RAPAPORT… United Nations’ human rights commissioner Navanethem Pillay will conduct a field visit to the Marange diamond fields during her upcoming visit to Zimbabwe.
During her Zimbabwe visit, which will begin on May 20, Pillay will meet President Robert Mugabe, prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the ministers of foreign affairs, justice and legal affairs, as well as the chief justice, the speaker of Parliament, the president of senate and the thematic committee of human rights, Times Live reported. She will also meet with the Zimbabwe human rights commission and members of civil society.
In October 2011, Zimbabwe came under scrutiny at the UN Human Rights Council’s periodic review in Geneva when it presented a report on the country’s human rights situation. Zimbabwe was further chastised regarding its human rights record during the UN periodic review in March.
Pillay’s visit is expected to draw attention to the Marange diamond fields where human rights abuses have allegedly been committed despite government denials. Zimbabwe has a history of human rights abuses from the Gukurahundi massacres in the 1980s and well up to the 2008 election-related killings among other well documented violence.