ZIMBABWE: Re-election to UN Human Rights Commission uproar

JOHANNESBURG, 28 Apr 2005 (IRIN) - Human rights groups have called for the "immediate reform" of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) after Zimbabwe's re-election to the 53-member commission on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe was among 15 countries chosen to sit on the commission for the next three years, prompting immediate protests from the United States and other developed nations.

Western governments and rights groups have branded the move as "inappropriate", pointing to legislation that severely curtails civil liberties in the southern African country.

"We remain deeply concerned that the government of Zimbabwe maintains repressive controls on political assembly and the media, harasses civil society groups, and continues to encourage a climate where the opposition fears for its safety," William Brencick, deputy US representative to the Economic and Social Council, said in statement.

Although members of the Human Rights Commission are elected by the UN Economic and Social Council, seats are allotted to regional groupings, which put forward most of the candidates without opposition.

Human rights campaigners in Zimbabwe said the decision was a serious blow to efforts aimed at getting President Robert Mugabe's government to own up to rights abuses.

"We are disappointed that this august body has allowed Zimbabwe to rejoin its ranks. This is definitely a slap in the face for human rights groups, who have been monitoring and documenting serious rights abuses perpetrated by the Zimbabwean government. We will, however, continue our work in the face of this adversity," chairman of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Albert Musarurwa, told IRIN.

He criticised the human rights commission for allowing countries with poor human rights records to use their membership to protect one another from condemnation.

"The commission must be immediately reformed if it is going to hold onto the little credibility it has. It is quite obvious that Zimbabwe's re-election to the body is a direct result of bloc voting by African governments," Musarurwa commented.

South African-based political analyst Chris Maroleng noted: "The fact that Zimbabwe was re-elected is hardly surprising, especially since the African regional grouping on the commission is the largest. There still is a rift between what the West expects of Zimbabwe and how African governments view the current situation in the country."

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed disbanding the Geneva-based commission and replacing it with a smaller Human Rights Council, and that members of the council be elected directly by a two-thirds vote in the 191-member General Assembly.

The fate of the commission will be decided when the General Assembly meets in New York in September to discuss reform of the organisation.

Musarurwa said: "As its stands the commission cannot function when countries which are well-known for rights abuses such as China, Sudan and Zimbabwe, are in charge of judging themselves."

[ENDS]