On 11 March 2007, Zimbabwean police detained over 30 civic and political leaders at a prayer meeting. Many of the detaines have been beaten severely. The detainees included Mike Davies, Chairperson of the Combined Harare Residents Association; Madock Chivasa, Spokesperson for the National Constitutional Assembly; and Gladys Hlatswayo, Information Officer for the Crisis Coalition, each of whom have been active in advocating to halt and attain remedies for the rights violations perpetrated by the Government of Zimbabwe, particularly under Operation Murambatsvina.

COHRE opposes these actions, which further violate the human rights of Zimbabweans by their own Government. We call on the Zimbabwean Government to immediately cease arbitrary detentions and beatings and to release the people concerned. We also wish to express our solidarity with and support to all individuals and organisations in Zimbabwe who are so courageously promoting the rights and aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe.

In response to the detentions, COHRE sent a request for urgent action to Ms. Hina Jilani, the Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders of the United Nations. [See below]. This communication contains further information on the situation, including the names of political leaders who were detained.

We encourage any persons aware of other human rights defenders under threat in Zimbabwe at the present time to make known the names of such persons and details of these threats to the following:

Ms. Hina Jilani
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: (41 22) 917 90 06

In May 2005, the Government of Zimbabwe embarked on a massive campaign of forced evictions to 'clean up' its cities - known as Operation Murambatsvina (which literally means 'drive out rubbish'). The UN special envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe estimates that 700,000 people have lost their homes, their sources of livelihood or both. COHRE is currently campaigning for an end to the evictions and relief for the victims.

COHRE has been monitoring the situation in Zimbabwe since 2000. A COHRE fact-finding mission in 2001 called for peaceable land reform that respected human rights.

The following links are archived news stories on the Zimbabwe evictions