Civil society organisations from the countries surrounding Zimbabwe will be holding peaceful demonstrations in front of the Zimbabwean Embassies on 10 December 2004 to mark International Human Rights Day. The demonstrations, organised by the world advocacy organisations CIVICUS and Amnesty International (South Africa), are part of a series of civil actions aimed at putting an end to ongoing human rights violations and the closure of civic space in Zimbabwe. They will provide opportunities for civil society activists, Zimbabweans in the Diaspora and citizens of Africa to show solidarity towards their Zimbabwean citizens, according to a statement on Monday. According to CIVICUS, the peaceful marches serve also to lobby for the repeal and amendment of existing and planned repressive legislation in Zimbabwe, including the controversial NGO Bill.

Next year in February an even bigger event will be held - civil society organisations from the region will be organising a Zimbabwe Solidarity Rally (ZSR) on 14 February 2005. Thousands of people and organisations will march to the main border posts of Zimbabwe in the neighbouring countries of Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. The rally, originally planned for this Friday, 10 December 2004, was rescheduled due to the huge interest shown from civil society in the SADC region, needs additional time to plan the activities. Rescheduling the march will allow for a broader inclusion of civil society members and individuals, a greater impact and a stronger coalition in solidarity, CIVICUS said.