Arnold Tsunga
Encyclopedia
Arnold Tsunga is the Director of the Africa Regional Programme of the International Commission of Jurists
(ICJ). Before joining the ICJ, he was the Executive Director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) as well as the acting Executive Secretary of the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) and the National Chairperson of Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights). He served as a Humphrey Fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
at the University of Minnesota.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights is a human rights organization that provides legal representation to victims of human rights abuses and also defends human rights defenders who are arrested and detained in Zimbabwe. Tsunga has helped document human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and brought them to the attention of the international community. The ZLHR now plays a major role in defending against sustained attacks on the rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe and in the struggle against impunity in the Southern African region.
He is a trustee of Voice of the People (VOP), a communications trust was established in the year 2000 as an alternative voice for Zimbabweans and advocates for the opening up of the airwaves in Zimbabwe. He faced criminal charges of broadcasting on the radio without a license and went on trial on September 25, 2006, in Zimbabwe
. The judge dismissed the case after the government sought a continuance. The case is widely viewed as the many that the regime in Zimbabwe uses to intimidate human rights lawyers from doing their work.
In 2006, he was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders
and he was honered as a Human Rights Defender in 2006 by Human Rights Watch among many other awards.
International Commission of Jurists
The International Commission of Jurists is an international human rights non-governmental organization. The Commission itself is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists , including members of the senior judiciary in Australia, Canada, and South Africa and the former UN High Commissioner for Human...
(ICJ). Before joining the ICJ, he was the Executive Director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) as well as the acting Executive Secretary of the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) and the National Chairperson of Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights). He served as a Humphrey Fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs is a graduate public affairs school located at the University of Minnesota, ranking among the top 15 professional schools of public affairs at public universities in the country. It is named after Hubert H. Humphrey, former Vice President of the...
at the University of Minnesota.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights is a human rights organization that provides legal representation to victims of human rights abuses and also defends human rights defenders who are arrested and detained in Zimbabwe. Tsunga has helped document human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and brought them to the attention of the international community. The ZLHR now plays a major role in defending against sustained attacks on the rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe and in the struggle against impunity in the Southern African region.
He is a trustee of Voice of the People (VOP), a communications trust was established in the year 2000 as an alternative voice for Zimbabweans and advocates for the opening up of the airwaves in Zimbabwe. He faced criminal charges of broadcasting on the radio without a license and went on trial on September 25, 2006, in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. The judge dismissed the case after the government sought a continuance. The case is widely viewed as the many that the regime in Zimbabwe uses to intimidate human rights lawyers from doing their work.
In 2006, he was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders
Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders
The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, called also "the Nobel Prize for human rights", was created in 1993 to honour and protect individuals around the world who demonstrate exceptional courage in defending and promoting human rights...
and he was honered as a Human Rights Defender in 2006 by Human Rights Watch among many other awards.
External links
- Interview with Arnold Tsunga
- Martin Ennals Award
- http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/10/13/zimbab14385.htm
- International Commission of Jurists Press Release on Tsunga Trial
- International Commission of Jurists Press Release on appointment of Arnold Tsunga
- VOP http://www.vopradio.co.zw/about_us.htm