LET US BUILD POSITIVE PEACE IN ZIMBABWE
ZimRights joins the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day of Peace, established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly and commemorated every 21st of September. This year, the global theme is “End racism. Build peace”.
ZimRights understands the threats posed by racism, and any other form of discrimination, to institutions, social structures, and everyday life in every community. It also understands and is actively working on active peace-building initiatives to bring about positive peace in Zimbabwe and beyond.
Since 1992, ZimRights has been working with communities to eliminate any form of discrimination – whether based on race, ethnic origin, gender, political affiliation, religion or age. This forms part of efforts to build sustainable peace through the Right to Peace Action Zone. Under this zone, ZimRights seeks to capacitate and strengthen Zimbabwean communities through the establishment of new infrastructure for peace while strengthening existing peace cultures. The campaign seeks to harness community capacities and cultures, and draw from the national peace architecture in the promotion of more peaceful communities. In June 2022, ZimRights launched the 2021 State of Peace Report where over 50% of the community activists acknowledged that they were living in a state of fragile peace, which is negative peace. They are uncertain of what the future holds. There are no peace fundamentals in the communities to sustain ‘the silence’ they are currently experiencing. Unresolved past conflicts and the sad events currently happening on the political landscape are a foreboding of more threats to peace, especially as Zimbabwe heads towards the 2023 elections. ZimRights is also concerned with how government policies seem to be about the next election and not the next generation, how judicial appointments seem to be part of an election strategy and not about delivering justice, and also how Civil Society Organisations are now perceived as threats to power.
ZimRights continues to make the call to ensure positive peace in Zimbabwe and urges;
- The government of Zimbabwe to improve trust in itself through giving clear direction in its policies, and ensuring accountability by all public officials.
- The judiciary to ensure justice is served, independent of political interference.
- Political players to build tolerance among their members.
- The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission to be more visible and effective in resolving conflicts and promoting peace in Zimbabwe.
- The people of Zimbabwe to uphold peace as a right and understand that without peace, it is impossible to observe human rights. Without human rights, development is compromised.
Issued by the ZimRights Information Department