Civil society coalition calls for end to forced evictions in Zimbabwe

An African coalition of civil society groups appealed on Thursday for intervention by the African Union (AU) and the UN to stop the forced eviction of informal settlers and traders in Zimbabwe. "We want the AU to pressurise the Zimbabwean authorities to stop the evictions and allow humanitarian aid agencies to assist those who have been left homeless," Arnold Tsunga of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) told IRIN. At least 200,000 people have been left without shelter since the operation to 'clean up' Zimbabwe's cities and towns began last month. Authorities claimed the operation was aimed at ridding urban areas of informal flea markets and illegal residential shacks and houses, saying they had become a haven for criminal activities. Five press conferences were held across the continent on Thursday, where the joint appeal made by NGOs, including Amnesty International, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights urged Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, as chair of the AU, to put the crisis in Zimbabwe on the agenda of the upcoming AU assembly, scheduled to take place in Libya on 4 and 5 July. The coalition also called on relevant bodies at the UN, including the Secretary-General, to publicly condemn the ongoing mass human rights violations and take effective action to stop them. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the appointment this week of Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, as his Special Envoy for Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe to investigate the situation. Tsunga claimed there had been instances where aid agencies had been prevented from providing assistance to affected communities; ZLHR had sought court interventions to stop the eviction, but failed. "Tens of thousands of ordinary Zimbabweans have been left sleeping on the streets next to the rubble of their destroyed homes - it is time that the African heads of state took action," said Hassen Lorgat of the South Africa-based Zimbabwe Solidarity and Consultation Forum. Lorgat added that civil societies across the region were attempting to form a coalition to strengthen support for their counterparts in Zimbabwe. Other NGOs joining the appeal are the Inter-Africa Network for Human Rights, the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute, and the International Crisis Group.