US funded NGOs blame SADC

Ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State Summit scheduled for August 17, 2024, in Harare, Zimbabwe, there have been increasing concerns about human rights violations.

Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have jointly urged the Zimbabwean government to cease arbitrary arrests and the crackdown on opposition and civil society members.

Reports indicate that since mid-June 2024, over 160 people have been arrested in Harare alone, including elected officials, opposition members, union leaders, students, and journalists. These detainees have allegedly faced torture and other forms of ill-treatment.

The situation in Harare's high-density suburbs is reportedly tense, with armed security forces deployed amid threats of violence to disrupt the SADC event.

 human rights organizations have called on SADC to demand an end to these human rights abuses and to ensure the immediate release of all those unjustly detained. They also urged the outgoing SADC chair, Angolan President João Lourenço, and the chair of the SADC Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation Organ, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, to condemn the Zimbabwean government's actions.

The crackdown is seen as directly linked to Zimbabwe's upcoming leadership role in the SADC bloc, raising concerns about the region's commitment to human rights.