Advocacy within the Commonwealth

Submission of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group's meeting, 22nd May 2004

Following the reconstitution of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group in December 2003, CHRI would like to welcome new members to the Group and provide them with information on two countries on the CMAG agenda - Fiji Islands and Pakistan. Additionally, while Zimbabwe has withdrawn from the Commonwealth since the last CMAG meeting, CHRI remains engaged with civil society in Zimbabwe and wishes to inform CMAG of the ongoing human rights concerns in that country.

Pakistan

While some countries appear to be taking a more benign view of Pakistan, citizens and civil society groups largely report little positive change in terms of human rights, democracy and good governance.

The functioning of parliament remains ineffective, with only three major pieces of legislation having been passed and outstanding issues remaining in the Legal Framework Order that was incorporated in the 17th constitutional amendment passed in parliament with support from the religious alliance. Parliamentary democracy has been undermined by the government's continuing marginalisation of the opposition, including the denial of the right to debate in the upper house when the bill to set up the National Security Council was introduced. Due to this lack of debate, the bill - giving the armed forces a legal position in government - was passed in a mere 3 minutes in the upper house.

CHRI urges the Commonwealth to encourage the Pakistan government to make democracy meaningful, tolerate plurality of opinion and respect the rights of opposition parties as they, too, represent a significant section of the people of Pakistan.
Harassment of politicians continues, including one leading opposition MP being jailed and denied bail, and then recently being sentenced to 23 years imprisonment following a trial that took place inside a prison. CHRI calls on CMAG to express its concern over this lack of democratic rights, including the right to a free trial, and to encourage Pakistan to immediately stop such harassment.
Despite the government's stated commitment to improving the status of women, CHRI notes with concern that a bill on 'Empowerment of Women' is being blocked by the ruling coalition and religious alliance. We urge CMAG to encourage the government to pass this bill without delay.

The government in Pakistan has also referred to the freedom of the press enjoyed in the country and while positive steps have occurred - the opening of the electronic media for instance - intimidation of the press is common. Journalists are being intimidated to suppress their criticism, with increasing reports of disappearances, destruction of property, arrests and even murder. One such case is that of Khawar Mehdi Rizvi who was arrested following reporting on Taliban groups. His two French colleagues have returned to France, however Khawar was secretly detained and allegedly tortured. He has since been released, however the charge of treason - which could lead to the death penalty - has not been withdrawn.

CHRI recommends that CMAG reiterate the fundamental importance of freedom of expression and freedom of the press and call on the Pakistani authorities to allow members of the media to work in an environment free from intimidation. Human rights abuses against media personnel must be stopped and those responsible brought to justice.

CHRI has in the past drawn CMAG's attention to the need for anti-terrorism measures to respect the fundamental principles of human rights and civil liberties. We would like to again highlight this concern, drawing attention to widespread human rights violations in tribal areas of Pakistan, perpetrated by the military in the name of anti-terrorism.

CHRI calls on CMAG to emphasize that all anti-terrorist activities in member countries must respect the rule of law and the principles of human rights as highlighted in Commonwealth Declarations.

Also of concern to the Commonwealth is President Musharraf's apparent retreat from his commitment to retire as Chief of the Army by December 2004. CHRI calls on CMAG to reiterate to Pakistan the importance placed in the Commonwealth of civilian government and encourage the President to keep his commitment to the people of Pakistan.

Given the above situation, it is clear that the violations of the Harare Commonwealth Declaration are ongoing. CHRI believes that the Government of Pakistan must demonstrate a genuine commitment to upholding human rights and democratic principles before its suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth be lifted. In practice, this includes at a minimum respect for the right to freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of association and prevention from arbitrary detention.

CHRI recommends to CMAG that Pakistan remain suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth. To return Pakistan to full membership at this time would make a travesty of the Commonwealth's commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law and belittle the plight of the people of Pakistan.

Fiji Islands

In the recent case dealing with Section 99 of the Fiji Constitution, the Supreme Court ruled against the Government, and requires the Prime Minister to consult with the Leader of the Fiji Labour Party, to select persons from the Fiji Labour Party for appointment, to advise the President to appoint those persons as Ministers and to appoint them to the Cabinet.

CHRI recommends CMAG continue to monitor the situation in Fiji in the wake of this decision, and encourage the Fiji government to follow the order of the Supreme Court and include the Fiji Labour Party in its Cabinet.

CHRI recommends that the Commonwealth encourage the SDL Party and FLP to maintain their commitment to genuinely implementing the power-sharing arrangements enshrined in Fiji's Constitution in the sprit of multi-ethnic harmony in which they were drafted.

Zimbabwe

CHRI notes that the Zimbabwean government's withdrawal from the Commonwealth in December 2003 makes Commonwealth engagement with the country challenging. However, considering that the government that made the decision to withdraw is in power due to undemocratic and widely disputed elections in 2002, CHRI calls on the Commonwealth as a whole to remain engaged with Zimbabwean civil society wherever possible.

It is with sadness that CHRI must report deterioration in the situation in Zimbabwe since our previous submissions to CMAG, which highlighted extremely serious and ongoing violations of human rights as articulated in the Harare and other international declarations. These violations include: oppression of the media and abuses of the right to freedom of expression, violations of the right to associate such as arrests during peaceful protests, selective use of the regressive Public Order and Security Act, and violations of the economic rights of countless ordinary Zimbabweans. Also of concern is the government's attempts to undermine the independence of the judiciary by ignoring judicial rulings and attempting to discredit the judiciary in the state-run media. On-going political violence and intimidation mean that without immediate action from the international community, particularly Commonwealth members in the region, the elections of March 2005 will not be free and fair.

The Commonwealth has an obligation to the people of Zimbabwe to remain engaged and assist them in bringing an end to the human rights abuses. CHRI calls on the Commonwealth to dialogue with other international partners, particularly NEPAD and the United Nations, about the need to maintain international pressure on the Zimbabwean regime. The Commonwealth must support and protect civil society in Zimbabwe: this could be effectively done through support for the efforts of the Commonwealth professional organisations and NGOs that remain active in Zimbabwe.