“Enforced disappearances are a grave human rights violation, leaving families and loved ones in a state of uncertainty and anguish.” – United Nations
Around the world the 30th August is observed as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. The day resonates deeply in Zimbabwe.
The Struggle Against Forgetting
Enforced disappearances occurred in the country during the colonial era: for example Dr Edson Sithole was abducted in 1975, probably by State agents, and was almost certainly murdered by them. After independence, disappearances date from the dark days of the Gukurahundi massacres in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces during the 1980s, when thousands of people were raped, killed, tortured, sexually assaulted and disappeared. More recently there have been cases like that of Itai Dzamara who disappeared in 2015. These disappearances are not just statistics – each one of them represents a life interrupted, a voice silenced and dreams shattered.
Today we stand in solidarity with the families of those who disappeared during the Gukurahundi massacres and since. We acknowledge their pain and we echo their calls for truth and justice, hoping they will finally get closure.
The Gukurahundi Hearings
Hearings began on the 26th June to address long-standing grievances stemming from the Gukurahundi massacres including forced disappearances The government is determined to close this awful chapter of our history. More than 3 600submissions have been made by individuals who were affected by them.
The Legal Framework
Section 53 of the Constitution outlaws torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. There is however no legislation that specifically criminalises abductions and enforced disappearances committed by agents of the State. This gap in our domestic law has fuelled impunity.
We urgently need a legal framework to deal with forced disappearances, including redress for victims and survivors. Zimbabwe is already a party to several regional and international instruments aimed at protecting, promoting, respecting and upholding human rights. We need to go further. The government should urgently ratify and domesticate the Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearances [link] as United Nations member states have recommended during successive universal periodic reviews of the country’s human rights record conducted by the UN Human Rights Council.
Conclusion
As we celebrate this day we seek closure, justice and dignity. We look forward to a future where peace is not just the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.