A special paper by the
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum April 2014
Structural Violence & Organised Violence and Torture In Zimbabwe
A special paper by the
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum April 2014
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................................ii INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................................1 OBJECTIVES...............................................................................................................................................................4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM......................................................................................................................5 METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................................................................6 Research questions...............................................................................................................................................................6
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ..........................................................................................................................7 Factors that facilitate organised violence and torture .......................................................................................10 Factors that promote the use of Organised Violence and Torture (OVT) ...................................................10 Structural violence factors that contribute to organised violence and torture........................................12
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................16 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................................................................17
A special paper by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
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ABSTRACT This paper discusses the interplay between structural violence and organised violence and torture in Zimbabwe. For a long time, the work of human rights research and advocacy has focused on tangible and more overt forms of violence, such as organised violence and torture. This emphasis and concentration on the more overt forms of violence has marginalized the contribution of the salient and subtle forms of violence also called structural violence. There is increasing realisation that the impact of the more covert forms of violence on the general public cannot be underestimated. Reviewing the Zimbabwean situation, we notice that some social, economic and political arrangements and policies have resulted in systematic violation of human rights. The net effects of these violations are manifest in some of the overt violence experienced normally through clashes between the state and its citizens. By “applying structural violence lenses to the human rights discourse, there emerges a clear emphasis on the need for special protection of social and economic rights that have for too long been marginalized in favor of civil and political rights�. 1 The paper proposes and demonstrates the direct relationship between structural violence and organised violence and torture in Zimbabwe.
1
Kathleen H O, Structural Violence as a Human Rights Violation, Essex Human Rights Review Vol. 4 No. 2 September 2007
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STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE AND ORGANISED VIOLENCE AND TORTURE IN ZIMBABWE
INTRODUCTION This paper discusses the relationship between structural and direct violence in Zimbabwe. The concept of structural violence is rarely used to discuss the Zimbabwean political process and therefore direct violence has been overly viewed as the primary form of violence. Structural violence may be conceived as “the killing, infliction of psychological harm and physical harm or deprivation through violent socio-economic or political structures.2 Additionally, structural violence is seen as “the physical and psychological harm that results from exploitative and unjust social, political and economic systems”.3 In other words, “structural violence is a by-product of the historical process of social, economic and political change”.4 While direct violence involves the use of visible force, structural violence in these cases does not require one to see the harm in operation or to say that someone intended its use.5 Shared among the definitions given is the embedding of structural violence in the socio-economic and political systems. Therefore, the need to have a closer look at social, economic and political systems help to show how the processes have influenced the occurrence of structural violence. The manifold deprivations and exclusion evident in the socio-economic and political arrangements take away human dignity and are a hindrance to the attainment of healthy human states. Direct violence is consequently triggered when there is clash of preferences and interests between the excluded and the powers that be. Usually, the process of changing the status quo is met with resistance and skepticism that results in violent oppression.
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Galtung J (1969), “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research,” Journal of Peace Research 6:3 pp. 167– 191 Gilman R (1983), Structural Violence: Can we find genuine peace in a world with inequitable distribution of wealth among nations? Rowson M (2012), Violence and development, in Structural violence and the underlying causes of violent conflict (Salvage J, Rowson M, Melf K and Sandoy I eds, 2012) Medical Peace Work course 4 Rowson M (2012), Violence and development, in Structural violence and the underlying causes of violent conflict (Salvage J, Rowson M, Melf K and Sandoy I eds, 2012) Medical Peace Work course 4
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Structural violence manifests in various forms including ethnicity6 poverty and inequalities,7 colonial legacy,8 as well as structural adjustment programmes (SAPs)9 in particular.10 Critical to note in structural violence is that poverty or ill health or lack of access to services (the violent processes) is generally blamed on the victim, when in actual fact it is the state responsible. Structural violence has some terrible effects. It erases the history and consciousness of the social origins of poverty, sickness, hunger, and premature death.11 The embeddedness of structural violence also results in the above challenges being taken for granted or naturalised so that no one is held accountable. Many human rights reports in Zimbabwe have focused on direct violence because it is easy to identify the perpetrator, victim and form of violence used; and even quantifying the extent of damage. Direct violence is “the most obvious and overt form of violence perpetuated by one or more disputants directly upon those with whom they are in conflict”.12 Direct violence, which includes organised violence and torture, denote the use of physical force and is typified by intimidation, murder, torture, rape, and assault among others. Since independence Zimbabwean society faced the threat of organised violence and torture. The problem has not diminished despite efforts made by different stakeholders,
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Young M.C (1986) Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Class in Africa: A Retrospective. Cahiers d'études africaines, Volume 26, Issue 103 pp. 421-495 Fearon J.D and Laitin D.D. “Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War”. American Political Science Review 97, 1 (Feb 2003): pp.75-90 Reno W (1998) Warlord Politics and African States. Lynne Rienerr Publishing, London. Ethnicity is a collection of individuals whose members recognises each other by a similar tradition, that normally consist of a similar tradition, language, belief and an ideology that emphasizes similar endogamy and lineage. In this case, ethnicity becomes the exclusion criteria. Poverty is a multidimensional concept involving lack or deprivation of resources and capabilities as well as choices, security, power and rights (e.g. civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights). One can be poor through a lack or deprivation of one or more of the above aspects. The leading cause of poverty is “inequality”, a measure of the relative distribution of the various aspects of poverty in and across populations, societies and nations that favors certain categories while depriving others. Colonial legacy in Zimbabwe refers to a set of unequal relationships between the former colonial masters and the independent Zimbabwe. Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) – was a United Nations imposed set of economic steps, which Zimbabwe agreed to follow in 1991. SAPs typically prescribed trade liberalisation, devaluation, privatisation, and huge cuts in government spending and social services like education and health and the deregulation of working conditions. The measures consequently negatively affected the general population.
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Adepoji A (ed 1993), The Impact of Structural Adjustment on the Population of Africa. James Currey, London. Hughes N.S and Bourgois P (2004), Introduction: Making Sense of Violence Christie, D. J, Wagner, R. V., & Winter, D. A. (Eds.). (2001), Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
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such as human rights organisations, human rights systems and the existence of regional and international human rights Conventions. This deficit may be attributable to noninclusion of structural violence in the equation. Therefore an investigation on the nature of structural violence can make a valuable contribution to the understanding of the underlying causes of organised violence and torture. From 2000 to 2008 the Zimbabwean social, economic and political crisis worsened, characterized by gross human rights violations, disrespect of the rule of the law, shortages of basic commodities, and hyperinflation among other ills that are already documented. The economic crisis resulted in unprecedented unemployment levels estimated to have risen sharply from 50% in 1999 to 95% in 2009.13 The industrial and agricultural sectors imploded. The increase in unemployed youths on the streets created an opportunity for the conflict entrepreneurs to hire them for acts of violence against their known and perceived enemies in exchange for jobs, cash and/or beer. Non-state actors mounted pressure on the state to address direct violence against citizens. In the background other forms of invisible human rights abuses took place. The violations were characterised by a lack of clear identification of actors, making it less visible (but not less harmful). This resulted in less advocacy work around it. An analysis of structural violence (its causes and effects) will help show the interplay between structural and direct violence. This will assist in coming up with long term solutions that will put an end to endemic human rights problems that the general populace face. By acknowledging the subtlety of structural violence, it is possible to assign culpability and the social, legal and economic systems that have to be challenged.
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CIA World fact book 2011 obtained from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2129.html
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OBJECTIVES The main objective of the study is to determine the interplay between structural violence and organised violence and torture. Specifically, the paper seeks: l To identify structural violence factors that create conditions for organised violence and torture. l To determine causal linkages between structural violence and direct violence.
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Forms of structural violence have persisted over time. There has been little acknowledgement of the negative and the provocative effect that structural violence has in Zimbabwe. Consequently very little has been invested towards addressing structural violence issues that underlie direct violence. Direct violence has persisted despite campaigns by citizens to create conditions for and an environment of non-violence. Sustained violence over the years suggests that conditions for violence and vulnerability are found in structural conditions. It is through the understanding and a deliberate effort to deal with the problem of structural violence, that meaningful intervention work to combat direct violence may be possible.
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METHODOLOGY This paper makes use of qualitative research methods through a review of relevant literature on structural violence and organised violence and torture. Reports, publications and data documented by various researchers and human rights organisations were extensively analysed in order to come with an understanding of structural violence in Zimbabwe and the nature and form of linkages between structural violence and direct violence. A desk research was chosen over other methods of data collection because of the wide availability of literature on structural violence and direct violence.
Research Questions The paper was guided by the following questions: 1. What are the factors that facilitate organised violence and torture? 2. What is the nature of the linkages between structural violence and organised violence and torture? 3. What are the structural violence issues that contribute to organised violence and torture? 4. What methods can be put in place to lobby against violence?
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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The term structural violence has an old and increasingly wide usage, and it would be well to situate the concept proposed here in reference to that literature. Below is a survey of the concept of structural violence from academics and institutions that have used it. Understanding of structural violence requires a wholesome comprehension of the wide framework of concepts and language used in conflict work. The phrase “structural violence” was coined by Johan Galtung in his path-breaking 1969 article, “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research”. Galtung conceived this form of violence as a pervasive form of violence that is “built into” structures, institutions, ideologies, and histories.14 Many authors that followed Gultung all agree that structural violence is a form of violence, which “shapes and reshapes our experiences that cannot be accounted for by liability-based models of agency and force”.15 It is because Galtung's work is still relevant that we are able to “understand our present moment and our collective past”.16 Over forty years of work, Gultung sought to broaden our understanding of violence, not to dilute our ability to hold individuals responsible for their actions, but rather to enhance our ability to identify more clearly the ways in which stability and tranquility (often if not always mistaken for peace) mask a deeper and more pervasive violence. His expansive definition, that “Violence is present when human beings are being influenced so that their actual somatic and mental realizations are below their potential realizations is critical to our understanding of violence.” Winter enables an account of violence that extends beyond the personal to include structural and cultural sources of such violence.17 This view presupposes that unequal access to resources, to political power, to education, to health care, or to legal standing, are forms of structural violence.18 Equally, when society's social institutions are characterized by exploitation, political exclusion, and unequal access to resources, the structural forces often create a system of winners and losers in which the losers only hope for the redress of the prevailing situation. Structural violence often manifests, in the form of power inequity, poverty, and the denial of basic human rights in 14 15 16 17 18
Winter et al (2012), “Violence and Visibility,” New Political Science 34:2 (2012), pp. 168. Galtung J (1969), “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research,” Journal of Peace Research 6:3 pp. 167– 191 Winter et al (2012), “Violence and Visibility,” New Political Science 34:2 (2012), pp. 192 Winter et al (2012), “Violence and Visibility,” New Political Science 34:2 (2012), Christie, D. J, Wagner, R. V., & Winter, D. A. (Eds.). (2001), Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
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which individuals and groups suffer from inadequate access to resources, exclusion from institutional patterns of decision-making, discrimination, lack of education, and inadequate employment opportunities. Unfortunately, even those who are victims of structural violence often do not see the systematic ways in which their plight is choreographed by unequal and unfair distribution of society's resources. Such is the insidiousness of structural violence.19 Structural violence is embedded in the socio-economic and political arrangements of the day. Unequal access to resources, political power, education and health care, are other forms of structural violence. When citizens go hungry, a kind of violence is taking place. Similarly, when people starve to death, suffer from diseases that are preventable, denied a decent education, housing, an opportunity to work, raise a family, express themselves freely, organize peacefully, or to participate in their own governance, a kind of violence is occurring even if bullets or clubs are not used.20 However, there are strong critiques to Galtung's original conceptualization of structural violence. He is critiqued for over relying on invisibility. Winter argues that Gultung “relies heavily on the language of invisibility, and it assumes that the persistence of structural violence over time and across generations is a function of that invisibility”.21 According to Galtung's primary argument, if we can see violence, then we can stop it. Conversely, Winter argues, it is the ceaseless repetition in the open, not its invisibility, that it is hidden. He further argues that it is the normalcy of everyday violence that enables it to be “inherited” across generations ultimately rendering it invisible.22 For Zimbabwe, the structure of society and the interaction between its parts plays a critical role in determining the resultant relations that may be healthy or unhealthy. The emergence of relations has revolved around access and distribution of perceived shared resources. An individual, entity, organisation or agency therefore becomes a party in the resultant relationships in which the main aim of each party is to get a hand on the resources. Systematic deprivation results in conflicting preferences and interests, between the 19
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Christie, D. J, Wagner, R. V., & Winter, D. A. (Eds.). (2001), Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Christie, D. J., Wagner, R. V., & Winter, D. A. (Eds.). (2001). Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Winter et al (2012), “Violence and Visibility,” New Political Science 34:2 (2012), Winter et al (2012), “Violence and Visibility,” New Political Science 34:2 (2012),
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winners and losers competing for the same resources. The losers more often than not resort to direct violence to get a fairer share. Kent23 sees a preference as an indication of the choices a party would make among the possible outcomes of a situation. Parties involved in any decision making struggle to make sure they get the best outcome in any of the adopted resolutions. An analysis of mininginduced displacement and resettlement in Zimbabwe will help show how the socioeconomic and political structures result in structural violence. The Marange diamonds case gives a gloomy picture. Despite being touted as the world's biggest diamond find in more than a century,24 the find has not directly transformed the lives of the local people. In January 2009, the government announced its plans to resettle 4,700 Chiadzwa villagers to the 12,000-hectare Arda Transau Farm, Odzi. Resettlement plans provoked protests amongst Chiadzwa villagers.25 The protests are evidence that there was no proper engagement with the community. While part of the families have been relocated to Arda, the companies responsible for the exploration, promised to build schools and clinics and to provide residents with basic social services. On the ground, provision of the social services and the amenities has been elusive, representing a major form of structural violence and an abuse of basic human rights. The case of people displaced at Chiadzwa resemble a great deal of conflicting preferences where the government is pushing out villagers against their wish so as to pave way for full scale mining of diamonds.26 The identified destination for the people displaced at Chiadzwa lacks basic services, making it a threat to the attainment of healthy citizenry. Thus structural violence like direct violence produces suffering and even death though the damage is slower, subtle and difficult to repair. Structural violence is problematic in and of itself, but it is also dangerous because it frequently leads to direct violence. It has the effect of denying people important rights such as economic opportunities, social and political equality, a sense of fulfillment and self-worth, among others.
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Kent (2000) The Human Rights Approach to Reducing Malnutrition,� in M. K. Tolba, Our Fragile World: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development (Oxford, U.K.: Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), 2001). Preview version in Peace & Policy, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Summer 2000), pp. 18-23 The Zimbabwean, Marange: world’s largest diamond producer, February 20, 2014 Bogumil Terminski, Mining-Induced Displacement and Resettement: Social Problem and Human Rights Issue (A global perspective) obtained from http://indr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/B.-Terminski-Mining-Induced-Displacement-and-Resettlement.pdf Madebwe, et al (2011) Involuntary displacement and resettlement to make way for diamond mining: the case of Chiadzwa villagers in Marange, Zimbabwe
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Factors that facilitate organised violence and torture It is important to look into the factors that facilitate organised violence and torture in a quest to come up with intervention strategies. Structural violence by its nature is an oppressive framework that operates through powerful associations, organizations and institutions that guarantees privilege amongst its leaders. The existence of structural violence produces conflict as the oppressed and or the disadvantaged can resort to direct confrontation to address their needs. Likewise the privileged armed with the machinery of violence can resort to the use of organized violence and torture to quell the unrest caused by structural violence. This section looks at some factors that promote the use of organised violence and torture in Zimbabwe.
Factors that promote the use of Organised Violence & Torture (OVT) 1.
Culture of Violence: This is a “system of government based on violence, submission and brutal force” (Batsanov, 2006). The history of political violence in independent Zimbabwe can be traced back to the Matabeleland disturbances in the 1980s in which the government deployed similar “violence, submission and brutal force” following reports of alleged banditry activities. An estimated 20000 lives were lost.27 Since the Gukurahundi era, Zimbabwe has been characterized by violence allegedly perpetrated mainly by state agents and their ancillaries. Major political events have been characterized by sanctioned campaigns of violence, which have been conducted with impunity. Perpetrators of human rights violations have not been held accountable for their actions. Violent ways of settling differences have become a culture. A culture of violence may leave an impression that violence is mysterious and can't be pinned down.28 This has led to what Colaguori (2010) termed “naturalisation of violence” in which the continued existence of violence is justified as inevitable and unavoidable.
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See the Breaking the Silence Report, 1998. Claudio Colaguori, Symbolic Violence and the Violation of Human Rights: Continuing the Sociological Critique of Domination; International journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, Vol .3, No. 2, June 2010,
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2.
Enactment of repressive legislation: Since 2000, the government enacted repressive legislation as part of its clampdown on dissenting voices. The following draconian pieces of legislation were introduced: The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act [Chapter 10:27] (AIPPA), the Public Order and Security Act [Chapter 11:17] (POSA), the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], the Broadcasting Services Act [Number 3:2001](BSA), the Interception of Communication Act (ICA) [Chapter 11:20] and the Official Secrets Act [11:09]. These pieces of legislation restricted the rights of the majority of Zimbabweans to freely assemble, associate and express themselves thereby allowing the government to stifle civil liberties.
3.
Limited access to redress mechanisms for victims of organised violence and torture: This has encouraged a culture of impunity for perpetrators.29 For example, in May 2008, the Forum filed an application against the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) before the SADC Tribunal on behalf of twelve of its clients who were all victims of organized violence and torture. The GoZ was found in breach of its obligations to act in accordance with the principle of “human rights, democracy, and the rule of law� by failing to comply with court orders. In all the cases, the GoZ either failed and or neglected to pay the judgment debts altogether, or, in the cases where it was paid, the payment was done after lengthy delays thus rendering the compensation amount useless due to inflation. This was compounded by the prohibitive legislative terms such as the Section 5 of the State Liabilities Act Chapter [8.14], which does not permit the attachment of state property in execution of a court judgment.30 This statute, and government's attitude towards court orders effectively renders domestic remedies ineffective and perpetuates a culture of impunity.
4.
Selective application of the law: Selective application of the law involves irregular interpretation and enforcement of the law by the law enforcement agencies.31 The partisan nature of the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary is believed to have affected their impartiality in the discharge of their duties, thereby affecting their upholding of the rule of law. Unfortunately law enforcement agencies have let away
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The SADC Tribunal: The rule of power versus the rule of law - The Tribunal Tragedy from http://hsf.org.za/resource-centre/hsf-briefs/the-sadctribunal-the-rule-of-power-versus-the-rule-of-law-the-tribunal-tragedy accessed on January 23, 2014 Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum v The Government of Zimbabwe SADC Tribunal Case No. 5/2008 April 21, 2009: Press releases obtained from http://www.hrforumzim.org/press-releases/zimbabwe-human-rights-ngo-forum-v-the-government-of-zimbabwe-sadc-tribunal-case-no-52008/ on 10 March 2014 Zimbabwe Human Rights Report 2009, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (2010)
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known suspects involved in politically motivated criminal acts. It is alleged that nonZANU PF members of parliament and perceived government critics (including journalists, human rights defenders and students) were targeted for arrest on flimsy charges and prosecuted.32 The leniency and disregard for justice delivery with which perpetrators are treated will only work as motivator or incentive for the perpetrator to further commit direct violence. Coupled with limited redress mechanisms for victims, victims themselves may choose to retaliate. In the process, a vicious cycle of violence is created in which perpetrators are motivated to infringe on the rights and freedoms of others. The ZANU PF government has continually used selective application of the law to deal with perceived enemies.
Structural violence factors that contribute to organised violence and torture This section will discuss social structures that harm or disadvantage individuals that include amongst others, unsustainable policies, housing shortages, unemployment, social inequalities, poverty and poor service delivery characterized by water shortages and power cuts. 1.
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Unsustainable and populist national policies including the 1997 payment of gratuities to veterans of the liberation struggle, involvement in the 1998 Democratic Republic of Congo war as well as the 2000 fast track land reform programme are examples of populist policies that worsened the Zimbabwean crisis. At a glance, November 14, 1997 will forever be remembered as 'Black Friday', when the Zimbabwe dollar lost 71.5 percent of its value against the US Dollar. The stock market subsequently crashed, wiping away 46 percent from the value of shares as investors scrambled out of the Zimbabwe Dollar. Black Friday is attributed to the failure of a number of government policies such as the IMF's structural adjustment programmes (SAPs), unbudgeted expenditure on war veterans and involvement in an unbudgeted regional warfare in the DRC.33
Zimbabwe Human Rights Report 2009, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (2010) Mambondiani L, FY07 and investment lessons from 'Black Friday' last updated: 11/12/2009 14:59:24obtained from http://newzimbabwe.com/pages/markets17.17115.html on March 10, 2014
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Thereafter Zimbabwe faced an extraordinary and multidimensional crisis, which peaked around 2008. This resulted in many problems. Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) summed them: “an estimated three million Zimbabweans crossed the Limpopo River into South Africa as a matter of survival. More than three-quarters of the remaining population of nine million faced serious food shortages; maternal mortality tripled since the mid1990s; a cholera epidemic infected over 90,000 people, killing over 4,000; one in five adults having been HIV positive, and one person died every four minutes from AIDS”. 34 Poor national policies coupled with government brutality resulted in further problems for the nation. The difficult socio-economic environment that resulted coincided with the 2008 election, which resulted in the defeat of ZANU-PF. It was during the presidential run-off elections, as a result of no definite winner, that thousands were beaten, displaced tortured and intimidated by partisan government security and paramilitary forces.35 The political violence led to instability and socioeconomic crisis, including hyperinflation. The economic collapse brought industrial and agricultural production to a virtual standstill; there were severe shortages of essential goods, and basic infrastructure and public services had all but collapsed”.36 Overall, the major challenge became the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.37 2.
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Housing shortages in Zimbabwean towns and cities has been one of the major challenges of the post independence era. After independence in 1980 Zimbabwe's cities experienced a proliferation in unplanned settlements. This was a result of rural urban migration and the subsequent failure of the urban economy to offer adequate housing and jobs. This left peri-urban space as the only sanctuary for the urban poor to live in and eke out a living informally.38 The failure by local authorities to provide urban housing and social amenities led to the growth of many illegal structures reflecting structural violence.
Christophe Fournier and Jonathan Whittall, MSF When the affected state causes the crisis: the case of Zimbabwe Issue 43 June 2009 Humanitarian Exchange magazine Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, The military factor in Zimbabwe's political and electoral affairs obtained from http://www.crisiszimbabwe.org/attachments/article/307/The%20Military%20Factor%20in%20Zimbabwe%20-%20Part%203.pdf Christophe Fournier and Jonathan Whittall, MSF When the affected state causes the crisis: the case of Zimbabwe Issue 43 June 2009 Humanitarian Exchange magazine Ibid Busani Mpofu, Perpetual 'Outcasts'? Squatters in peri-urban Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Africa focus — Volume 25, Nr. 2, 2012 accessed from http://www.afrikafocus.eu/file/7 on Jan 29.
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While there was a failure to redress the housing challenges, government embarked on a massive illegal structure demolition popularly known as “Operation Murambatsvina” in May 2005. An estimated 700,000 urban Zimbabweans were rendered homeless or unemployed by the operation.39 The police and the military that carried out the operation reportedly arrested 40, 000 for alleged illegal activities (ibid). Through this operation, serious human rights violations were committed including assaults; malicious damage to property; forced relocations and denial of access to healthcare and sanitation. 3
Unemployment and poverty. The twin problems of unemployment and poverty engulfed the Zimbabwean society for more than a decade. By 2009 unemployment levels had risen to 95%. The problem of unemployment can be traced back to the era of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programmes (ESAP). Retrenchments, an outcome of the ESAP, accounted for 80% of job loses during the first two years of ESAP. 40 The society responded to ESAP through demonstrations on the streets, which was met with police brutality. According to Bond, “Structural adjustment and the ethics of materialism had created a culture of violence in society. What began as the need to express socio-economic rights by the citizens was met with police brutality”. 41
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Political patronage. The function of structural violence needs to be understood in relation to an overall social system organized on the basis of violent political control. The level of political control desired involves the moral imposition of irrational beliefs on others that work against their own capacity for freedom of thought, as in the cases of forcing people to belong to certain political parties. Forced rally attendances in Zimbabwe represent an activity that affects civil liberties. In the Political Violence Report of June 2003, the Forum documented several structural violence issues that permeate into direct violence,42 with the major violations being a response to citizens' expression of their fundamental freedoms. This has been the general trend in
Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe to assess the Scope and Impact of Operation Murambatsvina by the UN Special Envoy on Human Settlements Issues in Zimbabwe by Mrs. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka accessed from http://ww2.unhabitat.org/documents/ZimbabweReport.pdf on 23 January 2014 Bond P, 1998 Uneven Zimbabwe: A Study of Finance, Development, and Underdevelopment, Africa World Press Bond P, 1998 Uneven Zimbabwe: A Study of Finance, Development, and Underdevelopment, Africa World Press such as unlawful arrests, detention and torture.
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Zimbabwe where in times preceding major political events, the general public's rights are subdued. Such behavior disrupts the integrity of democratic processes and selectively victimises certain members of the population that do not conform to the irrational beliefs. 5
Cultural systems: Inherited ideas, beliefs, values and knowledge constitute the shared basis of social action that has a great bearing on the occurrence of structural and direct violence. The gendered face of violence in Zimbabwe cannot be underestimated with a number of cultural belief systems that especially endanger women. The greater risk that women and girls are subjected to emanate from issues such as food, health care and education systems skewed towards men. Poor education for the girl child (acts as a background variable) worsening women's poverty, health and decision-making. Attaining the Millennium Development Goals targets in Zimbabwe remains a pipeline dream, with maternal mortality remaining at a high of 960 deaths per 100,000 live births. 43 The government has been accused of failure to address the 4As of women's reproductive health that are acceptability, availability, accessibility and affordability, which are all embedded in the cultural setup. An uneducated woman is disempowered, her decision-making ability and relation to the 4As is largely dependent on external factors that are outside the woman's control, in the process increasing the vulnerability of women. Increased vulnerability and the risk of direct violence can be seen in the aftermath of the violent “Operation Murambatsvina� of 2005. Women and children were the worst affected. On several occasions, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) members were arrested, assaulted and detained by police for peacefully demonstrating for their rights.44
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(2010/2011) Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey For example on 19 and 20 September 2013, WOZA organised demonstrations in Harare and Bulawayo to mark the UN International Day of Peace. Police beat many WOZA members and a number were arrested including leaders Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu.
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Although direct violence tends to be more visible and easily perceived than structural violence, the two forms of violence are interdependent. Structural violence is both a source and a result of direct violence. More often than not the process is circular; structural violence may lead an oppressed group to direct violence, which in turn leads to further oppression to curb the direct violence. For example, if a government feels threatened by the people protesting substandard living conditions, the government may respond with further oppression to curb the direct violence. Thus people living in deteriorating socio-economic conditions and see themselves as unable to satisfy their needs in the face of a political system that they cannot otherwise influence, may resort to direct violence to address their needs. Likewise those in power often feel they must use direct violence to curb the unrest produced by structural violence. It is without doubt that structural violence leads to actions of direct violence. The existence of structural violence, such as unequal distribution of resources or a corrupt political system inevitably produces conflict, and often-direct violence. Violence has to be understood within the context in which it unfolds. For Zimbabwe, the wider context of the socio-political economy has been the key to determining the nature of structural and personal expressions of violence in which vulnerability and powerlessness of the general public has been evident. The failures to redress the socio-economic issues that are bewildering society have multidimensional consequences to the direct violence that is experienced in society. There has been a growing nexus in which structural violence and direct violence have been a means and an end to depressing the achievement and enjoyment of human rights. Thus, the embededness of violence in social structures cannot be underestimated and, while greater attention has been put on prevention of primarily direct violence more focus must be put on the detection and mitigation of structural violence as both forms of violence are threats to human security.45
45
Human security is defined as the security of - people- their physical safety, their economic well- being, respect for their dignity and worth as human beings and the protection of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. (International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, The responsibility to protect, International Development Research Centre; Ottawa)
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REFERENCES Adepoji A (ed 1993), The Impact of Structural Adjustment on the Population of Africa. James Currey, London. Bond P, 1998 Uneven Zimbabwe: A Study of Finance, Development, and Underdevelopment, Africa World Press Christie, D. J, Wagner, R. V., & Winter, D. A. (Eds.). (2001), Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Christophe Fournier and Jonathan Whittall, MSF When the affected state causes the crisis: the case of Zimbabwe Issue 43 June 2009 Humanitarian Exchange magazine CIA World fact book 2011 obtained from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/fields/2129.html Claudio Colaguori - Symbolic Violence and the Violation of Human Rights: Continuing the Sociological Critique of Domination - International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, Vol. 3, No. 2, June 2010, 388-400 Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, A report on Organised Violence and Torture in Zimbabwe from 20-24 March 2003, Harare Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, The military factor in Zimbabwe's political and electoral affairs obtained from http://www.crisiszimbabwe.org/attachments/article/307/The%20Military%20Factor%20i n%20Zimbabwe%20-%20Part%203.pdf Farmer P E, et al (2006) Structural Violence and Clinical Medicine, PLoS Med 3(10): e449. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030449 Fearon J.D and Laitin D.D. “Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War�. American Political Science Review 97, 1 (Feb 2003): pp.75-90
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http://reliefweb.int/report/zimbabwe/zimbabwe's-elections-intimidation-vote-riggingand-diamonds http://www.hrforumzim.org/publications/reports-on-political-violence/mid-yearpolitical-violence-report-2/ http://www.interesjournals.org/JRPGD https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ Dilts A (2012), Revisiting Johan Galtung's Concept of Structural Violence, New Political Science, Volume 34, Number 2, June 2012 Galtung J (1969), “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research,” Journal of Peace Research 6:3 pp. 167– 191 Gilman R (1983), Structural violence: Can we find genuine peace in a world with inequitable distribution of wealth among nations? Hughes N.S and Bourgois P (2004), Introduction: Making Sense of Violence Kathleen H O, Structural Violence as a Human Rights Violation, Essex Human Rights Review Vol. 4 No. 2 September 2007 Kent (2000) The Human Rights Approach to Reducing Malnutrition,” in M. K. Tolba, Our Fragile World: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development (Oxford, U.K.: Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), 2001). Preview version in Peace & Policy, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Summer 2000), pp. 18-23 Landman T, Studying Human Rights, New York, NY: Routledge, 2006 Madebwe, et al (2011) Involuntary displacement and resettlement to make way for diamond mining: the case of Chiadzwa villagers in Marange, Zimbabwe
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Mambondiani L, FY07 and investment lessons from 'Black Friday' last updated: 11/12/2009 14:59:24 obtained from http://newzimbabwe.com/pages/markets17.17115.html on March 10, 2014 Mamdani, M (1996) Citizen and Subject. Contemporary Africa and The Legacy of Late Colonialism. Princeton, New Jersey. Mpofu B, Perpetual 'Outcasts'? Squatters in peri-urban Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Africa focus — Volume 25, Nr. 2, 2012 accessed from http://www.afrikafocus.eu/file/7 on Jan 29. Reno W (1998), Warlord Politics and African States. Lynne Rienerr Publishing, London. Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe to assess the Scope and Impact of Operation Murambatsvina by the UN Special Envoy on Human Settlements Issues in Zimbabwe by Mrs. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka accessed from http://ww2.unhabitat.org/documents/ZimbabweReport.pdf on 23 January 2014
Rowson M (2012), Violence and development, in Structural violence and the underlying causes of violent conflict (Salvage J, Rowson M, Melf K and Sandoy I eds, 2012) Medical Peace Work course 4 Scherrer C.P (2002), Genocide and Crisis in Central Africa. Conflict Roots, Mass Violence and Regional War. Praeger, Westport. Zimbabwe Human Rights Report 2009, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (2010) The Zimbabwean, Marange: world's largest diamond producer, February 20, 2014 Winter Y (2012), “Violence and Visibility,” New Political Science 34:2 (2012), pp. 195– 202, at p. 168. Young M.C (1986) Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Class in Africa: A Retrospective. Cahiers d'études africaines, Volume 26, Issue 103 pp. 421-495
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Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (2010/2011) Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, A consolidated report on the food riots 19-23 January 1998 Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Political Violence Report June 2003, A report by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, 17 July 2003 Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum v The Government of Zimbabwe SADC Tribunal Case No. 5/2008 April 21, 2009: Press releases obtained from http://www.hrforumzim.org/press-releases/zimbabwe-human-rights-ngo-forum-v-thegovernment-of-zimbabwe-sadc-tribunal-case-no-52008/ on 10 March 2014
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About The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum) is a coalition of 20 human rights organisations. The Forum has been in existence since January 1998 when Non-Governmental Organisations working in the field of human rights joined together to provide legal and psychosocial assistance to the victims of the food riots of January 1998. The Forum has now expanded its objectives to assist victims of organized violence and torture (OVT) The Forum has three operational units: the Public Interest Unit, the Research and Documentation Unit and the Transitional Justice Unit. The Forum works in close collaboration with its member organisations to provide legal and psychosocial services to victims of OVT and to document all human rights violations, particularly politically motivated violence. Member organisations of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Amnesty International Zimbabwe Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe Counseling Services Unit Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe Justice for Children Legal Resources Foundation Media Institute of Southern Africa-Zimbabwe Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe Non-violent Action and Strategies for Social Change Research and Advocacy Unit Students Solidarity Trust Transparency International Zimbabwe Women of Zimbabwe Arise Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust Zimbabwe Human Rights Association Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Zimbabwe Peace Project Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum can be contacted through: The Executive Director, 8th Floor Blue Bridge, P.O Box 9077, Eastgate, Harare, Zimbabwe Telephone +263 4 250511; Fax +263 4 250494; Email:admin@hrforum.co.zw International Liaison Office 55 Commercial Street, London E16LT Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7619 3641; Email: <IntLO@ hrforum.co.zw ; Website: www.hrforumzim.com