adminChiedza Matenga Features Writer
Living within the boundaries of set rules and laws separates humanity from animals and all other living organisms and as a result gives men dominance over everything created. To achieve this, a nation must be informed. This means that an informed nation stands at an advantage for its people will be equipped. Even the Bible has God noting that: “My people perish due to lack of knowledge.”
It is further stated that knowledge is power and as a matter of fact without knowledge a nation dies.
As such people and institutions all over the world continue to seek more knowledge in their environment and their political, economical and social living so as to achieve better understanding.
Zimbabwe continues to set the pace in enlightening its citizens.
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as applied in Zimbabwe could not be left out in this philosophy leading to the launch of the first-ever translated version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into local languages – Shona and Ndebele.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is one of the most important international instruments for upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in national constitutions, Bills of Rights and municipal laws.
In this landmark development, the UN seeks to bring the awareness of the majority of humankind to their entitlement to these rights and freedoms through ensuring that the document is translated into languages best understood by everyone.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights came into effect on December 10, 1948, and the new Constitution of Zimbabwe has a comprehensive Bill or Declaration of Rights under Chapter 4, which domesticates almost all the provisions of the charter.
Unfortunately, the law has been in English making it inaccessible to the majority of Zimbabweans. It is therefore good that the rights have been translated into Shona and Ndebele, by far the widely spoken languages in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe became the first African country to translate the Universal Declaration into its two major vernacular languages recently.
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission chairperson Mr Elasto Mugwadi said the Universal Declaration was one of the most important foundational international instruments for promoting respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms which are enshrined in various national constitutions, bills of rights and municipal laws.
He said the document would equip people who use the two languages to know more about their fundamental rights.
“Today’s event therefore is an important landmark in the development of fundamental human rights awareness as henceforth, Ndebele- and Shona-speaking people in this country will be acquainted with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights couched in their mother tongue,” he said.
Mr Mugwadi added: “Our people will equally understand that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights document is an important “Bill of Rights” that includes the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).”
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission has a role to protect and educate the people on documents such the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
UN Resident Co-ordinator in Zimbabwe Mr Bishow Parajuli said as Zimbabwe was a proud member of the UN General Assembly, they were ensuring the effective recognition and understanding of the rights enshrined in the Declaration among the peoples of Zimbabwe in their own languages.
“We have only managed to translate the Declaration into two Zimbabwean languages while the Constitution of Zimbabwe recognises 16 languages.
“Together, we will surely get there where our Zimbabwean children and youth will have the opportunity to read the articles of the Declaration in their own mother tongue and apply them in their lives and for the benefit of their communities,” he said.
Zimbabwe has not only shown its participation in the human rights but has also been progressive with its rights-based Constitution and has since been progressing in other key aspects in conjunction with the UN.
“Zimbabwe’s participation for the first time in the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights, were it accepted and has since been working to implement 130 recommendations made through the UN Human Rights Council is another key milestone,” Mr Parajuli said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs principal administration officer Mr Francis Munhundiripo said that the relationship between Zimbabwe and the UN was growing stronger and the translation was truly an achievement.
“We look forward to the collaboration between Zimbabwe and UN. Human Rights come as a matter of human instinct but it is rarely understood,” he said
He acknowledged that Zimbabweans had rights with even the dead enjoying rights to a decent burial.
“All human beings are equal. People are able to speak on how they are being treated according to the human rights document which they would have read and properly understood,” Mr Munhundiripo said.
The preamble clearly states that the General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of member states themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10 1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War.
With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like those that characterised the conflict happen again. World leaders decided to complement the UN Charter with a roadmap to guarantee the rights of every individual everywhere.
The document they considered, and which would later become the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was taken up at the first session of the General Assembly in 1946.
The first draft of the Declaration was proposed in September 1948 with over 50 member states participating in the final drafting. By its resolution 217 A (iii) of December 10 1948, the General Assembly, meeting in Paris, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with eight nations abstaining from the vote but none dissenting.
As we are celebrate President Mugabe’s assumption of the chairmanships of both the Southern African Development Community and the African Union, we do not stop there but we actually need to go on to uphold the country’s pride.
This is one why we have again shown the world that we a proud nation, being first country that has translated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into vernacular languages.
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