Zimbabwe: UN rights chief concerned by reports more than 100 demonstrators arrested

The top United Nations human rights official today voiced his concern over reports that more than 100 trade unionists and civil leaders in Zimbabwe have been arrested this week during a protest demonstration in the capital Harare.

In a statement issued in Geneva, the Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, appealed to the Zimbabwean authorities "to take all necessary measures to guarantee the rights of the detained persons and to secure their right to freedom of opinion and expression in accordance with the fundamental principles as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reiterated in the international human rights norms and instruments."

Last month, three UN rights experts also expressed concern regarding the arrest of more than 40 trade unionists during a national protest demonstration.