Marta Hurtado, spokeswoman of the U.N. Human Rights Office, said the agency is encouraging President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to engage with civil society and other stakeholders to find sustainable solutions to grievances, while ensuring that people’s rights and freedoms are protected in accordance with Zimbabwe’s human rights obligations. “We are indeed concerned at allegations that suggest that the Zimbabwean authorities may be using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to clamp down on freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association," Hurtado said. "Merely calling for a peaceful protest or participating in a peaceful protest are an exercise of recognized human rights. On Thursday, HRW released a report chronicling how 23 African governments are using the COVID-19 pandemic to clamp down on freedom of the media and of assembly. On Friday, Cecillia Chimbiri - one of the three female opposition activists mentioned in the HRW report - welcomed the U.N. Human Rights Office’s statement on Zimbabwe.

Source: Ethiopian News February 12, 2021 13:52 UTC