Parly should champion human rights: Mudenda

SPEAKER of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda has called on the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and the Thematic Committee on Human Rights to play a leading role in protecting human rights and upholding the rule of law.

Addressing the committees at a workshop, Mudenda emphasised that human rights and the rule of law are essential for sustainable development.

He said they should ensure that the protection of human rights and upholding of the rule of law remained the democratic lenses towards achieving qualitative sustainable development for our citizens.

“However, one cannot promote and protect human rights when oblivious of them. The government has undertaken concrete steps to entrench human rights, justice and the rule of law in pursuit of peace and security as a condition precedent to sustainable economic development and growth,” Mudenda said.

He commended the government for taking concrete steps to entrench human rights, justice and the rule of law, citing the establishment of independent commissions (Chapter 12 institutions) to support democracy.

He said the committees should ensure that efforts aimed at decentralising the justice delivery system to rural and remote areas of the country were not impeded by the inadequacy of resources or bureaucratic deficiencies.

Mudenda highlighted the importance of decentralising the justice delivery system to rural and remote areas, urging the committees to ensure that such efforts are not hindered by resource scarcity or bureaucracy.

Zimbabwe’s human rights record continues to falter due to numerous incidents of abuse, political repression, compromised rule of law and poor economic development which prompted human rights watchdog Amnesty International to lobby the African Union to compel Harare to uphold human rights.