A new report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union finds that worldwide, members of parliament in Africa and Asia are at greater risk of intimidation, imprisonment, and other abuse than in other regions.
IPU human rights program manager Rogier Huizenga said the three worst cases in Africa were Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Eritrea. They represent 21.5 percent of abuse cases on the continent.
The cases of 119 MPs were reviewed by the IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, with 73% of these from opposition parties. Of the 11 countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe, just three African countries accounted for 21.5% of the cases.
Of the 119 MPs cases, 36 of these come from the DR Congo, followed by 20 from Zambia and 11 from Eritrea.The most frequent violation reported is lack of fair trial.
‘In Zambia there are concerns about the use of the Public Order Act and the limitations that that brings along for the right to freedom of assembly,’ said Huizenga.
The report says members of parliament are subject to multiple abuses, including death, torture, threats, arbitrary arrest and detention. The Inter-Parliamentary Union says its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians is investigating the cases of 311 MPs from 41 countries – a 13 percent increase over 2013.
Source: VOA,The Guardian
All this compliments of the PF government.This is Sata’s legacy,the one Edgar Lungu will enthusiastically continue once voted in power.
Ndine mwana ********…….you are too educated to see the realities of grassroot politics. Can you please refine your questions in a layman`s language rather than sounding so educated, but understanding less of the realities of the current Zambian political and voter landscape
Please, don’t be deceived. Sata’s legacy is CONFUSION ; VIOLENCE; LAWLESSNESS. No amount of fast lying will change this.
@Zavee- Sober Up. Sata’s legacy is clearly not that. That is your opinion. Sata’s legacy clearly is that of resilience, that of starting something from scratch and seeing it succeed. Sata may not be a saint, we knew him all too well for a long period of time, but never dispell the hard work the ambition and the ideas he had for Zambia. Sata never only governed when he became President, he was Governor of Lusaka, Minister of Health among other things. Because of Sata, many politicians, as much as they will not admit, have come to believe that unseating the incumbent party is nolonger a myth.
Spot on @ Mulenga,
Only UPND and HH will save us from this embarrassment.
Viva Flight HH2015
I take that with a pinch of salt- depending on the criteria used, any country can top that list. In my opinion, where are Afghanistan, Iraq, Chicago (where the death toll is higher than in Iraq)? Zambian MPs are relatively safe and lead normal lives with minimal security!
DO not follow such reports, you are in Zambia, what do you see?
How many MP have died in Chicago? Absolute gibberish! Read before commenting.
What you see in Zambia? Rule of Law? Lawful interpretation of POA?
And how many MPs have been killed in Zambia? Sober up. This is a 2012 report. And you think there is no rule of law in Zambia? Are people looting and raping in Zambia? Get your head outta your mothers behind and start thinking like you have a cock!
I see exactly what is in the report. Excellent analysis
@Dark lord….
….apparently for this article, the comparison is restricted to Africa…why are you bringing in Iraq, Afghanistan etc read the article before commenting man…..
Only dangerous because of the deplorable state of our prisons. You have a very high chance of going to Jail on trumped up charges if you became a politician of some sort. No MP has been kidnapped or killed on the job yet but most are likely to go to jail. This is why Zambia needs a new government which will overhaul the entire civil service and the lousy Judicial system which is so incompetent to handle any major cases.
Go to South Africa or kenya. Ba lungu lets regulate research
These are unsubstantiated, unresearched, and therefore false reports, especially in the case of Zambia. If an MP assaults somebody there’s due process. Nobody is above the law.
You chaps must address yourselves to the sad situation in the USA where the African-Americans are being slaughtered day in day out by police.
It is better if instead they get slaughtered in Africa?
@Aleshaday- Still on that cunt-juice? Greet momma!
Even in Zambia people are being slaughtered by the police, C15 or whatever you call them.
@The dark Lord, to answer you, we see this abuse so much on the ground.
You too know this, african
I do not think it is so extreme as to rank Zambia to be a dangerous place to be MP. MPs in Zambia have minimum security to say the least. Where is Afghanistan or Iraq where cabinet ministers have been assassinated including the President’s brothers? And also, where is Zimbabwe where Joice Majuru is being harrassed, Tvangirai being beaten?
Look, to every report, the criteria must be clear. There are holes in this report.
@The Dark Lord:
I think part of the problem is the heading of the story. It is rather misleading. That said, I think the report (which I have not read, just relying on LT here) is more concerned with the numbers involved than with the issues or even the type of abuse. So you might have 10 MPs killed in Afghanistan and then you have 20 harassed in Zambia. Realistically speaking, Afghanistan would be more dangerous than Zambia, but because the report seems to be about numbers, Zambia would rank worse than Afghanistan.
Ultimately, I think LT has deliberately tweeked the Headline to suit their purposes. And that is bad journalism.
LT. Why write lies about Zambia ?? Ati most dangerous. Sensible people will start questioning your reporting. Its like you are saying Findeco house is one the tallest building in the world. Only your forks from the valley may think that way
Which Valley? You mean Luapula Valley?
Writte by Hamutonga.It’s not true
Viva EL
Sounds fake. Where do you leave countries like Somalia where MPs are killed and do fight in the house with chairs flying all over the place.
This report is all flawed. It gives no clear cases of actual abuse of MPs. If there has been any abuse at all, its that which the MPs have mooted through the kind of laws they have voted to enact in Parliament.To say its DANGEROUS is absolutely NOT true!!!! In fact, its easy,plain sailing and lucrative too. You actually, get paid to do very little such that the little abuse you suffer if any, cannot be compared with the benefits derived.
The report needs to be studied critically by th eauthorities. In certain cases, the politicians fail to solve a personal problem and instead resort to complaining using strong language. This can be ambiguous. It is is possible that the problems that are mentioned are serious issues. It is also possible that the issues are being amplified for political gain depending on which side of the political divide. It is not easy to accept that in Zambia national leaders are vicimized by government. Each case needs to be investigates and a report compiled to guide government action.
Sad that Zambia should even be a part of such a discussion. This is a result of a government that has portrayed a propensity to abuse power. To site just a few of the cases in which MPs have been harassed by government
-what happened during the run up to the Livingston by election
-GBM after he resigned from cabinet
However without looking at a full list of these cases it would be diffcult to determine the authenticity of this report. Some of these could be cases reported by members of previous regimes that where facing abuse of office and corruption charges.
Either way government has a responsibility to provide a secure environment where democracy can flourish. Intead you had Kabimba and his gangs busy harassing MPs. This is Satas legacy and vision that Lungu claims he wants to…
My Prayer to God: Dear Lord, as we vote on 20-1-15, may u give us wisdom to vote against the spirit of poverty, the spirit of lawlessness, the spirit of mediocrity in our country. May u give us wisdom to vote for someone who ‘ll reduce poverty, create jobs, create good environment for marketeers, someone who will help our economy grow so that our currency stabilizes, someone capable of turning around the declining and deteriorating economic fortunes of this country. Lord the majority of our voters vote with their hands and not with their brains as they were denied chances of going to Sch. On that day, may u vote for them as only you alone knows the candidate who means well for this great country. Do not give us a candidate chosen by Satan but give us one chosen by u. Say Amen with me.
Sad reading anyway, but the truth is the judicial system and too much interference from the head of state in Zambia. This is why we need a new constitution to curb some of the presidential powers so we give some autonomy to the judiciary and the police service especially.
Next news please…… We are hitching to vote for Lungu come 20 January 2015. Lets go Lungu …go go PH.
Peace and Prosperity to Mother Zambia.
The report is really useless and fake. Where do they leave Zimbabwe and Somalia. Useless report lacking evidence. Who can believe it?
Peace and Prosperity to Mother Zambia.
Dark lord is rattled that the world is aware his departed boss raping of Zambians. Sata and PF has shamed Zambia to be one of the worst countries in the world to be an MP (peoples representative). Sata was a dictator so is PF party. Sata managed to cheat Zambians but not the world. For that reason no world leader ever visited Zambia during his reign as president of Zambia. In the west (UK and America) was referred to as a sickly dictator in Africa.
IPU is right about Zambia’s ranking of its MPs.
We need to correct this shameful legacy and NEVER, NEVER ever dream of PF (pathetic failures and liars).
Lol. Clearly you are a joke. Go to Bloomberg and check the tribute they gave to Sata. Read the comments from the US and UK ambassadors, Obama when Sata died. Do not be deluded. Sata won elections, dictators do not accept election defeats, Sata accepted his defeats. And I understand you, you are an angry person, but facts are that Sata’s legacy cannot be tainted by you. Look, Sata was not a saint, we all know that.
And do not be a fool, the West do not spend time talking or coining Presidents of Zambia. Look, Mwanawasa’s death was not attended by Western leaders, so that is a bad example. Just like only a few heads of state attended the funerals of leaders like Ronald Reagan. Sober up and get some milk from Momma, it is 16 hours.
I like the Public Order Act. HH will uphold as well. Damn I forgot, HH can’t win.
EL has promised to continue the vision of “CONFUSION ; VIOLENCE; LAWLESSNESS”, election rigging, employing PF cadres, giving contracts to PF cadres, getting EuroBonds, Letting posting not pay tax, poaching useless opposition MPs, to pass PF driven constitution, wage freeze and employment freeze, firing of experienced nurses, Building new university in spite of poor and lack of accommodation at old institution, Mulungushi university students to continue paying despite being a government university, public order act to worsen, corruption at RTSA etc Bembas unite with Tongas for better governance. Look guy scott is mute because he was mistreated though is muzungu wopusa
Bembas unite with Tongas over this election ??? No no no not yet. After 2016 yes. THis is PF term period.
One party has managed to undo all the gains made in the past 50yrs.
FAKE REPORT LACKING BASIS ,REASONABLENESS ,ACCURANCY AND SUBSTANCE
WE READ THE SITE AND SEE NO STANDARDS IN THE RESEARCHY METHOD USED AND TO ARRIVE AT THE NUMBERS AND NO RECORDS OF RESEARCHED DATA AND POPULATION OF CASES OF VIOLENCE DOCUMENTED
IT SHOULD BE TRASHED TO THE BIN MPS ARE VERY FREE MOLECULES IN ZAMBIA AND EASILY MINGLE WITH THEIR CONSTITUENCIES WITHOUT ANY ISSUE
FAKE REPORT INDEED AND MUST CONDEMNED AS SUCH
EVEN THE PROTECTIVE UNITS ABOVE MUST BE LAUGHING OFF THIS NONSENSE OF A REPORT
WE KNOW THAT OTHER COUNTRIES ARE LEADING IN CASES OF HIJACKING,MURDER,ASSAULT,VERBAL AND DISCRIMINATION AND NOT ZAMBIA
So Zambia is number one in
-female drilling beer
-smoking weed
-now most dangerous for MPs?
I say BS