madam president i wish to raise the issue of zimbabwe
it seems to me that if zimbabwe is not on our television screens then we do not really concern ourselves with some of the issues that arise there
recently we had the case of jestina mukoko executive director of the zimbabwe peace project and a board member of the zimbabwe human rights ngo forum who was abducted and held incommunicado for twenty-one days before reappearing at harare magistrates court bearing signs it might be said of torture and ill treatment all for the crime of being a human rights campaigner
ms mukoko is currently being held in solitary confinement at the maximum security prison and her future like that of so many campaigners aid workers and ordinary citizens before her remains in jeopardy at the hands of the mugabe regime
many words of concern and condemnation have been spoken in this chamber and in other national parliaments yet the nightmare for ordinary zimbabweans continues unabated
i believe that it is time we reasserted our interest in this and demand from the council and commission that action be taken once and for all to bring to an end the criminal activity against people who are campaigning for human rights in zimbabwe
