WE SHOULD NOT SACRIFICE OUR NATIONAL VALUES AND PRINCIPLES
Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba wrote;
I have noted a statement from the USA Embassy in Zambia.
We have to be firm as a country.
We should not allow foreign values and pervesion masquerading as human rights to be forced on Zambia.
It is imperative that foreigners that wish to cooperate with us as development partners must respect our national values and principles, and must help us promote and foster our laws, norms, values, culture and traditions.
Even as Zambia is being identified and fronted as a poster boy of Africa by the West and will be rewarded with official high-level visits from such countries and will host international conferences promoting Democracy, it must never come at the expense or expedient of sacrificing the soul of the nation.
Yes, Zambia will fight Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (S&GBV). But like other programmes such as Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (S&RHR) and Comprehensive Sexuality Education( CSE), these programmes must never be used to integrate the Agenda of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,Trans and Queer (LGBTQ)+.
This remains offensive to our laws, norms, traditional, religious and cultural values.
Below is the statement from the USA Embassy
USA Embassy Condemns Government for charging and arresting four LGBTQ Activists
■…Regrettably, rather than protect and defend those who stepped forward and spoke out calling for safety from physical and emotional harm, Zambian authorities instead chose to punish those they did not agree with. Let us refocus on the core issue at hand: ending sexual and gender-based violence against all people….
On International Women’s Day, the United States Embassy stands in solidarity with women across Zambia and the world in insisting on equal opportunities, rights, and protections under the law and in action.
Despite progress in many spheres, over the past year, Zambia has seen a notable increase in reported cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Women and girls are overwhelmingly the victims of such violence and the effects can have life-long impacts.
As in prior years, women – and male allies – came forward this weekend to peacefully exercise their constitutionally-guaranteed rights of expression and assembly. Not everyone may have agreed with their language or the symbols which a small number of them carried; this is often the case in civil rights struggles led by people from diverse, marginalized communities.
Regrettably, rather than protect and defend those who stepped forward and spoke out calling for safety from physical and emotional harm, Zambian authorities instead chose to punish those they did not agree with. Let us refocus on the core issue at hand: ending sexual and gender-based violence against all people.
The United States stands with women everywhere in demanding bodily safety and security from physical and emotional harm for all people.
We call on Zambia’s leaders to take action against sexual and gender-based violence; to focus resources on preventing SGBV and holding perpetrators accountable; and to ensure all people realize the full and equal freedoms, rights, and protections they are guaranteed under the law.
