Human rights lawyers in Zimbabwe may silently be praying that the present crisis in the country does not end because they will be out of jobs. A British Member of Parliament who was in Zimbabwe in March told the House of Commons last week that when he asked some human rights lawyers during a dinner what they would do for a living if the situation in Zimbabwe cleared up, they did not have a response.
“Last month (March), while the eyes of the world were focused on Libya and the middle east, I, the hon. Member for Vauxhall( Kate Hoey) and Lord Joffe, who was Nelson Mandela’s and Jacob Zuma’s lawyer during the apartheid years, spent three days in meetings with the Prime Minister (Morgan Tsvangirai), MDC and ZANU-PF MPs, human rights lawyers and members of Zimbabwe’s civil society,” the MP, Oliver Colvile, told the house.
“I should say that at one stage during a dinner with some of the human rights lawyers I asked what they would do for a living should the whole situation be cleared up, and they did not have too much of a response.”
Zimbabwe currently has one of the greatest concentrations of civic organisations involved in human rights and governance issues most of which are foreign donor funded. The Crisis in Zimbabwe coalition, for example, at one stage had 350 member organisations.
Colvile’s contribution in full.
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