UN torture expert en route to Zimbabwe despite snub (Roundup)

Oct 28, 2009, 16:04 GMT

Johannesburg/Harare - A United Nations expert on torture was en route to Zimbabwe on an eight-day fact-finding mission Wednesday, despite the government in Harare revoking his invitation at the last minute.

UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Manfred Nowak said he was planning to travel to Zimbabwe later Wednesday from South Africa, although it was 'not yet very clear' whether he was welcome there.

'There are negotiations ongoing with the government,' he told the German Press Agency dpa in Johannesburg, where he was in transit. 'At the moment I expect to go,' he added.

Zimbabwe's foreign affairs department was, meanwhile, sticking by its position that he should postpone his trip.

'If he's coming then it will not be at the invitation of government,' Joey Bimha, permanent secretary in the foreign ministry said.

Nowak was invited to Zimbabwe by Patrick Chinamasa, justice minister in the coalition government of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and a senior member of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

On Monday, the foreign ministry in Harare suddenly retracted the invitation, saying the government was 'unable to receive the special rapporteur on the proposed dates' because it was in talks with regional leaders about a crisis in the coalition.

Twelve days ago, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) announced it was boycotting ministerial meetings because the Zanu-PF was a 'dishonest and unreliable' partner. The MDC says it will not rejoin the cabinet until Zanu-PF stops blocking key reforms.

A troika of leaders from the Southern African Development Community, the regional political bloc, is to hold talks with the two leaders on Thursday in a bid to get the coalition back on track.

While welcoming the negotiations, Nowak questioned the about-turn on his visit.

'He (Nowak) fails to be convinced, however, that the consultative process on Thursday, 29 October should be a valid reason to cancel his eight-day mission at such a late stage,' his office said in a statement.

'The special rapporteur therefore calls upon the government of Zimbabwe to receive him in Harare and allow the mission to go ahead as planned,' the statement from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva said.

Nowak also drew attention to reports of a new crackdown on MDC members and rights activists in recent days, in which an MDC residence was ransacked and workers beaten, purportedly in a search for weapons. Meanwhile, the head of an NGO umbrella group was arrested for holding a 'political meeting.'

'Recent allegations that MDC supporters and human rights defenders have been arrested, harassed and intimidated during the past few days, highlight the urgency of objective fact-finding by an independent UN expert at this crucial stage,' the OHCHR said.