By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Eastern and Southern Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – According to a report released this past Tuesday by Women in Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), one of the leading civil rights organizations in Zimbabwe, women activist are being arrested without cause, tortured and sexually abused. The WOZA organization was formed in 2003 and has about 55,000 members across Zimbabwe. The activist group has become a powerful voice against President Robert Mugabe’s government. In response to protests vocalizing the deepening economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe, many women activists claim they have been detained and abused by police.

In a preliminary report, which surveyed the WOZA members from 2000 to 2007, the women activists have been unlawfully detained, degraded, slapped, beaten with sticks and threatened with sexual violence. Many times the abuse occurs in front of their children since police do not separate the children during the arrest. According to Jenni Williams, one of the founders of WOZA, the arrests are unprovoked. Williams, alone, has been arrested about 30 times in the past three years.

Despite promising reports of mediation between President Mugabe and his leading opposition party, ZANU-PF, there continues to be an increase in violation in Zimbabwe. Other human rights organizations like Amnesty International have also accused the Mugabe government of human rights violations. According to Williams, the government seeks to prevent all protests mismanagement, corruption, and complete disregard for Zimababwe’s well-being. Williams as well as Western diplomats urge neighboring countries to help ease the depression and suffering.

Meanwhile, the country’s inflation rate remains the highest in the world at more than 6,500%. In one of many desperate efforts to curb the eroding economy and severe food shortage, government officials announced on Sunday that bakers would be allowed to double the price of bread and sugar. Critics have no faith in Mugabe’s price control regulations and believe his strategies have plunged the economy into a deeper crisis.

For more information please see:

USA Today (AP) –Zimbabwe Women Report Police Abuse -11 October 2007

Reuters: Africa- Zimbabwe Police Torture Women Activists – 11 October 2007

Yahoo News (AFP)- Zimbabwe Approves Over 200 Percent Price Hike for Bread – 14 October 2007

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NDJAMENA, Chad – The government has declared a twelve day state of emergency in three regions of Chad. More than 20 people have died in ethnic clashes in the eastern provinces of Quaddaj and Wadi Fira and in the northern region of Borkou, Ennedi and Tibesti.

The bloodshed in Darfur, Sudan, has spilled over into Chad and the Central African Republic. Presently, there are 240,000 refugees from Sudan’s Darfur region in eastern Chad and 173,000 internally displaced people.

The latest of clashes in Chad are between two tribes, the Tama and the Zaghawa. The clashes lasted for a period of three days in the eastern district of Dar Tama. The fighting was sparked by claims that members of one tribe stole livestock and cattle from members of the other tribe.

Tama rebel leader Mahamat Nour has accused the Zaghawas of starting the current conflict. He said,”The Tama problem is a real problem, people are dying in their hundreds. All they had as cattle has been rustled.”

The Foreign Minister to Chad stated “We dare to hope that it will create conditions that will foster stability and reconstruction in the eastern region of our country that have been devastated by incursions of the Sudanese Janjaweed and other armed men coming from Darfur.”

Experts believe that a peace agreement between rival groups will help pave the way for the United Nations to send in peacekeeping forces in Chad’s insecure eastern border

Starting in early November, 3,000 EU troops and 300 UN police are expected to arrive in Chad to oversee relief efforts at displacement camps.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Chad Rebels agree move to peace – 4 October 2007

AllAfrica.com – Chad: Government, Rebels Reach Peace Deal – 4 October 2007

BBC- Chad State of Emergency Imposed- – 16 October 2007

Herald Tribune- Chad Declares State of Emergency in Three Regions – 16 October 2007

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NORTH KIVO, Democratic Republic of Congo – In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, rebels under the leadership of General Laurent Nkunda have been given until October 15th to cease hostilities. The militants have been given the choice to enter the national army or face prosecution.

General Nkunda is currently backing DR Congo’s Tutsis population. He claims that he is protecting Tutsis from Hutus who escaped Rwanda and entered into the DR Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Nkunda firmly believes that Hutus in DRC have formed the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR). The Rwandan government denies supporting General Nkunda.

The fighting in North Kivu province forced thousands of people to become displaced when locals fled from their homes to avoid the violence. The “once-bustling” town of Mushaki, located 50 km west of Goma, is now deserted.

In Goma, the provincial capital, relief workers are preparing to accommodate at least 1,900 displaced families. The site’s capacity can hold 10,000 to 12,000 people. Furthermore, in the Masisi district, more than 16,000 people are sheltering along the roads that connect the villages.

Many people seeking relief avoid going to the displacement camps in Goma and travel up North into the Masisi Mountains. One reason for this growing trend is that the mountains in the north provide better grazing conditions for cattle “on which their livelihoods depend.”

The UNHCR stated that, “Displaced [people] report severe violations by armed groups, such as pillaging and destruction of houses, killings of civilians, recruitment of children into armed groups and cases of rape.” Between January and September 2007, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reported more than 2,000 cases of rape in North Kivu.

In total, the United Nation’s believes that more than 370,000 civilians have been displaced in the province in the latest round of fighting.

For more information, please see:

All Africa.com – Congo-Kinshasa: Rape Cases Up By 60 Percent in North Kivu – UNHCR – 12 October 2007

BBC – DR Congo army moves on rebel HQ – 12 October 2007

BBC – DR Congo Key Facts – Accessed 12 October 2007