:
H.E President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Mr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa
Cc: African Union Commission Chairperson,
H.E Moussa Faki Mahamat
Cc: Southern African Development Community Executive Secretary
H.E Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax
Cc: H.E Former President of the Republic of South Africa
Mr. Kgalema Motlanthe
Ref: UN Item 35-A/75/L.82 The responsibility to protect vulnerable populations against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity
RE: Expression of the people of Zimbabwe’s position on Ref Item 35-A/75/L.82
H.E Mr Antonio Guterres
We kindly write to express our views on the above referenced vote, Item 35-A/75/L82 on the protection of vulnerable populations against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
We also note that the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe voted NO in that crucial exercise.
Your Excellency, kindly accept the people of Zimbabwe’s expression of variance on that matter.
The people’s position is a big YES to the right to protection.
Whilst our expression might be of no consequence to your statistics, we place it on record for posterity, and representing more than 22,000 people, mainly ethnic Ndebele, civil society and opposition political leaders who were killed by the Government of Zimbabwe since 1980.
We encourage the Government of Zimbabwe to accept the inevitability of the right to protect, and, domestically implement the various recommendations to heal past injustices and bring the perpetrators to account.
We also kindly ask the United Nations to assist, through the SADC, the Government of Zimbabwe to implement its own constitution adopted in 2013 as well the 2019 Motlanthe Commission recommendations following military disturbances in Zimbabwe.
The Motlanthe Commission of 2019 recommended, among other things, compensation for victim of the atrocities by the army and that the government of Zimbabwe should bring members of the security forces who killed civilians to account.
In light of the above submissions, we, as the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, an umbrella body of civic society organisations operating in Zimbabwe, humbly submit that the move by the Zimbabwean government to vote against the protection of vulnerable populations against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity is an expression of fear since it is the same Government that stands accused of killing, raping and dispossessing many citizens since Independence in 1980.
Whilst we know that submitting this letter to you has potential consequences, we choose to face those consequences and save Zimbabwe and Africa from tyranny.
For the avoidance of doubt, the people of Zimbabwe are in favour of international statutes to stop genocides and crimes against humanity.
Please, Your Excellency, kindly accept this position from the peace loving people of Zimbabwe.
Sincerely
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Chairperson
Rashid Mahiya
info@crisiszimbabwe.org
Twitter: @crisiscoalition
Facebook: Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
www.crisiszim.org
