Change Org Petition
Legal Challenge to Stop Mass
Deportations by the Home Office
The general publicImmigration support
networksHuman Rights DefendersBlack Lives MatterZimbabwean Lives MatterJamician
Lives MatterUK Home OfficeZimbabwe High CommissionJamician High
CommissionDuncan LewisZimbabwean LawyersBail for Immigration
DetaineesRestoration of Human Rights ZimbabweZimbabwe Human Rights
OrganisationDiane AbbottZarah SultanaGlobal African CongressStatus NowSOAS
Detainee SupportLord Peter HainBaroness Kate HoeyTendai BitiRight To
RemainFreeMovement.OrgJoint Council for the Welfare of ImmigrantsActors For
Human RightsRAPAR
Home Office Policy Change is
Apparent
It has come to our attention that since the
week commencing 5th July 2021, the UK Home Office "Enforcement Unit"
has been detaining large numbers of Zimbabweans for the purpose of deporting [for those with a criminal conviction]
or forcibly removing [those within
the asylum system] on [expensive] chartered flights the first of
which departed on Wednesday 21st July 2021. Those being "targeted"
are mainly those without leave to remain and / or have no 'live'
leave-to-remain applications filed with the Home Office. The Home Office are
claiming that most are "hardened criminals" - but this is a gross
distortion of the facts - simply pandering to bigotry.
It is our considered view that
many of the deportees face imminent danger if they are forcibly returned to
Zimbabwe.
The first flight left Stansted Airport at
11:30 pm on Wednesday the 21st July 2021 with merely 14 deportees on-board an
Airbus A380. Many potential forced-removals being removed from the flight due
to Legal interventions appertaining to individual cases. Those that did go,
were not "activists"
The problem we have with the Home Office is
that this "TARGET DRIVEN" policy is indiscriminate and fails to offer
any real protection for those who have fled
Zimbabwe due to persecution from the ruling Zanu PF Party.
We are in need of funding a 'class action'
[or such-like] against the Home Office policy in the High Court [or Higher], to
prevent such discriminatory actions upon the Zimbabwean diaspora. Cases are not
being assessed on merit, and the Asylum Process itself is too convoluted,
complex and expensive for those who have fled persecution.
The same 'heavy-handed' approach is being
applied to other Nationalities such as the Jamaicans, Vietnamese amongst
others. However we are focussing on the Zimbabwean diaspora only.
In Zimbabwe Corruption is
institutionalised
11th July 2021
Tendai Biti [opposition Vice President] had
described the IMF as “a naïve and
dishonest institution” after it published a report forecasting a 7%
growth in Zimbabwe’s economy.
Zimbabwe has been robbed of US$24.6 billion
of public funds between 2015 and 2019, former finance minister Tendai Biti
said. He also said that Zimbabwe is also losing US$3.6 billion through Gold and
Cigarette smuggling annually.
Between 2009 and 2014, US$15 billion worth of
diamonds were plundered. The total figure of US$43.2 billion of looted public
funds and plundered natural resources is enough to run Zimbabwe hospitals for
900 years.
Zimbabwe on the Ground – a very
dangerous Place
10th July 2021
https://www.newzimbabwe.com/rights-groups-report-ed-to-un-over-worsening-abuses/
HUMAN rights organisations have reported
President Emmerson Mnangagwa to the United Nations (UN) and the African Union
(AU) for overseeing worsening gross human rights violations in the country.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR),
the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Southern African, and the Human Rights Defenders Network have dispatched a
letter to UN special rapporteurs and their AU partners.
In their petition, the rights groups raise a
red flag over a “disturbing trend in Zimbabwe of
weaponising the criminal justice system”.
They also accuse Mnangagwa’s administration,
which came into power in November 2017 following a military coup that removed
strongman Robert Mugabe from office, of abusing the courts to punish dissenting
individuals who are mostly opposition politicians, activists, and journalists.
6th July 2021
Global Women Against Deportation -Criticises
Home Office Policy Change as “discriminatory”
https://www.facebook.com/RTUKnews/videos/1621794071359311
Global Women Against Deportations' Cristel
Amiss argues the plans will further penalise an already persecuted group of
people.
5th July 2021
https://ciasouthernafrica.org/2021/07/06/shrinking-civic-space-in-zimbabwe/
Citizens in Action Southern
Africa (CAISA) is deeply
concerned about the deteriorating state of human rights in parts of the region
in recent weeks. Of special concern are the situations prevailing in Republic
of South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Eswatini. These four countries are
facing three unique situations which however have a common thread of human
rights violations passing through them.
CAISA is also worried about the closure of
operating space for civil society in Zimbabwe where authorities are making
illegal demands regarding the operations of NGOs and civil society organisations.
We call on the Government of Zimbabwe to respect and uphold Constitutionally
guaranteed rights to assembly and freedom of expression which form the bedrock
of civil society work.
https://zw.usembassy.gov/2020-human-rights-report-zimbabwe/
The US Embassy in Zimbabwe had
this to say
“Despite incremental improvements from past
elections, domestic and international observers noted serious concerns and
called for further reforms necessary to meet regional and international
standards for democratic elections. Numerous factors contributed to a flawed
overall election process, including: the Zimbabwe Election Commission’s lack of
independence; heavily biased state media favoring the ruling party; voter
intimidation; unconstitutional influence of tribal leaders; disenfranchisement
of alien and diaspora voters; failure to provide a preliminary voters roll in
electronic format; politicization of food aid; security services’ excessive use
of force; and lack of precision and transparency around the release of election
results.”
“Significant human rights issues included:
unlawful or arbitrary killings of civilians by security forces; torture and
arbitrary detention by security forces; cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment or punishment; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions;
political prisoners or detainees; arbitrary or unlawful interference with
privacy; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious
government restrictions on free expression, press, and the internet, including
violence, threats of violence, or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against
journalists, censorship, site blocking, and the existence of criminal libel
laws; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom
of association; restrictions on freedom of movement; restrictions on political
participation; widespread acts of corruption; lack of investigation of and
accountability for violence against women; crimes involving violence or threats
of violence targeting women and girls, and the existence of laws criminalizing
consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, although not enforced.”
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/zimbabwe/report-zimbabwe/
Amnesty International’s 2020
Report on Zimbabwe
“The authorities used COVID-19 regulations to
justify severe restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly. They deployed security forces to abduct, assault and torture
perceived critics, and opposition members and leaders. Police and security
agents killed at least 10 people. Women were denied access to essential
maternal health care, and violence against women and girls was widespread.”
“A joint team comprised of agents of the
police, military, the Central Intelligence Organisation, and the Office of the
President, known as the “Ferret Team”, terrorized government critics,
opposition leaders and activists, and their family members. Many, including
several members of the main opposition party, Movement for Democratic
Change-Alliance (MDC-A), were abducted from police custody, tortured and dumped
far from their homes.”
Please help us raise further
awareness and funds for legal actions.
MDC-A (Movement for Democratic Change
Alliance) Main Zimbabwe opposition Party with structures based in the UK.
ROHR (Restoration of Human Rights -
Zimbabwe) https://rohr-zimbabwe.org
ZHRO (Zimbabwe Human Rights
Organization) https://zhro.org.uk
ZAPU (Zimbabwe African Peoples
Union) https://zapu.org
MfJ (Movement for Justice) https://movementforjustice.co.uk
SN4A (Status Now) http://statusnow4all.org
QARN (Quaker Asylum and Refugee
Network) http://qarn.org.uk/
