Global Policy Forum

By Andrew Meldrum

The UN has refused to arrest a Zimbabwean police officer accused of torture who is currently working for it in Kosovo as a member of an international training team.

The UN was informed in early June that the alleged torturer, Detective Inspector Henry Dowa, was working for it in Prizren, Kosovo, but it declined to take any action, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. Zimbabwean police thought to have done a good job by the country's government are often seconded to UN peacekeeping missions, where conditions are comparatively good and they are paid in dollars.

Mr Dowa has been named by several Zimbabwean torture victims as having directed and carried out beatings with fists, boots and pickaxe handles, and as having administered electric shocks to the point of convulsions, at Harare central police station throughout 2002 and in early 2003. The charges have been backed up by medical examinations which confirm injuries consistent with torture.

Redress, an organisation that seeks reparation for torture survivors, had urged the UN to detain Mr Dowa until he could stand trial under international law. But the top UN official in Kosovo refused.

"We acknowledge the gravity of the allegations made about the officer," wrote Michael Steiner, the UN's special representative in Kosovo, to Redress. "We have with regret concluded that the United Nations interim mission in Kosovo cannot pursue criminal prosecution of the officer in Kosovo on the allegations you properly brought to our attention. We have to dedicate our scarce resources to pressing and serious cases in Kosovo.

Calling the UN decision "unacceptable", the executive director of Redress, Frances D'Souza, has appealed to the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, to have the accused officer arrested and tried.

The controversy highlights the concern of human rights groups that the UN is not properly vetting police and troops seconded to it. "We question why the UN is accepting secondments from Zimbabwe, where it is well documented that torture is endemic," Dr D'Souza said.

Mr Dowa is a well-known figure in Harare where, wearing a traditional fringed hat made of tree bark, he has been seen commanding police when they inflicted inappropriate force on peaceful Zimbabweans.

Lawyers working for Redress said the UN had a legal obligation to arrest Mr Dowa, as it was extremely unlikely that he would face charges laid by the Mugabe government when he returned to Zimbabwe. According to sworn testimony from victims, the torturers said they had been granted special powers by President Mugabe, and they would never be charged.

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