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B N R A L E M C U U H L C F T U O R E HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Human Rights Commission
ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Design & Layout: Oscar Chisenga Human Rights Commission - Zambia
iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The year 2010 marked the Human Rights Commission’s 13th year of operations. As in previous years, the Commission enjoyed the support and cooperation of the Government of the Republic of Zambia and other partners. This support, collaboration and cooperation helped the Commission to make inroads in contributing to the promotion and protection of human rights in Zambia. It is with immerse gratitude that the Human Rights Commission extends its thanks to the following in particular:
• Government of the Republic of Zambia • United Nations Development Programme • Save the Children Norway • Save the Children Sweden • Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights • Governance Secretariat (Ministry of Justice) • Zambia Police Service • Zambia Prison Service
The Commission also acknowledges the support of the general public and Civil Society, who have continued to advocate for a stronger and more efficient national human rights institution.
iv CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 : ABOUT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
A. Legislative Mandate……………………………………………………vi B. Members of the Commission…………………………………………..vi
CHAPTER 2 : COMPLAINTS HANDLING AND PRISON VISITS
A. Complaints Handling…………………………………………………..10 B. Prison and Police Cells Inspection in Northern and North Western Provinces…………………………………...... 13 C. Vulnerable Groups……………………………………………………..19 D. Prisons and Police Services Operational Challenges……………….…26 E. Stakeholders Meeting…………………………………..……………...30
CHAPTER 3 : HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION AND INFORMATION
A. Capacity Building for Community Radio……………………………...31 B. Sensitisation through radio……………………………….……………37 C. Elections and Conflict Prevention……………………….……………..38
CHAPTER 4 : RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY
A. 2009 Annual State of Human Rights…………………………………..40 B. HIV/AIDS Research on Mandatory Testing in the Armed Forces…….43
CHAPTER 5 : HUMAN RIGHTS FOR CHILDREN
A. Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child………..49 B. Visitations to selected Child Care Facilities…………………………...49 C. Visitations to Child Correctional Facilities………………...... 50 D. Monitoring and Inspection visits to Prisons and Police Detention Facilities………………………………………………………...... 50 E. Investigations of Children’s Rights…………………………...... 51 F. Commemoration of International Days Relevant to Children…………52 G. 2008 Public Hearing Report…………………………………………...53 H. Development and hiring of jingles on Children’s Rights…...... 53 I. Community Sensitization……………………………………...... 54 J. Western Province Public Hearing ………………………...... 54
ANNEX : FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2010...... 55
v Chapter 1 ABOUT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
A. LEGISLATIVE MANDATE The Human Rights Commission was established following amendments effected in 1996 to the 1991 Constitution of the Republic of Zambia. The Commission is provided for in Article 125 as an independent and autonomous body. The Commission commenced its operations in 1997 when the first commissioners were appointed. Under Article 125(2) and section 3 of the Human Rights Commission Act Chapter 48 of the Laws of Zambia (“the HRC Act”), the Commission is guaranteed autonomy in the discharge of its functions. Section 9 of the HRC Act stipulates the functions of the Commission as follows: • To investigate human rights violations; • To investigate maladministration of justice; • To propose effective measures to prevent human rights abuse; • To visit prisons and other places of detention and related facilities with a view to assessing and inspecting conditions of the persons held in such places and make recommendations to redress existing problems; • To establish a continuing programme of research, education, information and rehabilitation of victims of human rights abuse to enhance the respect for and protection of human rights; and, • To do all such things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the functions of the Commission. Additionally, the Commission is empowered to investigate any human rights violations either on its own volition or upon receipt of a complaint or allegation. B. MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION The year 2010 witnessed a change in the composition of the Commissioners. By the end of the year, Mrs. Pixie Yangailo and Mr. Palan Mulonda continued as Chairperson and Vice Chairperson respectively. The tenures of three other Commissioners: Mr. Alfred Sakala, Mr. Kenneth Maduma and Mrs. Godfridah Sumaili expired on 16 April, 2010. By 31 December, the appointing authority had not appointed new people to fill the vacancies.
vi THE COMMISSIONERS
Mrs. Pixie Kasonde Yangailo, Chairperson
Mr. Palan Mulonda Vice Chairperson
Pastor Godfrida Sumaili Mr. Kenneth Maduma Commissioner Commissioner (Term ended 16/4/2010) (Term ended 16/4/2010)
Mr. Alfred Sakala Commissioner Mr. Enoch Mulembe (Term ended 16/4/2010) Director/Secretary
7 HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MANAGEMENT
Below are the rest of the senior members of staff that served the Commission in 2010.
Mrs K. Kapin’a Nkombo Deputy Director
Hope Ndhlovu Chanda Samuel Kasankha Rumbidzai Mutasa Chief Research and Chief Information, Principal Legal Counsel Planning Education and Training
Jew Moonde Siatakwi Shakespeare Inambao Kabandala Principle Investigation Officer Provincial Coordinator - Head Finance and Accounting Copperbelt
Elizabeth Chileshe Irene T. Kalunga Head Human Resource and Internal Auditor Administration
8 Map of Zambia showing location of Human Rights Commission offices as at 31 December 2010 Lundazi Isoka Chipata
Mpika
Kasama Lake Tanganyika Tanganyika Lake PROVINCE EASTERN Petauke Mpulungu Luangwa Bridge Serenje Bangweulu Swamps Lake Bangweulu NORTHERN PROVINCE NORTHERN Mporokoso Samfya Mkushi LUSAKA PROVINCE LUSAKA Mansa Nchelenge Kapiri Mposhi Kabwe Mufulira Lusaka Mpongwe Chisamba Lake Mweru Ndola Lake Kariba Kitwe Kafue Monze Luanshya Mumbwa
Chingola Luswishi Mazabuka CENTRAL Choma PROVINCE PROVINCE COPPERBELT
Chililabombwe
Kafue Namwala Lunga Livingstone Kalomo
Solwezi SOUTHERN PROVINCE SOUTHERN
Kazungula Machili Kaoma PROVINCE Kataba Mulobezi Mwinilunga NORTH-WESTERN Sesheke
Dongwe
Zambezi Senanga Mongu Zambezi WESTERN PROVINCE Kalabo
9 Chapter COMPLAINTS HANDLING AND 2 INSPECTION OF DETENTION FACILITIES
A. COMPLAINTS HANDLING
Complaints Received
In 2010, the Commission received a total number of 1,172 complaints of alleged human rights violations. This number accounted for complaints recorded from all the Commission’s operational areas of Lusaka, Livingstone, Mongu, Kasama, Ndola and Chipata. Lusaka accounted for the largest number with 378 (32.1%); Chipata 212 (18.1%); Kasama 190 (16.2%); Ndola 161 (13.7%); Mongu 140 (11.9%); and, Livingstone 91 (7.8%). Figure 1 below illustrates.
Figure 1: Number of complaints received per office in 2010
L/stone 91 chipata Lusaka 212 378
Ndola 161 Kasama Mongu 190 140
Nature of Complaints
The nature of complaints registered in 2010 includes, among others, alleged violations of employment rights, right to personal liberty, unlawful detention, maladministration of justice, torture, cruel inhuman and degrading punishment, children rights, maintenance and property rights, land dispute and forced eviction. As has been the trend each year since 1997 when the Commission commenced its operations, most of the complaints recorded in 2010 related to labour and employment related rights. With 444 complaints recorded in this category, labour and employment related rights
10 complaints accounted for approximately 37.9% of the total number of complaints for the year under review. Maladministration of justice allegations came a distant second with 76 or 6.5%. Below is the full list of the nature of complaints received in 2010.
• Employment and Labor Rights - 444
• Maladministration of justice - 76
• Children’s Rights - 55
• Compensation - 52
• Land Dispute - 51
• Right to Property - 51
• Victimization - 46
• Unfair Treatment - 30
• Unlawful Detention - 30
• Right to Education - 21
• Right to Shelter - 21
• Inhuman Treatment - 9
• Delayed Justice - 9
• Discrimination - 8
• Right to Health - 7
• Witchcraft - 6
• Extra Judicial Killings - 6
• Eviction - 5
• Harassment - 4
• Sexual Harassment - 2
Complaints by Gender
In terms of gender, male complainants accounted for the largest number of complaints of the 1,172 complaints received by the Commission in 2010. Records show that 733 males, 216 females and 24 children lodged complaints with the Commission in 2010. As Table 1 below indicates, male complainants accounted for the most complaints in all the operational areas. For example, for Lusaka alone, male complainants were responsible for 75% of the complaints registered.
11 Table 1: Complaints by Gender
MALES FEMALE CHILDREN TOTALS L /STONE 80 11 91
CHIPATA 129 83 212
KASAMA 135 43 12 190
MONGU 89 51 140
NDOLA 115 46 161
LUSAKA 285 82 11 378
733 316 23 1172
Figure 2: Complaints by Gender
300 285
250 DETERMINATION BY GENDER
200
150 129 135 115 89 100 80 83 82
43 51 46 50 11 12 11 0
MALES FEMALE CHILDREN
Investigation of Complaints
Of the 1,172 complaints recorded during the year under review, the Commission admitted 814. Of these, 340 complaints were successfully resolved, 188 were referred to other institutions with relevant jurisdiction and 86 were discontinued for various reasons. Three hundred and sixty two complaints were forwarded to 2011 for further consideration. Institutions to which complaints were referred included the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), Police Public and Complaints Authority (PPCA), Legal Aid Board, Victim Support Unity (VSU), Ministry of Labour, Commission for Investigations, Zambia Prisons Services and Zambia Police Service.
Figure 3 below illustrates the status of the complaints as at 31 December, 2010.
12 Figure 3: Consideration of complaints in 2010
400 350 300 250 200 150 No. of Cases of No. 100 50 0 DISCONTIN FOLLOW RECEIVED ADMITTED RESOLVED REFERRED PENDING UED UP
LUSAKA 378 177 57 51 16 53 201 NDOLA 161 113 49 40 0 24 48 KASAMA 190 89 29 39 19 2 101 MONGU 140 140 50 17 70 3 0 L/STONE 91 83 49 9 25 0 8 CHIPATA 212 212 106 32 66 4 4
B. PRISON AND POLICE CELLS INSPECTIONS IN NORTHERN AND NORTH WESTERN PROVINCES
The Human Rights Commission is mandated by Section 9 of the HRC Act to visit prisons and other places of detention or related facilities with a view to assessing and inspecting conditions of the persons held in such places, and make recommendations to redress existing problems. In October and November 2010, the Commission conducted prison and police cells inspections in Northern and North Western Provinces. The tours were a follow up to the inspections conducted in 2008 (North Western) and 2009 (Northern). The purpose of the 2010 follow up visits was to check whether or not there had been any significant changes since the last visits.
Although there were a few areas of improvement, the Commission found that in most of the facilities visited, the conditions had either not changed or had worsened. For instance, the Commission found that the prisons still had low staffing levels, inadequate or non availability of transport and inadequate accommodation for staff. Overcrowding was still a problem, with the worst being Solwezi and Zambezi Prisons in North Western Province and Milima, Mpika and Isoka Prisons in Northern Province. In addition to overcrowding, there was a critical shortage of prison uniforms and mattresses in the facilities visited. The transport situation for almost all the prisons was still critical. Where vehicles were available, there was a lack of regular supply of fuel. This state of affairs negatively affected both the prison operations and the welfare of the inmates. With regard to
13 police stations, most of these facilities still lacked cells for female and juvenile suspects and still faced the challenge of no transport.
The Commission, on the other hand, also found a number of significant improvements in a few facilities. For example, a modern dormitory was being built at Mwinilunga State Prison and was near completion at the time of the inspection. The new block would replace an old barn which was being occupied by inmates. The Commission also found a completely renovated Mufumbwe Open Air Prison and a clinic being built at Solwezi State Prison. There was a significant improvement of water supply to Milima, Mporokoso and Chinsali Prisons where the Zambia Prison Service had sunk boreholes and installed water tanks. The Commission also found a completed building with modern cells for male, female and juvenile inmates at Mbala Prison. Only the perimeter fence remained to be constructed before allowing occupation by inmates. In addition, the Commission found that a number of initiatives to improve both inmates and staff welfare were being carried out by prison officers in most of the prisons in North Western Province and at Mpika Prison in Northern Province. The most notable was the initiative by the Officer in Charge at Mwinilunga Prison who had made uniforms for inmates using her personal resources. The other good initiative was at Mpika Prison where a home based care poultry project provided inmates living with HIV with eggs as a food supplement.
In order to put the 2010 findings in proper context and perspective, the following outline includes takes into account the situation as it was in the 2008 and 2009 inspections for the two provinces and provides an update for 2010.
Prison Conditions
Inmate Population and Accommodation
In 2008, the total prison population for North Western Province was 700. The most congested were Mufumbwe Open Air Prison and Solwezi State Prison, which held 31 prisoners as opposed to the original capacity of 10 and 339 as opposed to 135 over the intended capacity respectively. These were followed by Kabompo and Zambezi Prisons with 77 as opposed to 50 and 89 as opposed to 65 inmates as the intended capacity.
Blocked toilets at the condemned Luwingu State Prison 14 In 2010, there was a total prison population of 1,034 with the most congested being Mporokoso Prison which had 59 inmates sleeping in a cell meant for 20 inmates and Mbala Prison with 10 inmates occupying a cell meant for 4 inmates. In 2009, the Commission found a total prison population of 1,275 in Northern Province. The worst congestion scenarios were found at Milima State Prison, Mpika State Prison, Isoka State Prison and Chinsali State Prison. Milima Prison had a prison population of 442 inmates against the original capacity of 200 inmates while Mpika District Prison had a prison population of 244 against the original capacity of 52. At Isoka State Prison the prison population was 241 against the original capacity of 90 inmates and Chinsali State Prison had a prison population of 144 against the original capacity of 65 inmates. During the Commission’s visit in November 2010, the prisons had a total population of 636 with Solwezi Prison being the most congested with 297 prisoners against an approved capacity of 135. Kabompo and Mwinilunga Prisons were also relatively congested with 79 prisoners each against holding capacity of 50. In both Northern and North Western Provinces, it was discovered during the 2008, 2009 and 2010 inspections that convicts and remand inmates were still kept together in the same dormitory. In other instances, even juveniles were put together with adult inmates (e.g., at Mporokoso Prison). The only exceptions were at Solwezi, Milima and Zambezi Prisons where a dormitory was reserved exclusively for juveniles.
Food and Nutrition During the 2008 and 2009 inspections, the Regional Commanding Officers informed the Commission that the provinces had enough food supplies in form of beans, kapenta and mealie meal. During its inspection of the prison facilities, the Commission found that most prisons fed their inmates three meals a day except that the quality of the food was not adequate as it was not in strict compliance with the prescribed scales of diet in the Prisons Act. In 2010, the Commission found that all prisons had enough food supplies with other prisons having stocks of rice and sump. Medical Care
In the 2008 and 2009 inspection tours, it was found that all prisons did not have clinics or sick bays and, as such, they relied on government clinics situated near the prisons. At times they would receive visits from medical officers where available. Even in instances where some prisons had drug kits for emergencies, these were not well stocked and lacked the basic medicines. In 2010, the Commission found that the situation had not changed except for Solwezi Prison where a clinic was being built with the help of Rotary Club RT 19. Further, none of the prisons visited had isolation wards for inmates with either communicable or serious diseases. Water and Sanitation
During the 2008 prison tour of North Western Province, it was found that some facilities had no clean drinking and bathing water and the worst hit were Zambezi and Kasempa Prisons. These two facilities had water disconnected for non-payment of bills. The toilets were dirty and without provisions for privacy. In 2010, there was some improvement and there was running water although the sewer at Zambezi Prison still got blocked at times.
It was also observed during the 2009 Northern Province inspection tour that most prisons there had erratic supply of water. However, in 2010, the situation had improved as could be seen at Milima, Chinsali and Mporokoso Prisons which now had boreholes with a constant supply of water. Water supply in other prisons remained erratic. Uniforms and Bedding
In 2008 and 2009, it was found that, in both North Western and Northern provinces, at least each inmate had one full pair of uniform even though some were worn out. Mattresses and blankets
15 Blocked drainage system and dirty toilets at Zambezi Prison were shared due to congestion. In 2010, there was a critical shortage of uniforms, a situation which had led some prisoners to wear their own clothes (e.g., Mporokoso, Mpika, Milima, Zambezi and Kabompo). In other prisons, some prisoner’s uniforms either had the top and no bottom or vice versa (e.g., Isoka, Mbala, Solwezi and Kasempa). There was also a shortage of mattresses in most prisons, a situation attributed to the lack of transport to collect the same from headquarters at Kabwe.
Recommendations
In view of the findings outlined above, the Commission recommends as follows:
• Overcrowding in prisons should be cushioned by construction of more modern facilities.
• Remand prisons must be constructed in Kasama and Solwezi.
• A prison must be built at Nakonde.
• Prisoners, juveniles and remandees should be kept in separate dorms.
• There must be a medical officer present at every prison. Medical kits must also bewell stocked.
• The water problem must quickly be addressed in the prisons in Northern Province.
• The Zambia Prison Service should facilitate the transportation of bedding and mattresses to all prisons.
Police Detention Facilities (a) Police Cells
The Commission’s tour of North Western Province in 2008 revealed that most police stations had no modern cells with the exception of Kakayindu, Kyawama and Kasempa Police Stations. This was the case for Northern Province as well where the Commission found that the facilities had inadequacies in relation to the availability and condition of cells. While some of the facilities had at least two cells in which to detain male and female suspects, Chikwanda Police Post, Matumbo Police Post and Chiba Police Post did not have any cells at all.
The situation had not improved in 2010 with most police stations having no cells for women and juveniles. At Luwingu Police Station, women suspects or remandees were kept in the corridors while at Mbala Police Station they were kept in the hall which also served as an exhibit room. At Mporokoso, Isoka, Chinsali and
16 Lack of Uniforms at Kasempa State Prison. An Initiative by an Officer in Charge at Mwinilunga State Prison to provide Uniforms from her resources
Newly Constructed Police Camp in Kasama
17 New magistrate court being built in Nakonde
18 Mpulungu Police Stations, women were kept at the inquiries section or slept in the corridor (Mpika). Suspects at Matumbo Police Post were handcuffed to a wheel rim. In North Western Province, Zambezi Police Station had no cells. With the exception of Kyawama Police Station, there were no juvenile cells. However, new cells were being built at Solwezi Police Station which would provide for three cells for men, women and juveniles.
(b) Condition of the Cells
Generally, the 2008 (North Western) and 2009 (Northern) inspection tours revealed that most of the cells were dirty and had poor ventilation (e.g., Kasama, Mbala, Chinsali Police Stations; Chitoshi and Community College Police Posts). Isoka Police Station was found congested. Other stations had cells which were not appropriate for human habitation such as Mufumbwe Police Station, St. Dorothy, Matumbo and Mulenga Hill Police Posts. All the facilities inspected did not provide blankets in the cells for the suspects.
In 2010, inspection of both provinces showed that the situation had hardly changed. The cells, though some were clean, lacked proper ventilation (e.g., Mpika Police Station). However, congestion was prevalent at Mbala, Mpulungu and Luwingu Police Stations. The cells at Mpika, Chinsali, Isoka and Nakonde Police Stations each had a toilet situated right inside the cell and without any provision for privacy while the cells at Kabompo, Ikelenge, Chavuma, Mufumbwe and Mwinilunga were in a deplorable state. Suspects at Mwinilunga Police Station were kept in the corridors due to the blocked sewer line which caused fecal matter to remain stagnant in the toilets in the cells.
(c) Pre-Trial Detention
The Commission noted that there was a high number of pre-trial detainees in both provinces with the worst being Northern Province. Many suspects and remand inmates had been kept in detention because of the slow process of finding witnesses and concluding dockets in readiness for onward transmission to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). This was the situation at Mbala which had 39 suspects, Luwingu had 31 and Mpulungu Police Station had 32, where they were facing long detention. In North Western Province, Kabompo and Zambezi had five and eight suspects respectively.
The Commission further noted that the delay in disposal of cases was also partly due to the court, particularly the Magistrates’ Court. At Isoka Prison, there were five remand inmates who were appearing before Honourable Chanda who had been transferred to Chadiza district. At Kasama there were those that were appearing before Honourable Makalicha who had been moved to Mpika district, while at Nakonde, Luwingu and Mbala, there was only one sitting magistrate who was overwhelmed with work. Recommendations
• The Zambia Police Service should devise measures to deal with congestion in the cells.
• Dockets should be promptly transmitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for quick action.
• Police cells for women and juvenile suspects must be constructed. Keeping of women suspects at the inquiries or corridors is unhealthy as well as dangerous.
• There is an urgent need for a police station to be built at Matumbo. The police post is the only one between Mpika and Chinsali and, thus, a proper police station needs to be built urgently.
C. VULNERABLE GROUPS (WOMEN AND JUVENILES) Zambian Prison facilities were primarily designed for male convicts. Thus, in its inspections of the prisons in Northern and North Western Provinces, the Commission observed that there were certain vulnerable groups whose specific needs were not taken into account in the prison environment. The vulnerable groups included women, juveniles and circumstantial children. With regard to women, the Commission found that the prison environment did not provide women with basic necessities, uchs as appropriate accommodation, sanitary napkins, soap or additional
19 nutrition for pregnant and breast feeding prisoners. There was also gender inequality in accessing educational programmes or enjoying recreational activities. Despite the law recognising the existence of circumstantial children and allowing these children to live with their mothers in prisons, the prisons did not have any special provisions such as separate accommodation for mothers and children or additional nutrition for such children. For juveniles, most of the prisons did not have any separate accommodation for them or recreational activities. (a) Women Accommodation in Prisons During the tours, the Commission found that most of the prisons inspected in North Western and Northern Provinces did not have proper cells for women. The situation was worse in North Western Province where only Solwezi State Prison had a properly constructed female section with two small cells. Kasempa, Kabompo, Zambezi and Mwinilunga State Prisons only had improvised cells which were not suitable for use as cells. In Northern Province, Milima, Mpika, Chinsali and Isoka Prisons had properly built and habitable cells for women prisoners. Mporokoso State Prison had an improvised cell for women whilst Mbala State Prison did not have any cells for women. In its 2010 follow up visit to the facilities in both Northern and North Western Provinces, the Commission found that there had been no improvement with regard to prison accommodation for female inmates. Mporokoso, Kasempa, Kabompo, Zambezi and Mwinilunga State Prisons still only had improvised cells for women whilst Mbala State Prison did not have any cells for women.
Detention in Police Custody (i) North Western Province The Commission’s 2008 visit to prisons and police stations in North Western Province revealed a terrible lack of holding cells for women in most of the police stations and police posts. Out of the 15 police stations and posts inspected between 4 and 12 June 2008, only Kakayindu and Kyawama Police Stations had holding cells for women. The buildings housing these stations were fairly new and were built with the assistance of Lumwana Mine and the Zambia Social Investment Fund (ZAMSIF) respectively.
In 2010, the Commission found a significant improvement with Solwezi Police Station and Maheba Police Station now having modern cells with indoor toilets and showers for women. The cells at Maheba Police Station were built by Lumwana Mine while the cells at Solwezi Police Station were built by Kasanshi Mining Company. The Commission was also informed that Kasanshi Mines intended to put Plasma television sets for the suspect’s entertainment while in custody. The efforts made by Lumwana Mine and Kasanshi Mining Company had significantly improved the living conditions of suspects in police custody. (ii) Northern Province In Northern Province, the Commission found that only Kasama Police Station, Mungwi Police Station, Chitoshi Police Station, Maround Police Station, Kasama Teachers College Community Police Post and Nakonde Police Station had holding cells for women. The cell at Nakonde Police Station was also used to detain female remandees awaiting transportation to Isoka State Prison. Luwingu Police Station had a cell for women, which was not operational at the time of the Commission’s visit. The Commission was informed that some female suspects had attempted to escape from the cell and it had not yet been secured. Mbala Police Station, Mpika Police Station, Mporokoso Police Station Chinsali Police Station, Isoka Police Station, Chiba Police Post, Mukupa Kaoma Police Post, Senga Hills Police Post, Mulenga Hills Police Post, Mpulungu Police Station, Musa Police Post all did not have holding cells for women. However, Musa Police Post had embarked on a
20 A Corridor at Luwingu Police Station used as a female cell project to build three cells, one intended for female suspects. On the day of the visit, the Commission found the building at foundation level. Women detained at the stations and posts without holding cells were in most cases either kept at the enquiries office or in the corridors leading to the male cells. In some instances, female suspects were released on police bond or transported to the district prison. At the time of its visit to Isoka Police Station, the Commission found two female suspects detained in the corridor leading to the cell for male suspects. During the 2010 follow up visit to the prisons and police stations in Northern Province, the Commission found that the mentioned police stations and posts still did not have cells for women. Two women detained at Mpika Police Station were found lying down on the floor of the corridor outside the cell for men when the Commission visited the station on 31 October, 2010. Four women were also found detained in a corridor at Luwingu Police Station on 27 October, 2010. Recommendations • Government needs to urgently build prison cells for women that have facilities and materials required to meet women’s special hygiene needs. • The Zambia Prison Service must develop gender responsive penal reforms aimed at improving planning and delivery of services in prisons in a manner that is responsive to the different needs of men, women and children. (b) Sanitation and Hygiene (i) Prisons
21 At the time of the Commission’s visit in 2008, North Western Province had inadequate toilet and bathing facilities for women. All of its prisons did not have indoor toilets in the cells for the women to access at night. In addition, only Solwezi State Prison had a properly built and private outdoor pit latrine in the female section. The rest only had thatched outdoor enclosures with pits in the ground. The worst scenario was at Mwinilunga State Prison where the only pit latrine available for women was also used by male prisoners. There were no showers for women in all the prisons in North Western Province. Female inmates at Solwezi State Prison and Zambezi State Prison took their baths in a non sheltered area in front of the cells. Kasempa State Prison and Kabompo State Prison had makeshift bathing shelters for women while Mwinilunga State Prison did not have any shelter at all. The situation in Northern Province was better as most of the prisons at least had outdoor toilets and bathing facilities in the female sections. Milima State Prison even had indoor toilets in the cells.
During its follow up inspection of prisons in North Western Province, the Commission found that no improvements had been made and the facilities still lacked adequate sanitary facilities for women.
(ii) Police Stations and Police Posts
In North Western Province, Kakayindu and Kyawama Police Stations had indoor flush toilets and sinks in the female cells. As indicated earlier, the remaining police stations and posts did not have cells for females. Women detained at these facilities were either escorted to the station toilets or accessed outdoor toilets for male suspects. In Northern Province, only Kasama Police Station, Maround Police Post and Mungwi Police Station had toilets in cells for women.
In 2010, there was a significant improvement to the detention facilities at Solwezi Police Station and Maheba Police Station where Lumwana Mine has now built modern cells for men, women and children. The new cells each had showers and modern flush toilets in private compartments. In Northern Province, the only improvement was at Nakonde Police Station where, the officers through their initiative renovated a small space outside the cells for male suspects and turned it into a shower which was accessed by women as well.
(c) Recreation and rehabilitation activities
During its inspection of prisons in North Western Province and in Northern Province in 2008 and 2009 respectively, the Commission found that none of the prisons in both provinces had any vocational, educational or relevant recreation activities for female prisoners. Educational and recreational activities were only available for male prisoners. The follow up inspection visits to the two provinces in 2010 revealed that the prisons in the two provinces still did not have any educational or vocational or recreational activities accessible to women.
Recommendation
Educational and recreational programmes must be developed for female prisoners in all the prisons where women are held in the two provinces. In developing these programmes and activities, the Government should ensure that the programmes take into consideration the specific needs of women and that these are not just adaptations of programmes designed for men.
(d) Juveniles (i) North Western Province
In its 2008 inspection of prisons and police posts in North Western Province, the Commission found that only Solwezi State Prison had a cell for male juveniles with a holding capacity of 15 juveniles. However, despite having a cell specifically for juveniles, the prison did not separate the juveniles from the adult prisoners. On 5 June 2008, the juvenile cell was congested with 11 juveniles, 24 adult convicts and 1 adult remandee. The Commission also found juveniles detained together with convicted prisoners and remandees at Zambezi State Prison and Mwinilunga State Prison. Zambezi State Prison had the worst case of mixing of all the categories of prisoners. At this prison, 82 inmates comprising of 1 juvenile, 64 convicted prisoners, 15 adult remandees
22 Chiba Police Post in Kasama Ikelenge Police Station
An improvised tin house used as an office at Officers sharing office accommodation at Mpulungu Police Station Kyawama Police Station in Solwezi
The house of the Officer in Charge at Chavuma Police Station
23 and 2 mentally disturbed prisoners were found sharing one cell. All the prisons in North Western Province did not have separate holding cells for female juveniles. In 2010, the Commission found a slight improvement with Zambezi State Prison now having a separate cell for juveniles. When the Commission visited the Prison on 20 November 2010, the juvenile cell had 5 juveniles and 2 adult prisoners assigned to watch over the juveniles.
(ii) Northern Province In its 2009 visit to prisons in Northern Province, the Commission found that only Milima State Prison had a separate holding cell for male juveniles. On 8 August 2009, Milima State Prison had 34 male juveniles. Juveniles held at any of the other six State prisons were held in the same cells with adult inmates. When the Commission visited Mpika State Prison, it found 15 male juveniles sharing a congested cell with adult convicts and remandees. Mpika State Prison was built in 1958 with a holding capacity of 52 prisoners. However at the time of the inspection, the prison had 244 prisoners. Chinsali State Prison and Isoka State Prison each had one male juvenile detained with adult prisoners due to the lack of separate holding facilities for juveniles. None of the Northern Province prisons had a separate holding cell for female juveniles and as such any detained female juveniles were held together with female adult prisoners. It is, however, worth noting that the Commission found that the prison officials had mobilised resources and built a block of cells for female prisoners. One of the cells would be for female juvenile while the old cell for adult female prisoners would be become a cell for male juveniles.
Treatment in police custody
Northern Province
The Commission found that none of the police stations and posts had separate holding cells for children in Northern Province. Kasama Police Station and Mpika Police Station reportedly detained juveniles in small rooms or in the passage leading to the cells for adults whilst the remaining police stations and posts reported detaining juveniles at the front desk during the day and in the cells with adults at night. All the stations and posts further informed the Commission that juveniles were also sometimes released on police bond. The holding cells at all the police stations and posts were generally dirty and poorly ventilated. In addition, the cells did not have any bedding for use by juveniles.
In 2010, the Commission found that the situation had not changed as all the police stations and posts still did not have separate cells for juveniles. Mpulungu Police Station and Luwingu Police Station each had 2 male juveniles detained with adult suspects.
North Western Province
Out of the 15 police stations inspected by the Commission between 4 and 12 June 2008, only Kyawama Police Station had cells for male and female juvenile suspects. The 14 stations without separate cells for juveniles in most cases detained the juveniles at the front office or in the corridors during the day and in the cells for adult suspects at night. None of the stations provided juveniles with bedding.
In its visit to the province in 2010, the Commission was pleased to find that Lumwana Mine had built a modern cell for male juveniles at Maheba Police Station whilst Kasanshi Mining Company has also built a modern cell for male juveniles at Solwezi Police Station.
Recommendations
1. Section 62(1) of the Juveniles Act provides that “where it is impracticable in a remand prison to separate juveniles from adults detained in custody, a superintendent of prisons may detain any juvenile awaiting trial, or placed on remand by a court, in a suitable dwelling, other than a prison or detention camp, and whilst the juvenile is so detained, he shall be deemed to be in legal custody”
24 In this regard, the Commission recommends that the officers in charge of prisons utilize Section 62(1) of the Juveniles Act wherever possible in prisons without separate cells for juveniles, to detain juveniles in other suitable places. not accommodated in institutional houses have to rent from their inadequate housing allowance. In places 2. Government should urgently engage stakeholders, corporate institutions and donors supporting children’s projects to fund building of separate holding cells for children in prisons and police stations.
3. Government should build at least one reformatory school in the two provinces to enable easy and quick transportation of juveniles to reformatory schools. The Commission found that most of the prisons do not have transport and as such have to rely on well wishers and other Government institutions for transport.
Pre-trial Detention and Post Trial Incarceration: Access to legal representation or assistance
In its interviews with juveniles detained in prisons or police stations in both provinces, the Commission was informed that juveniles had very limited and in most cases no access to legal representation compared to adult offenders. The Commission observed that if juveniles detained in these prisons had legal representation or assistance, there would be very few cases of long pre-trial detentions of juveniles in adult prisons.
Post trial incarceration
The Commission further found out that a number of children remained in the custody of the Zambia Prison Service long after the trials have ended. In 2009, the Commission found 12 children at Milima State Prison who were awaiting confirmation of their orders by the High Court. In 2010, the Commission found 11 juveniles awaiting confirmation of their reformatory orders. The Commission observed that the Prison Service is faced
Mulenga Hill Police Post in Kasama also used as a house Camp
25 with a challenge with regards confirmation of orders for juveniles especially that High Court sittings for Northern Province are quarterly. The Commission was informed that juveniles normally wait for periods of or exceeding three months in the prisons before their orders are confirmed.
Educational programmes and Recreation It was observed that none of the prisons had any educational or vocational programmes or recreation activities for juveniles. Circumstantial Children
The Commission found circumstantial children living with their mothers in prisons in the two provinces. Facilities to ensure the health and development of the children were lacking or inadequate. None of the prisons had any special provisions in place to ensure that children living in prison were protected from the adverse effects of prison life. When the Commission visited the prisons in Northern Province in 2009, it found a total 9 circumstantial children. In its follow up visit to the province in 2010, the Commission found 8 circumstantial children. One of the children was a one month old baby whose mother was HIV positive and not allowed to breastfeed her baby. In its visit to North Western Province in 2010, the Commission found 4 circumstantial children at Solwezi State Prison. The youngest child was a three day old girl whose mother was a convicted prisoner. In both provinces, the Commission was informed that the Zambia Prison Service did not have special diets for children who came into prison with their mothers. As a result, inmate mothers have to share their food rations with their little ones. It further established that other needs such as clothing, bathing or washing soaps are not provided for these children. The Commission learnt that, in some instances, church organisations and some Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) make donations which then help to supplement the regular food provided by the prison; these donations sometimes include clothes and detergents for use by incarcerated mothers with children.
D. PRISON AND POLICE SERVICE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES
Zambia Prison Service
Human Resource/Staff
In 2008 and 2009, the Commission found that in both Northern and North Western Provinces, the facilities visited did not have adequate staff. The standard ration of 1 officer to 4 inmates was not satisfied. In North Western Province there were 88 officers against 700 inmates, while in Northern Province less than 100 officers looked after a population of 1,275 inmates. The situation in 2010 was the same with no improvement. For instance, at Zambezi State Prison the Commission found the deputy officer-in-charge manning the prison alone against a population of 136 inmates.
This shortage of staff has made it difficult for prison officers to adequately supervise and manage the prisons.
Transport and Communication
The transport situation in both provinces at the time of the visit by the Commission was not impressive. In some instances where a vehicle was available, there was no fuel or the tyres were worn out. Some of the prison facilities did not have transport at all meaning that they had to rely on other institutions for assistance. Further, the lack of transport hinders the monitoring of open air prisons that are far away from the main station. For example, Namwanza Open Air Prison is about 35 kilometres from Zambezi town. Transportation of inmates to open air prisons to go and do farming is, thus, a problem. Inmates and officers complained of getting tired even before they started working because of the distances they had to cover to reach the farms.
During the year under review, the transport situation had worsened as compared to 2008 and 2009.
26 The Commission found that some of the prisons that had vehicles no longer had them.
All the prisons that were visited had problems with communication facilities or equipment. Some of the prisons had telephones but could only receive and not call out. Officers relied on their own personal mobile phones. The situation was particularly bad for officers serving at open air prisons. By 2010, the Commission found that even those facilities that had receive only telephones had been cut off.
Office Accommodation
The Commission noted that office infrastructure of all the prisons visited in both North Western and Northern provinces was not in a good condition. The offices were dilapidated, had not seen a coat of paint for a long time, broken window panes, old furniture and outdated law books. At Kabompo Prison, the Commission found that one of the houses meant to accommodate an officer was being turned into an office. The poor office accommodation tended to dampen morale among the officers.
A follow up inspection in 2010 revealed the same problems of office space in all the prisons although the officer-in-charge at Kabompo Prison had used his own initiative and was building an office block of 2 offices so that the house were the current office is accommodates an officer.
Zambia Police Service
Financial Support
The Commanding Officers for both province confirmed to the Commission that although they receive some monthly allocation from head office Lusaka, the same was not enough to cater for stationery, fuel, allowances for officers, maintaince of vehicles and other logistical requirements. This was further evidenced when the Commission visited individual stations and posts. Stationery was lacking, reducing officers to ask members of the public for some. All the stations visited had outdated statute books.
The follow up visit in 2010 in both the provinces showed that the situation was the same as that for 2008 and 2009.
Human Resource
The staffing levels in all the police stations and posts visited were far below the required capacity. For instance, at Mpika Police Station the establishment is 111 but the actual strength that was found was 46. This puts a strain on the officers who also have to man Chikwanda and Lwitikila Police Posts. The low staff levels have greatly affected the operations of the police as the areas that are covered are too wide and the population is ever increasing.
Although the Commission in 2010 was informed about the new recruits that had joined the police the staffing levels still remained below the required levels. For instance, at Chavuma Police Station, the Commission found 11 against an establishment of 35 officers.
Transport and Communications
In regard to transport, some facilities had no vehicles. A few that had vehicles experienced the problem of inadequate fuel supply and/or worn out tyres. Furthermore, the type of vehicles available were not suited for the terrain in both the provinces as the roads are mostly gravel and require 4x4 vehicles to enable officers patrol effectively. This lack of adequate transport has resulted inthe police not being able to effectively carry out motorized patrols and following up reports that happen in far places. The lack of transport also translated into the problem of failure to take remandees to court, which at times is out of town. For instance, remandees in Mpulungu have to be transported to Mbala where there is a court. This is also the same for Chavuma where remandees have to be taken
27 to Zambezi for court sessions.
The Commission’s follow up inspection of 2010 found a bit of improvement in terms of transport in some police stations while others remained the same. All the police posts did not have transport of their own. However, the Commission was informed that the fleet of vans that was procured had a factory problem and the majority of the stations that had these vans had either packed them or sent them to Lusaka for repairs. The officer- in- charge at Kasempa informed the Commission that the type of vehicle, a 2x4, was not suitable for the terrain in the area especially when it came to following up reports in the remote places.
The Commission during its inspection tours of 2008 and 2009 respectively found that the radio communication facilities where mainly at provincial towns and a few selected police stations. Some of the stations like Zambezi and Isoka did not have radio communication and relied upon personal mobile phones to communicate with head office. The stations that had radio facilities lacked handsets for easy of communication in the field. All the police posts visited in the two provinces did not have any form of communication apart from using personal mobile phones. The land phones in some stations where only receiving whilst others did not have any telephone facilities.
In 2010 the Commission found that the situation had not improved at all. Apart from Solwezi Police Station that had been given some sets by the local mining company, all the stations and police posts still experienced the problem of communication.
Office Accommodation
The inspection tour of 2008 and 2009 found that some of the office spaces for police officers were not fit for human habitation. The offices in the majority of police stations had old broken pieces of furniture. At places like Mufumbwe, the ceiling in the inquiries office was falling apart and the station was housed in an old building belonging to buildings department. Also the Commission found out that in some stations officers were sharing office space making it difficult to work in privacy. At Kyawama Police Station the Commission found that the Station Inspector was sharing with officers from Victim Support Unit and also the Criminal Investigation Officer was sharing with the Traffic Officer. At Mpulungu, the Commission found that the officers had improvised a tin hut as an office.
The follow up inspection in 2010 found that nothing much had changed and some stations where actually turning into a more deplorable state than the case in 2008 and 2009. Examples include Chavuma, Mbala, Mutanda, and Kasempa, Isoka and Kasama Central. However, the Commission was happy to note that Kabompo Police Station had received a complete overhaul due to that fact that the building housing the station was the main central administration block for the district. The only challenge remaining was acquisition of descent furniture for the offices.
Welfare of Officers
Prison Officers
The inspection tours of North Western and Northern Provinces of 2008 and 2009 revealed unsuitable living conditions for the officers. Most of the prisons such as Kabompo, Mufumbwe, Zambezi, Mporokoso and Luwingu have no prison camp. Officers are forced to rent houses. The housing allowance, which on average is K270, 000, is not adequate to cover the rentals. For those living in institutional houses, the houses are dilapidated, have not been painted in a long time, have cracked walls, broken windows and some of the houses were simply falling apart. Most of these camps rely on pit latrines and do not have easy access to clean drinking water. This situation of lack of clean drinking water was evidenced at Kasempa Prison were officers were fetching water from a stream. The sewer system was broken posing a great danger to the health of officers and their families. At Solwezi Prison camp one officer had turned an old storeroom into a house due to shortage of
28 accommodation.
The Commission was also informed that prison officers have stopped receiving mealie meal in 2007 compared to their counterparts in the Zambia Police.
The follow up inspection tour in 2010 found slight improvement in a lot of prison camps in North Western Province as the officers-in-charge had used their initiative to improve the outlook of the camp houses. For instance, at Kasempa, Zambezi, Solwezi and Mwinilunga the officers-in-charge had painted the houses and tried to renovate the houses using their own resources. The Commission was very impressed with the officer-in-charge at Mwinilunga who had started constructing a block of 4 flats for her officers using her own resources. The water situation had improved at Kasempa.
On the mealie meal issue the Commission was informed that an allowance was now being paid to the police while the prison officers do not get anything.
Police Officers
The housing situation for police officers was found to be no better than that of prison officers. The police stations that have police camps are Mpika, Chinsali, Isoka,, Kasama, Solwezi, Chavuma and Kyawama. However, the state of these camps was unsatisfactory. The houses had not been painted in a very long time, had broken window panes, cracked walls, falling ceilings, broken sewer pipes and no running water for some. At the time of the visit to Mutanda Police Camp the Commission found that officers were drawing water for drinking from a nereby stream. The houses had no electricity and were not fit for human habitation. Officers not accommodated in institutional houses have to rent from their inadequate housing allowance. In places like Solwezi, with the booming mining activities, officers have found it difficult to find decent housing. At Kayawama Police Station, the Commission found an officer who had turned a storeroom into a house. In Kasama, at Mulenga Hills Police Post, the Commission found that the kitchen to the officer-in-charge’s house had been turned into a cell while the sitting room for the deputy officer-in-charge was being used as the inquires office.
During the follow up inspection in 2010, the Commission found that the housing situation had slightly improved in Kasama in that the government had built about 60 houses for junior officers. However, the housing issue was far from solved. The housing units at Chavuma were falling apart and officers in Mufumbwe were still living in tin huts. The Commission also noted that the water problem at Mutanda had improved following the sinking of a borehole. In general, the housing situation still needed urgent attention.
Recommendations
The Commission recommends that;
1. Houses be built in all police and prison camps and the existing structures be renovated
2. Funding allocation be improved.
3. Recruitment of officers should be undertaken to improve the staffing levels
4. Government to consider building prisons cater for the growing prison population.
5. Government to buy vehicles and communication equipment for both police and prisons.
6 Provide mealie meal allowance for the prison officers.
7. Increase the housing allowance for officers.
29 STAKEHOLDERS MEETING
On 15 December 2010, the Commission, with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), held a meeting with stakeholders in criminal justice. The purpose of the of the meeting was to share the preliminary findings of the 2010 prisons and police stations inspection visit to North Western Province and Northern Province with comparisons being made with findings of the 2008 North Western Province and the 2009 Northern Province visits.
30 Chapter HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION AND 3 INFORMATION
During the year under review, the Commission conducted a number of activities under its mandate to educate and inform.
A. CAPACITY BUILDING FOR COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS
In 2010, the Commission continued to partner with community radio stations in implementing the Capacity Building for Community Radio Stations Project. Activities under this project had commenced in the fourth quarter of 2009. During the period under review, the Commission worked with several community radio stations in Eastern, Southern and Western Provinces. The field work conducted by the team brought out a number of issues affecting the communities visited.
HRC and Radio Maria staff pose for a photograph with Chief Chanje (in striped T-shirt) outside his office in Mgubudu, Chipata. Extreme left is UNDP Governance Coordinator, Bairbre Fee.
EASTERN PROVINCE
Chadiza In Chadiza, the issues that were highlighted by members of the community were:
Child neglect It was revealed that scores of children did not attend school and loitered at Chadiza Secondary School waiting to feed from leftovers by boarders. They could not attend school for fear of losing out on their single source of food.
31 The team poses for a photo with some ‘neglected’ children before they scrounged for leftovers at Chadiza Secondary School
Child labour
Children as young as four years old are forced into employment by their parents as cattle herders for wealthy families. Such children work every single day leading the animals to pastures and water all day long for between three and four years after. Upon the expiry of this period, the parents are rewarded with one calf and, thereafter, the child can either be taken into school or commence another contractual period of cattle herding. Such children tend to start school very late if ever the parents think about them going into school. From verbal testimonies given, many seldom developed interest in school.
Cultural practices interfering with education
Children prefer to be initiated in the Nyau cult, a secretive Chewa society where they receive inculcation and training in ‘manhood’. Once they are initiated, there are so many activities they are involved in which, by the testimonies of some children who abandoned it, make it difficult if not impossible to be involved seriously with school. Similarly, parents of girls who upon attaining puberty opt to confine them for the traditional chinamwali puberty rites also cause children to miss school for lengthy periods of time leading to poor performance during examinations. In many cases, girls graduating from such initiation rites go straight into early marriages.
Gender based violence
Women complained that there were still instances of gender based violence especially against females.
Mambwe
In Mambwe district, the team spent a full day in Mfuwe. The issues highlighted were:
32 Man/animal conflicts
People lived in fear of wild animals especially elephants and monkeys that regularly entered villages in search of food. The elephants often destroyed huts thereby threatening the lives of occupants. Deaths sometimes occurred. Crops are often destroyed by monkeys, elephants and hippos leading to regular food shortages. The monkeys had become so daring they physically attacked children who were sent on errands to buy food. The villagers, who were very agitated throughout the interviews, claimed that it was unfruitful to report these matters to the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) because the latter tended to be more interested in animal rights as opposed to human rights. The Commission held a meeting with the regional manager and other senior management officials from ZAWA to get their views on the complaint that reports made to them about the marauding animals were largely ignored by their organization.
Gender based violence and property grabbing
Gender based violence and property grabbing also resurfaced as an issue in the area. Other complaints bordered on property grabbing from widows as well as disputes pertaining to land. Other issues brought up in Mfuwe included poor working conditions in the many lodges in the game park, dismissals on flimsy grounds and a high unemployment rate.
Chipata
In Chipata, despite the vast geographical area covered in the three chiefdoms, the major issues of concern to the locals were very identical.
Matters restricting the enjoyment of the right to health
There were serious shortages of medical drugs leading to people being given prescriptions to buy drugs on their own, which they usually did from unregistered and unqualified suppliers. There was no way of telling that drugs were genuine or expired and such other critical considerations. In some cases, patients just could not afford the medication. Furthermore, there were inadequate numbers of staff to attend to the patients. At Chinunda Health Centre, since the retirement of the Clinical Officer more than a year before, only a maid (cleaner) attended to all the complaints. She had “learned a few things” about medicine during her period at the clinic. The prevalent problems at the time of the visit included diarrhea and vomiting and malaria. There were several maternity cases of mothers waiting to deliver and only this one maid was available to do the deliveries.
Whereas Muzeyi Health Centre in Chief Chikuwe had an ambulance, there was seldom any fuel to transport emergencies to Chipata General Hospital.
Interviewing a patient at Muzeyi Health Centre in Chipata.
33 Communication Infrastructure
Most roads in the areas were bad. During the rainy season, motor vehicles stop using these roads, resulting in serious transport problems. For certain villagers in Chief Chikuwe’s, the nearest medical facility is Muzeyi Health Centre. But to reach it, they must cross the Msandile River. The bridge at the crossing point was swept away several seasons before and had not been replaced. In emergencies, the villagers take a risk by lying on and holding tightly to a huge log of wood which adventurous youths push using sticks and bamboos until the ‘passengers’ are safely across the river. They do this at any point considered narrow enough (approximately 15 to 20 meters long). One interviewee showed the team his highly pregnant wife who had crossed the river in this manner so she could deliver at Muzeyi.
Miles away at another crossing point on the same Msandile River, the bridge was also swept away in 2007. People can only cross at own risk to reach Mnukwa Rural Health Centre as well as the local basic school. Although the health facility is only a few minutes walk from many concerned villages, the people are forced to walk 30 kilometers to Chinunda Health Centre where they do not face the obstacle of crossing a river to access the medical facility. .
Police and Security
In Chiefs Chikuwe and Chanje, people complained of inadequate policing. In some areas, fairly distant, people expressed the need for police posts while in some places people complained of unprofessional conduct including over reliance on neighbourhood watch associations whose members used violence and other abusive tactics during arrest of suspects.
Petauke
In Petauke, the Commission worked with PASME Radio and Petauke Explorers in identifying human rights issues prevalent in district. In Senior Chief Kalindawalo-Mudikula and Chief Nyampande’s areas, the team came across a range of human rights problems.
Excessive punishment of subjects at Chief Nyampande’s palace
The subjects complained of excessive punishment which those accused of wrongdoing underwent at Chief Nyampande’s palace where they are subjected to forced hard labour as individuals and sometimes together with their family members. One victim interviewed said he was punished at the Palace by the Indunas when the Nyampande Basic School head-teacher reported him for allowing his cattle to stray into and litter the school premises. Despite having cleaned up the mess, he was told to pay a fine of five goats and leave the Chiefdom but the Chief intervened and reversed the decision. It appears that the Indunas have taken advantage of the system for personal gain and violate the rights of the subjects without the Chief’s knowledge.
Land Disputes
The Commission found that there was a dispute between Senior Chief Kalindawalo-Mudikula and Petauke District Council over the boundary that marks the edges of customary land and state land which could leave a few dozen families displaced and in destitution if not handled properly. The team explored the problem which affects largely people in Chisenga village although it was reported that the same problem was being faced by other communities bordering Petauke district who had accused council officials of unlawfully shifting beacons in the night, thus, extending the boundary of the town into customary land. The situation caused tension between council officials and the subjects of Kalindawalo to the extent that some houses built along the boundary were demolished by the council and, in retaliation, the villagers began to interfere with the beacons mounted by the council and opposed developmental projects until the Senior Chief intervened. The team held discussions with the affected communities, council officials and the Senior Chief Kalindawalo and recorded programmes for airing on PASME Radio and Petauke Explorers to sensitize people, firstly about the law and the procedures regarding land acquisition, be it customary or state land, and to inform them about the measures that would be taken by the concerned authorities to help the affected communities.
34 Defilement, early marriages and teenage pregnancies
In Chief Nyampande’s area, the problems of defilement, early marriages and teenage pregnancies were rampant. It was found that some of these cases had been reported to the police for investigation and prosecution. But for others, instead of being reported to responsible institutions, families and the traditional court decided to resolve them at community level out of ignorance or in total disregard of the law. This showed that there was need to improve understanding at community level of the seriousness of these gross violations of human rights and their implications for the girl child. The team engaged the communities and traditional authorities in producing the radio programmes which would help to increase awareness and empower them with knowledge on how to handle these problems when they occurred.
Right to education
Just as the problems of early marriages and teenage pregnancy hinder the girl-child’s education, so has the boy-child been affected in many parts of Petauke by the problem of parents allowing their children as young as 5 years old to work for a cow far away from home. They receive the cow as payment at the end of a 4 to 7 year “contract” of grazing cattle. Through this practice, many families have managed to own cattle which are seen as a symbol of wealth and a way of getting out of poverty. Unfortunately, the practice has been a major hindrance to the boy-child’s right to education. It was clear from the discussions and interviews held with the communities that children are forced into this form of child labour and are subjected to a lot of suffering and inhuman treatment. .
SOUTHERN PROVINCE
In Southern Province, visits by the Commission and its community radio partners, Sky FM Radio, to a number of communities also brought out a catalogue of human rights issues. In Bweengwa constituency and Njola area, the major problems found were:
• Discriminatory practices in sharing of family property such as cattle, which deprived women and children. Men kept to themselves such family property and had most control of it.
• Oppression of women by men who had no respect for women’s rights, including those of children
• Deep-rooted beliefs in witchcraft as people had no respect for the Witchcraft Act.
• Mishandling of matters supposed to be heard by courts of law which were decided upon and settled by ordinary people without respect for the law and fair justice.
WESTERN PROVINCE
In Western Province, the Commission partnered with Radio Oblate Liseli and Radio Lyambai. The issues detected included:
• Casualisation of labour on Chinese construction sites
There were a number of high schools being constructed by Chinese firms in the province. Locals were employed as casuals to do the actual construction works. The complaint was that the wages were too low, some as low as K7,000 per day. Due to the small amount of wages, most adults abandoned the projects and their places were taken up by underage boys, some of whom abandoned school to make some money while others joined the teams to make money to take them to school.
• Poor road network
Some places like Nalikwanda may not be very far away from Mongu town. At between 60 and 70 kilometers away, the road was very bad and discouraged motor transporters from operating on the routes into Nalikwanda. This had adverse effects on trade, agriculture and other development initiatives.
35 Radio Maria staffer Chaibu Nkhoma interviewing a child employed to herd cattle in Chadiza
• Political interference in school matters
Some school authorities complained that there was too much involvement of certain people in the running of schools. Teachers who meted discipline upon children were usually confronted and threatened with physical violence by parents who held positions in political parties. This made teachers fail to take remedial measures even on issues of early marriages which went on unabated.
LUSAKA PROVINCE
The Commission, in the company of producers from Radio Christian Voice and Yatsani Radio conducted a trip to Luangwa district in Lusaka Province. The major issues highlighted included:
• High prevalence of HIV/AIDS
The locals claimed that fishing activities in the Luangwa and Zambezi rivers, which confluence within the district, attracted a lot of people from outside the district, some from as far as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Due to long stays in the fishing camps in order to buy sufficient stocks of fish for sale, people engaged in sexual promiscuity. For some, especially women, the promiscuity resulted from a desire to gain free services from the fishermen, such as accommodation or extra amounts of fish. This had contributed to high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the district.
• Access to medical facilities
Long distances affected access to medical facilities in the area. There were also complaints that staff at the district health facility were rude and did not treat patients courteously, causing some to shun the facility. Some also complained of erratic supplies of drugs and being forced to either buy from make-shift stalls (tuntemba) or opting for self prescription whenever they fell ill.
36 Journalists from Radio Yatsani and Radion Christian Voice interviewing a villager in Luangwa.
• Destruction of crops by Hippos and elephants
The locals complained that mainstream agriculture was nearly impossible due to the large numbers of hippos and elephants that destroy their crops. By and large, the people depended on fishing and trading. Additionally, the weather pattern in the district was strange with regular droughts every season. There was much dependence on relief food from the Disaster Mitigation and Management Unit (DMMU). The people felt that the waters of the Luangwa and Zambezi needed to be tapped for irrigation and proper management of game introduced for people to have sufficient food.
In Chibombo district in Central Province, the prominent issues were:
• Early pregnancies and girl child marriages
In spite of being well sensitized on the need for education, most girls got pregnant in their teens and parents were compelled to marry off their daughters because they could not maintain the enlarged families.
• Animal diseases were affecting the peasant farmers’ livelihoods
The farmers could not afford vaccines while the Department of Veterinary Services could also not meet the demand for animal vaccines. As such, a strange cattle disease was decimating animal populations and there was not much the farmers could do but watch the losses. It was reported to the team that in order to avoid total losses, some farmers were selling the sick animals or some which had died of the strange disease to butchers from Lusaka who in turn sold the meat in the city. Although they were aware of the dangers of consuming such meat, all they cared for was to make a bit of money out of their animals. B. SENSITISATION THROUGH RADIO
During the year under review, the Commission participated in Radio Christian Voice’s Chat Back programme every Wednesday from 09:00 to 11:00 hours. The issues discussed varied each week and the programmes were highly interactive and provoked a lot of debate. The topics debated included prevalence of human rights violations in Zambia; the death penalty; corporal punishment in schools and homes; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; role of the public in promotion and protection of human rights; the right to fair trial; and, the relationship between human rights and corruption. The Commission also participated in a Police and the Community programme on the same station. The programme was used to dispel assertions that the Commission was more concerned about the rights of suspects as opposed to those of the general public and the police.
37 C. ELECTIONS AND CONFLICT PREVENTION
In anticipation of general elections scheduled for 2011, the Commission led an initiative to form a stakeholders committee that would spearhead efforts to forestall political violence during elections. The Committee comprised the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZPC) and the Christian Council of Zambia (CCZ). Others were the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Zambia Centre for Inter Party Dialogue (ZCID), Zambia Police Service, the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and the Anti Voter Apathy Project (AVAP).
The Committee held two meetings at the Commission offices in Lusaka where the way forward was agreed. It was agreed that the Committee, under the leadership of the three Church mother bodies, would engage the main stakeholders, namely, the political parties, in dialogue to deal with the threat of political violence. To that effect, two meetings with all the major political parties were held at Pamodzi Hotel and another at the EFZ offices. All the parties agreed in principle with the initiative to proactively fight political violence.
Considering the fact that some bye elections had been severely marred by violence, it was decided that the starting point for these activities should be areas or constituencies where bye elections were due. In this regard, the Commission started with Luena in Western Province and Chifubu in Ndola, Copperbelt Province. Working together officers from the Community Safety Unit and Community Services Directorate ofthe Zambia Police Service, the following were undertaken:
• One day workshops on human rights
The workshops were held with a special focus on getting the participants to appreciate what human rights are; civil and political rights and their significance on elections; intolerance and how it can cause violent conflict; and the impact of violent conflict on the enjoyment of human rights. The Police also gave their dimension on violence; public order maintenance; and the role of police during elections. Office bearers of various positions in all the major parties were the participants on Day 1 while Day 2 was for members of market associations like Zambian National Marketeers Association (ZANAMA) and Cross Border Traders Association (CBTA). The rationale for selecting these two groups was that the former were directly involved in the making of decisions which sometimes led to violent conflict while the latter generally conducted their business at markets which were usually targeted by politicians for their activities or were themselves active members of political parties, who could exert some influence on political happenings including violence.
• Courtesy calls and meetings
Courtesy calls were undertaken to the provincial administration as well as Regional Police Commanders where the mission of the entourage was explained. In Mongu, there was a fruitful meeting with representatives of the Barotse Royal Establishment, who were grateful for the initiative and expressed their total disapproval of violence in the conduct of politics. They were led by no less than the Ngambela, who is the Litunga’s right hand man. During all courtesy calls and meetings, T-shirts with anti violence messages were given to those visited. Similarly, workshop participants also received T shirts.
• Radio programmes
Commission staff and police shared the platform to discuss the theme of the visits to Luena and Chifubu. After discussions, members of the public made calls and contributed, generally expressing their disapproval of violence and also pointing out how violence could be prevented. In Luena, the two Mongu based radio stations Radio Lyambai and Radio Oblate Liseli were used while in Chifubu the Kitwe based Radio Chengelo was used. An average of thirty spot advertisements with human rights and conflict prevention messages were also broadcast on each station in English and the local languages respectively.
• Community Theatre shows
Community theatre groups were hired to perform at markets and other vantage points in the constituencies. The messages transmitted through drama were the same as in the other media referred to above.
38 • Distribution of posters and fliers
Posters and fliers were distributed during the execution of all the above activities.
All these activities were later replicated in Kasama Central Constituency and Mpulungu, the latter being the subject of a bye election in October 2010. In a major campaign in the final quarter of the year, these activities were all undertaken on a major scale in Ndola, Kitwe, Chingola and Mpongwe. There were eight workshops conducted in all comprising same category of participants from the named towns as well as others from Luanshya, Mufulira, Chililabombwe, Kalulushi, Lufwanyama, Masaiti, Kasumbalesa and Chambishi. Radio programmes on Radio Chengelo, theatre performances and distribution of IEC materials were the components of the Copperbelt campaign.
Information Dissemination through IEC Materials; Martha Kyakilika a Human Rights Officer sticking a Conflict Prevention in Local Language Poster in Mpongwe District
39 Chapter RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY 4
During the period under review, the Commission conducted a number of activities in pursuit of its mandate to undertake a continuing programme of research.
A. 2009 ANNUAL STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS: THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING
During the period under review, the Commission produced its third in the series of annual state of human rights reports. The 2009 Annual State of Human Rights Report (ASHRR) theme was “The Right to Adequate Housing”. The report was a product of the Commission’s monitoring and reporting of observations on the application of the right to adequate housing in Zambia. It assessed the application of international, regional and national human rights standards relating to housing to Zambia’s existing legislation, government policies, frameworks and administrative practices.
Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, Mrs. Pixie Yangailo (right) with HRC Members of staff presenting the 2009 State of Human Rights Report to the Guest of Honour Hon. Mkondo Lungu, MP, at Lusaka Museum.
The UN right to adequate housing monitoring and assessment criteria which looks at legal security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; and, location was the criteria used in the report to have an understanding of the extent to which international
40 norms and standards of housing rights are observed in Zambia. The physical interactions and perspectives of members of the public that were reflected in the report were carried out and gathered through the administration of questionnaires and guided interviews in selected institutions. Perspectives were gathered from Lusaka, Kafue, Chongwe, Kaoma, Mongu, Senanga, Mazabuka, Livingstone, Kazungula, Ndola, Kitwe and Chingola.
Launch and Dissemination of the Report
The report was disseminated by the Commission through the holding of one day dissemination meetings in selected provincial capitals. The dissemination meetings were held with selected stakeholders working in sectors that affect the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing and land. These included representatives of city and municipal councils, the Ministry of Local Government and Housing and the Ministry of Lands, civil society organisations working in the area of housing and land, the Zambia Police Service, financial institutions, women’s organisations and organisations for persons with disabilities. The Commission also distributed the report together with poster messages on housing to the city and municipal councils, police stations and prisons in the areas that the Commission visited during the dissemination exercise.
The meetings were used to share the report findings and to discuss practical ways in which promotion, protection and enjoyment of the right to adequate housing and access to land can be enhanced for all persons in Zambia. The discussions also focused on the particular needs of vulnerable groups such as women, children, persons with disabilities and persons living with HIV and AIDS and improving the functions or roles of all stakeholders and duty bearers in the same regard.
Main Findings
The report’s main findings were:
Zambia’s current housing situation is influenced by its history and culture and the nature of the prevailing land use, i.e., the nature of houses and the nature of residential areas existing;
• Zambia has a housing policy which seeks to ensure provision of adequate and affordable housing to all income groups with 30% title deeds for land being reserved for women. The Ministry of Local Government and Housing is responsible for implementation of this policy;
• Under the National Housing Programme under the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP), 199 housing units have been constructed in several districts – 170 medium cost houses were constructed in Lusaka, Chilubi (7), Mambwe (7), Milenge (7), Mpulungu (7), Mufumbwe (8), Mungwi (3) and Nakonde (5);
• Zambia’s legal framework makes an attempt to ensure realisation of the right to adequate housing but however it does not significantly translate into any change in the housing situation and is not in reality very gender sensitive;
• Continued mushrooming of unplanned settlements and the vulnerabilities in security of tenure and habitability attribute problems in land administration and building standards enforcements lacks the impact of meeting minimum standards;
• Despite the security of tenure provided by the Rent Act, a large number of tenants suffered unregulated rental increases and forced evictions or the threat of them;
• Housing provisions relative to the populations is severely inadequate;
41 An Example of a Village House in rural Zambia Village An Example of a
42 • Councils are not performing to the expected levels resulting among others in persistence and prevalence of housing that does not comply with housing standards;
• Habitability in terms of crowding is modest but is not adequate in terms of site drainage as most settlements re unplanned and thus without amenities;
The report also established that the housing provision in Zambia constitutes a housing stock of approximately 1.3 million housing. Thirty-six percent of the housing units are in urban areas and 64% in rural areas. Of the total housing stock, 31% meets the minimum development and health standards and 69% is informal or non- compliant housing.
B. HIV/AIDS RESEARCH ON MANDATORY TESTING IN THE ARMED FORCES AND ON THE INTERVENTION OF PREVENTION OF MOTHER TO CHILD TRANSMISSION (PMTCT)
Zambia is severely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and has approximately 9,000 AIDS related deaths annually and an adult infection rate of 16.5% resulting in, among others, delayed or negated economic, social and human development. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has also impacted the enjoyment of social, economic and cultural rights by the people of Zambia - a principal concern raised by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on Zambia’s last State report of 2005.
The Commission notes that the Zambian Government has applied various interventions to try and tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its effects which include the provision of anti retroviral treatment (ART), a prevention of mother to child transmission programme (PMTCT) and several information, education and behavioural change campaigns The country also has in place a National HIV/AIDS Policy and Strategy from which a number of both public and private institutions have drafted institution specific policies and programs.
During the period under review, the Commission designed this research activity to evaluate selected interventions and activities relating to the rights to health, employment and privacy. The objectives of this research were:
• To establish whether or not, and to what extent mandatory HIV/AIDS testing was being applied:
- In key employment sectors as means for recruitment and during employment;
- By the various health institutions as a measure to protection and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS; and
- At the direction of the courts (during and/or as part of judicial proceedings);
• To identify the employment, health and judicial sectors applying mandatory HIV/AIDS testing.
• To determine the existence of legislative, policy and administrative frameworks and practices relating to HIV/AIDS and particularly to mandatory HIV/AIDS testing.
• To Assess whether or not the provisions and practices outlined in (iii) above conflict with international and regional human rights standards.
• To make recommendations to the government and specifically to the policy makers in the sectors under scrutiny herein on the rights relating to mandatory HIV/AIDS testing;
• To Compile and produce a report in reader friendly language; and
• To design and implement a Dissemination and Engagement Plan.
The research was conducted in the last half of the year and the Commission’s research teams visited Lusaka,
43 An Example of a House in an Informal Settlement Kuku compound Lusaka
44 Central, Eastern and Western Provinces. The research methods utilized to compile data for the report included the administration of questionnaires, the holding of focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders in the areas visited and review of literature on previous works on the subject matter. The focus group discussions were on the implementation of the PMTCT strategy by Government and the participants for the discussions were drawn from medical personnel, civil society groups and the district AIDS task force teams that had been put in place in the areas visited. The research team also used the focus group discussions as an opportunity to share the Commission’s mandate, its work and the link between HIV/AIDS and human rights.
The field visits were preceded by a meeting with the armed forces at which meeting the Director presented the concept note on the research and information on the Commission’s mandate, its work and the link between HIV/AIDS and human rights. Housing Site Drainage in Kuku - Lusaka
45 Housing Site Drainage in Msisi Compound Lusaka
46 Presidential Housing Initiative (PHI) in Lusaka an Example of single Unit Presidential
47 An Example of a House in an Informal Settlement - Chazanganga, Lusaka
48 Chapter 5 HUMAN RIGHTS FOR CHILDREN
The Office of the Commissioner for Children (OCC) is a section of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) whose general mandate is to monitor, promote and protect the rights of children in Zambia. The OCC’s mandate is pursued in line with the key functions of the HRC contained in the HRC Act. However, in order to effectively execute the mandate, the OCC works closely with other programme departments within the Commission and the provincial offices targeting children (below the age of 18 as rights holders), adults and the State (as duty bearers).
A. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: DESK STUDY – CHILD FRIENDLY VERSION During the period under review, the OCC developed a child friendly version of the Desk Study Report on the Implementation of the CRC – A case of Zambia. The OCC organized a one day meeting with 15 children from various schools to review the drafted simplified version of the report and make recommendations as to how the child friendly report should be presented. The child friendly report has since taken into account the recommendations from the children and is awaiting publication.
B. VISITATIONS TO SELECTED CHILD CARE FACILITIES
In 2010, the Commission visited a number of child care facilities in Lusaka and the Copperbelt Province. Working in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare under the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, the OCC carried out these visits for the purpose of inspecting the conditions under which children in need of care are kept and to make recommendations aimed at enhancing the wellbeing of children in such circumstances and ensuring that the set minimum standards of care were being adhered to.
A total of 842 children in 21 different child care facilities within Lusaka and three on the Copperbelt were visited. Table 2 below indicates the facilities visited.
Table 2: Child Care Facilities visited in 2010
Name of Child Care Facility Number of Children Lusaka 1. House of Moses 37 2. Vine Branch Children’s Home 16 3. Kids Alive International 11 4. Bill and Betty Bryant Children’s Home 25 5. House of Martha in Avondale 47 6. Kabwata Orphanage and Transit Centre in Kabwata 63 7. Kaza Children’s Home 18 8. Chilenge Transit Home 14 9. Matthew 25 15 10. Talumi Girls’ Shelter 9 11. Old McDonald’s Children Home 22 12. Fountain of Hope Association 19
49 13. Lazarus Project 28 14. City of Hope 42 15. Mtunzi Center 56 16. Kakabalika Child Foundation 40 17. SOS Children’s Village of Zambia Trust 180 18. Zambia Shanty Community Development Organisation 24
Total number of Children- Lusaka 666 Copperbelt 1. Child Life Touch Orphanage in Ndola 21 2. St Antony’s Children’s Village and 135 3. Buseko Children’s Home 20
Total number Children - Ndola 176
Total number of children for Lusaka and Copperbelt 842
Homes such as Kaza Children’s Home, Kids Alive International, Chilenje Transient Home and Talumi Girls’ Shelter were found to be operating below the minimum standards of care. The facilities either had far too many children for their capacity or were not appropriate for the kind of service they were providing to the children. The environment, especially for Chilenje Transient Home, was very untidy.
C. VISITATIONS TO CHILD CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
During the month of August 2010, the Commission conducted monitoring and follow-up visits to all the three child correctional facilities, namely, Insakwe Probation Hostel for Girls, Nakambala Training School (formerly Nakambala Approved School) and Katombora Reformatory School. The purpose of the visit was to follow-up on the recommendations made to the three facilities following the Commission’s findings during the 2009 monitoring visits. The Commission also wanted to ensure that the set standards of care for child offenders that pass through these facilities were being upheld.
D. MONITORING AND INSPECTION VISITS TO PRISONS AND POLICE DETENTION FACILITIES During the month of August, 2010, the Commission conducted monitoring and inspection visits of prison and police detention facilities in Eastern Province. This activity was undertaken through the Commission’s Chipata Office. The Commission also conducted follow-up monitoring visits to prisons and police detention facilities in Northern and North Western Provinces. This activity, unlike the general prisons monitoring visits, only focused on child offenders in the detention facilities and aimed at monitoring the extent to which the rights of child offenders were being upheld as they passed through the justice system. Details have been outlined in Chapter 2 of the report.
50 Electric Pots used to prepare meals for the boys at Katombora Reformatory School E. INVESTIGATIONS OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS VIOLATION (12 COMPLAINTS) The OCC, working closely with the Investigations and Legal Department, received a total of 12 complaints on violations of children’s rights during 2010. Nine of the complaints were submitted by adults on behalf of children while the remaining three were made by the affected children themselves. Table… below shows details. Table 3: Complaints lodged on behalf of or by Children
Type of complaint Action Taken by HRC Unfair treatment and violation of the Referred to the Legal Resources Foundation for Legal right to fair trial (Kabulonga Boys) assistance since the matter was already in court Violation of the right to education Referred to HRC Ndola Office (Father) Discrimination – right to education Investigated and resolved (Canicius High school ) Physical violence – right to protection Investigated, resolved and followed up from all forms of violence (Secondary Guardian) Violation of the principle of best interest Investigated and resolved of the child – Case of violence (abusive father demanding recovery of custody of the his child who was under foster care) Violation of the Right to education Investigated, resolved and followed up (guardian neglecting responsibility to provide school requirements) Neglect – best interest of the child (2 year Investigated and Resolved old suffered burns on the face following separation of parents Neglect – (Mother abandons children) Referred to the Department of Social Welfare – Child Welfare
51 Discrimination and psychological abuse Investigated and resolved – Related to the right to education (Libala High School) Neglect – Education (Father neglecting Referred to the Department of Social Welfare and the responsibility to provide school Child Protection Unit requirements) Right to education and discipline (Lusaka) Physical Abuse – Home (Father) Discontinued – during investigations it was established that the matter was being handled by Mtendere Victim Support Unit and that the matter was almost being resolved. The Commission later learnt that the matter had been resolved by the Officer in Charge instructing that the boy should leave with his grandparents for the time being for his protection while the father was counselled on his responsibilities to his child and his family as a whole. F. COMMEMORATION OF INTERNATIONAL DAYS RELEVANT TO CHILDREN
Day of the African Child and World Day against Child Labour
During the period under review, Day of the African Child and World Day against Child Labour were commemorated during the first and second weeks of July. Commemoration activities were conducted in Lusaka, Kasama, Mongu, Livingstone, Chipata and Ndola.
Activities in Lusaka were undertaken in collaboration with the Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS). The commemoration meetings, which targeted both children and adults (i.e., parents, teachers and pupils), were held at Chifwema Open Community School in Kafue, Chipata Open Community School in Lusaka’s Chipata Compound and Sekelela Open Community School in Lusaka West. A total of 250 children and 100 adults were sensitised and educated on the rights and responsibilities of both children and parents in line with the themes for the two days. The Commission also took advantage of such fora to educate the targeted groups on the general rights of children and the corresponding responsibilities such as the right to be protected from physical violence, including corporal punishment in all settings, child labour and alternative positive discipline. Sensitisation meetings were held in selected communities and schools. The Commission in Ndola and Mongu offices held meetings with children (educational talks on the rights of the child) focusing on the theme of the Day of the African Child which was “Budgeting for Children: a Collective Responsibility”. Using community theatre, Kasama and Chipata offices sensitised both children and adults on the rights of children focusing the theme of the World Day against Child Labour. Issues early marriages and other vices such as cattle and goat herding as they relate to child labour and the ultimate violation of the child’s right to education were highlighted. Livingstone held educational talks with children at Linda Basic School, St. Raphael’s School and Hillcrest High School focusing on children’s rights and corresponding responsibilities in general.
Universal Children’s Day
Working closely with the Children in Need Network (CHIN) and Media Network for Child Rights and Development, the Commission held a one day meeting for children with the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development at Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation in Kitwe to commemorate Universal Children’s Day which falls on 20 November.
At the meeting, children made presentations before the Permanent Secretary regarding the situation of children in the various settings. The children made recommendations in the area of education, health and social security and protection and called upon the Government to take steps aimed at addressing children’s concerns.
52 Mr. Teddy Mulonga (seated sixth from left), Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development, with children after the meeting on Universal Children’s Day at Mindolo Ecumenical Centre, Kitwe
The Commission compiled a document containing recommendations by the children and this document is being used as an advocacy tool during meetings with Members of Parliament for the various areas where the children were coming from. A total of 48 children attended the meeting in Kitwe. International Human Rights Day The Commission commemorated International Human Rights Day on 9 and 10 December. On Thursday 9 December, the Commission held a meeting at Fountain of Hope in response to a request by the Youth and Child Reign Association of Kamulanga High School in John Lang Compound, Lusaka. Children from Faith Baptist Community School for the Deaf in Matero coordinated by the Zambia Deaf Vision were also invited to be part of the meeting. The discussions at the meeting were in line with the theme “Speak up: Stop Discrimination”. Although the Commission targeted to meet 50 children, the response was overwhelming and a total of 150 children attended the meeting and were educated on their rights and responsibilities and also the principle of non-discrimination and the effects of discriminating against different groups of people.
G. 2008 PUBLIC HEARING REPORT AND HOLDING OF THE EXPERTS’ MEETING
During the period under review, the Commission finalised and published the 2008 Public Hearing Report on Violence against Children. A total of 2000 copies of the report were printed and disseminated to cooperating partners and key stakeholders in the child protection sector.
Following the publication of the report, the Commission held an experts’ meeting on 19 November, 2010, where the findings of the 2008 Public Hearing were discussed. Representatives of the various institutions were called upon to identify ways of individually and collectively scaling up activities aimed at curbing the problem of violence against children in all settings, especially the family or home. H. DEVELOPMENT AND AIRING JINGLES ON CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND THE OCC During the period under review, the Commission developed an infomercial aimed at increasing the visibility of the OCC as well as promoting both the rights and duties of the child. Due to limited funds the infomercial was aired on ZNBC for five days spread over three weeks in the month of September 2010. However, this activity was repeated in December 2010 and was to spill over into 2011.
53 The Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, Mrs. Pixie Yangailo (third from right) with some of the partners that attended the Experts’ Meeting at Court Yard Hotel, Lusaka.
I. COMMUNITY SENSITISATION THROUGH RADIO PROGRAMMES
In 2010, radio discussion programmes on various issues of children’s rights were aired on Radio Lyambai in Mongu and Radio Ichengelo in Kitwe. The first radio programme focused on sensitizing the public on the functions of the OCC. Other programmes focused on child protection- why is it important?; right of the child to protection - what does it entail?; child welfare and child justice; child economic exploitation and child labour; child alcohol and drug abuse; child sale, trafficking and abduction; child sexual exploitation and abuse and the rights of children with disabilities. These topics were identified based on the prevalent issues in the targeted communities. Another programme was conducted on ZNBC Radio 4 and it focused on the rights associated with children living with HIV/AIDS.
J. WESTERN PROVINCE PUBLIC HEARING
During the period under review, the Commission held a Public Hearing on Violence against Children and the Right to Education in Mongu, Western Province. The Commission invited submissions from both partner organisations and members of the community. The hearing was held over a period of two days and a total of 30 submissions were received. The purpose for holding the Public Hearing was to create a framework within which to evaluate the issues pertaining to violence against children as well as issues pertaining to the right to education in Western Province. The Public Hearing set out to explore the content of the child’s right to protection from all forms of violence and the child’s right to education and the context within which these rights were being implemented and enjoyed.
54 ANNEX
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68 13
69 70 71 Design & Layout: Oscar Chisenga 72 Human Rights Commission - Zambia