Zambia: Report submitted to the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

OMCT welcomes the fact that Zambia is also party to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights providing for individual complaint procedures. However, OMCT notes that Zambia has not accepted the competence of the Committee against Torture and the Committee against Racial Discrimination to receive individual cases, as specified under article 14 of the CERD and article 22 of the CAT.

OMCT further welcomes the fact that Zambia has ratified ILO Conventions No. 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, ILO Conventions No. 29 and 105 on the elimination of forced and compulsory labour, ILO Conventions No. 100 and 111 on the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, and ILO Convention No. 138 on the elimination of child labour.

Moreover, at the regional level, Zambia is also a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The Charter entered into force in 1986 and contains provisions regarding civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights. The Charter prohibits torture and other inhumane treatment (art. 5). The Charter does not introduce new economic, social and cultural rights, but it tends to insist on the right of peoples to development and to dispose of their wealth and natural resources. The African Charter does not expressly mention trade union rights or the right to an adequate standard of living.

As pointed out in the government report, international instruments ratified by Zambia are not self-executing at the domestic level and require enabling legislation to be enforceable, either through the regulations passed under existing legislation, or through the enactment of a new piece of legislation. Despite all these commitments, both at the international and regional levels, human rights continue to be violated in Zambia, including the right to be free from torture and ill treatment. Judicial, legal and administrative measures are necessary and fundamental to improve the situation in Zambia with regard to the occurrence of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. However, due to the socio-economic context prevalent throughout the country, OMCT believes that these measures will remain insufficient as long as this context, characterised by widespread poverty, economic hardship, socio-economic imbalances and violations of economic, social and cultural rights, is not addressed.

OMCT welcomes the first report of the Government of Zambia to the Committee against Torture (CAT/C/47Add.2), which gives a comprehensive account of the various laws and measures that have been enacted to combat torture, acknowledging its occurrence throughout the country and the related legal, judicial and administrative problems. In some parts of its report, the government refers indirectly to the socio-economic context with regard to the lack of financial resources and logistical support to the police, the bad condition of prison facilities due to lack of funds, and the inability of victims to bring their cases before the courts due to financial constraints.5 In this regard, OMCT notes that the lack of economic and financial resources cannot, under any circumstances, exempt a country from fulfilling its obligations under the CAT. However, OMCT believes that the relevance of the socio-economic context goes well beyond the situations mentioned in the State’s report. OMCT will therefore address this issue by focusing on the current socio-economic situation in Zambia and its impact on the occurrence of torture and ill treatment.