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DAMNING AU REPORT FORCES REVIEW OF REPRESSIVE MEDIA LAW

The Zimbabwean government is reportedly conducting a review of the controversial Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), following a hard-hitting report by the African Union's human rights watchdog that criticised the law for suppressing freedom of expression, reports the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).

The Attorney General's office in Zimbabwe has notified the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) that the Minister of Information and Publicity, Dr Tichaona Jokonya, is reviewing the entire contents of the AIPPA with a view to removing offending provisions in the Act.

The ACHPR, which is the AU's human rights body, expressed concern in a recent report about the "continuing violations and the deterioration of the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, the lack of respect for the rule of law and the growing culture of impunity."

According to the "Guardian", which obtained a copy of the report, the ACHPR found that President Robert Mugabe violated the AU's human rights charter, to which Zimbabwe is a signatory. It also called for the repeal of several restrictive laws and for an AU fact-finding mission to the country.

The report will be discussed by African heads of state at the AU's annual meeting, which runs from 16 to 24 January 2006 in Khartoum, Sudan. If adopted, it would put significant pressure on Zimbabwe to improve its human rights record.

The ACHPR has also urged the government to amend or repeal Constitutional Amendment No. 17 which empowers the government to withdraw the passports of citizens who undermine "national interests" during their visits abroad, notes MISA.

And it has agreed to consider a complaint lodged by the publishers of the "Daily News" that challenges a 2003 ruling by Zimbabwe's Supreme Court. The court ruled that Associated Newspapers violated the AIPPA.

MISA's Zimbabwe chapter has actively campaigned against the AIPPA, including presenting a paper at the ACHPR's November 2005 meeting that outlined its concerns about the Act's repressive provisions.

Visit these links:
- MISA: http://tinyurl.com/cdyhw
- IFEX Alerts on Zimbabwe: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/77/
- ACHPR: http://www.achpr.org/english/_info/news_en.html
- African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights: http://tinyurl.com/72fqp
- The Guardian: http://tinyurl.com/cwqk9
- ACHPR Gets its Bite Back: http://tinyurl.com/excqn
- Amnesty International: http://tinyurl.com/d8nvw