Amnesty International’s report is not maliciously targeting the ruling party

Rating Justification

The fact finding process has established as false the claim that Amnesty International is maliciously targeting the ruling party. The Amnesty international (AI) report didn’t target the ruling Patriotic Front party, but referred to the government and relevant entities. On its website, Amnesty International publicly shares information that shows that the organization works independently to promote human rights, ensuring that those in power keep their promises, respect international law and are held to account. Amnesty International says its mandate is to hold the government of the day accountable and not any opposition political party that may have incited any violations because the government has the sole responsibility of ensuring the wellbeing of every Zambian. The recommendations on page 8 of the AI report throughout the rest of the report makes reference to the government of Zambia and relevant authorities, not the ruling party. Speaking on Hot FM’s breakfast show via phone from Johannesburg, Deprose Muchena, the Organization Regional Director for Southern and Eastern Africa said whatever is contained in the report is a reflection of what transpired in the country in the last five years. Mr. Muchena said there was no attempt by the organization to depict a picture of anything that did not happen and said whoever wants to dispute the report should state if what the report highlights did not happen. This was further corroborated by Ms. Muleya Mwananyanda, the Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director who emphasized that Amnesty International’s “motives are always around human rights protection”, and that the body periodically releases reports on human rights in different countries. Furthermore, the article dated 4th June 2020 titled “Zambia: Presidential pardon of inmates a step in the right direction to prevent spread of COVID-19”, paints a more nuanced picture of AI as it in fact applauded the president and government efforts. This may further disqualifies the claim of Mr Kamba projecting AI as being biased. Lastly, contrary to the allegation that AI reports are aimed at painting the PF black in the eyes of electorates ahead of the general elections slated for August 12,2021, iVerify browsed through the AI website and has established that there is no particular order in which their reports are published, and articles are released throughout the year regardless of special occasions in the country.