18th July 2021

On Saturday the 17th of July 2021 the Midlands branch of the UK Chapter of Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe held a meeting on zoom. The meeting was chaired by Nicolate Gwati.

Register of attendance
Nicolate Gwati, Malvern Dengu, Laina Murape, Lilian Nleya, Marian Mangani, Vengai Mutsawu, Kimberly Ndlovu, Grace Makoni, Pauline Chida, Silvanos Mudzvova, Evelyn Chibanda, Edineth Mtengwa, Lorraine Zakeyo and Rosemary Guveya.

Agenda

  1. Welfare check-up on the members
  2. Update on current human rights violations in Zimbabwe
  3. Detaining of Zimbabweans at Reporting Centres
  4. Any Other Business

Meeting started at 14:00

  1. Welfare check-up on the members

The meeting resolved that all branch executive committees of the UK Chapter carry out a welfare check on members as a matter of urgency and identify those who are most vulnerable so that they can be given support and guidance.

2. Update on current human rights violations in Zimbabwe
The meeting got an update on the current human rights situation and noted a continuing trend of persecution of political and human rights activists as well as professionals such as journalists, lawyers and other judicial officers.

3. Detaining of Zimbabweans at Reporting Centres pending removal / deportation to Zimbabwe

The meeting noted that;-

  • The UK has not considered the economic and political conditions on the ground before pushing for these deportations.
  • The UK is also not holding the Zimbabwe government to account for the human rights violations against citizens and there is no guarantee that the deportees will be safe upon their return.

Suggestions

  • The Home Office should rehabilitate offenders like they do with those who are born in the UK as opposed to sending them back to Zimbabwe.
  • Lilian suggested that the Home Office needs to do a risk assessment with regards to the offences being committed to find out why people are offending that way.
  • It was also suggested that people with immigration offences were being treated very harshly.
  • It was also suggested that the immigration system that they created whereby people are in limbo for years was causing people to work illegally.

Agreed action points

  • We need to come together as Zimbabweans to lobby the UK government to stop the deportations to Zimbabwe.
  • It was also suggested that we need to remind the UK government of their stance on human rights and how they are going against that stance by deporting people to a country where they are not safe.
  • We need to use all the platforms that we can to raise awareness on this issue of deportations including social media, emailing journalists, and writing to MP’s.
  • To support the ongoing campaign by These Walls Must Fall against reporting and detention of asylum seekers.

4. Any Other Business
There was no other business.

All agenda items and any other business having been exhausted, Nicolate Gwati thanked everyone for attending and declared the meeting closed at 1530hrs.

To view pictures taken at the event, follow this link.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rohr_zimbabwe__manchester/albums/72157719554642599

By: Information & Publicity Department