Government should domesticate human rights treaties- Majome

Charles Mabhena

The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Hon Emmerson Mnangagwa recently moved a motion in the House of Assembly for the domestication of the Madrid Protocol, so that the country can benefit from its intellectual and cultural properties.

MPs across the political divide, described it as a good move, as the country was not benefiting much from its talented citizens.

MDC-T MP Jessie Majome said while it was commendable  the motion would see  citizens able to protect the fruits their intellectual labour, the government should do more in domesticating human rights treaties with equal zeal.

“Madam Speaker, I want to take this liberty to ask the esteemed Vice President, Hon Minister of Justice to have the august House benefit from the same zeal in domesticating all other international treaties that we are part of.

“Indeed it is good that we are moving towards business but the other international human rights instruments, it is my hope I will live to see the Hon Minister of Justice and his colleagues bringing International Human Rights Treaties to the august House in the same manner, so that we can domesticate them.

Majome’s call come at the time the country has had been accused of massive human rights violations.

Commenting on the human rights report for 2016, just released, the United States of America through its Embassy in Harare expressed concern over Zimbabwe’s human rights record.

The report said it was worrying that the country was spying on its own citizens with CIOs being sent by Mugabe to monitor and spy on citizens’ gatherings, meetings, etc.

Most recent, opposition political parties, civic organisations, pressure groups, and diplomatic missions roundly called on the ZANU PF government to shun its terrorist tendencies against its own children. They were reacting to the clocking of two solid years after Itai Dzamara was abducted by Mugabe’ men and was never to be seen since then.