IBA condemns abuses

The International Bar Association (IBA) has urged Malawi to focus on good governance, respect the rule of law and uphold human rights. The IBA, a United Kingdom-based international lawyers association, said in a report released earlier this week that "damning evidence of corruption and abuse" had compelled some international donor agencies to withhold development aid, aggravating a humanitarian crisis in one of the world's poorest countries. "The scale of the poverty, the food shortages, and the AIDS epidemic in Malawi would challenge any society and any government. "International support is going to be absolutely critical to get the people of Malawi through this crisis. But to secure this, the government and executive are going to have to take urgent and convincing steps to restore international confidence in the country, attack corruption and uphold the rule of law. Right now, they seem to be heading in the wrong direction," said Linda Dobbs QC, a member of the IBA delegation whose investigations formed the basis of the report. Donor funding was jeopardised by infringements on the independence of the judiciary and the media, and by presidential efforts to find a way to stay in power for a third term, the IBA said. Malawi's constitution circumscribes a maximum of two terms in office. President Bakili Muluzi's second five-year term will end in 2004. A private member's bill proposing an amendment to the constitution, to allow Muluzi to run for a third term, failed by three votes in parliament on 4 July. The ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) party has 96 seats in the 193 seat parliament and needed a two-thirds majority to amend the constitution. The IBA report said the judicial system was chronically under-funded, and struggling to cope with a backlog of cases. "There are reports of random police round-ups without adequate evidence, as a result of which hundreds of people including children are getting lost in the prison system, and face indefinite incarceration. "The inadequate number of qualified judges and lawyers in Malawi means that there is no short-term prospect of redressing this crisis," the report said. This week the judicial system was crippled by a nationwide strike by staff seeking a salary increase. On average Malawi court workers are paid Mk3,000 (US $40) per month. The IBA's investigators heard evidence of threats and intimidation of independent-minded judges, lawyers and journalists. And that members of the country's executive were prone to ignoring court orders, putting themselves beyond the rule of law. "The executive is urged as a matter of priority to refrain from intimidating, and interfering with the independence of, judges, the legal fraternity and journalists. "There must be a thorough and independent review and audit of the prison population to determine the precise number and identity of all prisoners, details of those awaiting trial, and whether the evidence warrants their continued detention. "The government should ensure that the statutory mechanisms, including the Anti-Corruption Bureau [ACB] and the Office of the Ombudsman, are sufficiently resourced and funded and are free from executive influence," the IBA said. Last week a report by the ACB recommended prosecution of two cabinet ministers and some top political officials for abuse of office and criminal negligence relating to the sale of the country's strategic grain reserves. The investigative mission was organised by the Human Rights Institute of the IBA, and funded by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa and the Foundation for Open Society Institute.