ZimRightss Statement on the Community Human Rights Defenders Award. On the 18th of December 2014 ZIMRIGHTS held its 3rd edition of the Community Human Rights defenders Awards Night. The Awards were in two parts; those that involved skilled and specialized adjudication teams such as those in the media, arts, women, youths and people with disabilities and the ones that involved the Zimbabwean population at large through online voting system independently managed. The most prestigious award of the night in our view and design was the award of Overall Human Rights Defender of the Year which was awarded to Rebecca Chisamba whose credentials in that field are impeccable and without doubt .She has run a show over the years The Mai Chisamba Show which has made her a household name .2014 was outstanding as she hosted shows that dealt with socio-economic, political, environment and cultural rights. In the same vein a number of people and organizations won various awards in keeping with the set selection criteria. A list of the nominees with highlighted winners is posted our website. zimrights.co.zw The awards have gone on without incident and the hard work put in by these people and organizations has however been overshadowed by the people’s choice award. It is important to note that The People ‘s Choice award is not a human rights defender award. It is an award that is linked to the raising of pertinent developmental issues in the nation using platforms that one has access to. The nominees were selected by the people in all ZimRights’ eleven provinces and voted for by the people and when the votes were tallied Honourable Chinotimba emerged as the winner. This process was independent and transparent and the online voting platform was open to every Zimbabwean. ZimRights as an organization is fully cognizant that some of the nominees have a past which has created discomfort among our key constituencies. The past relates to issues of impunity and alleged human rights violations which as an organization we have also at some point recorded and raised. We therefore state that notwithstanding the outcome, when a selection criteria has been set we cannot deviate from it because we do not agree with the result. We however believe that we all at some point must account for our actions through the appropriate fora. We also take this result as a challenge and a lesson to us and to all for increased education on human rights and voting. ZimRights remains committed to dealing with human rights issues and we will continue to raise them without fear or favor. We at ZIMRIGHTS wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Celebrating Community Courage. We thank you all for your concern and support .
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 17:57:22 +0000
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