Africa 24 Media Photography

As the world celebrated International Human Rights Day (December 10), civil right organizations and activists in Zimbabwe held a peaceful procession in various streets of the nation’s Capital, Harare, to express their discontent with the country’s wanting state of leadership, human rights violations and limited freedom of expression. The first, organized by ZimRights included up to 5,000 marchers, while the second, organized by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), was smaller but aimed at passing an identical message.

The right’s groups marched to protest against increased violations against women and government brutality. The ZimRights march began at ZimRights House, 90 4th Street, between Fife and Baines Avenues, proceeded onto Fourth Street down J. Moyo Avenue, and ended at the Africa Unity Square. The ZLHR march began at almost two hours later outside the High Court, proceeded along Samora Machel Avenue onto Fourth Street, then onto Kwame Nkrumah, then First Street, then back onto Samora Machel Avenue to Julius Nyerere, and ended at the Harare Gardens approximately two hours later. The Robert Mugabe-led Zimbabwean government has incessantly been accused of violating human rights, beating and arresting female members of pressure groups and recently, kidnapping of innocent civilians. In 2008, a similar demonstration organized by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions was forcibly disbanded by the government.

The initiative targets to reach approximately 500, 000 young persons in these towns and also to empower the youth throughout the country to building bridges among themselves and reconciling their communities.

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