By Chinoyi Chipulu
Citizens First leader Harry Kalaba has expressed sadness over United Nations Human Rights Council ( UNHRC)’s decision to drop Zambia off the list of member countries.
But both the UN and the Zambian government have debunked the story Kalaba is quoting from Daily Nation Newspaper as factually incorrect as nothing of that sort has happened.
And Kalaba has warned that if Zambia under the administration of President Hakainde Hichilema does not change, it could face further sanctions from other international bodies.
After being elected to be part of the UNHRC Member States in 2022, Zambia had been blacklisted by UNHRC for failing to uphold human rights standards from 2022 to 2024 with fears that there were no signs of the record changing in 2025.
In a statement, Kalaba stated that the UN body’s decision confirmed that Zambia was teetering on the brink of becoming a pariah state in the eyes of the international community.
“It’s very sad that our country once known as a shining example of a budding democracy that respects human rights is now being relegated to the cesspool of a human rights abuser this ought to change for the better,” he stated.
Kalaba stated that the UN decision to sanction Zambia was informed by numerous reports coming out of the Southern African country regarding evidence of wanton abuse of human rights under the UPND government of Hakainde Hichilema.
“If Zambia under the administration of President Hichilema does not change, it could face further sanctions from other international bodies. Today it’s the UN rights body, tomorrow it may be SADC, EU, USA or some such and before we know it, we will stand isolated like political lepers,” he stated.
The opposition leader stated that the arbitrary arrests of citizens and prolonged illegal detentions beyond the stipulated legal requirement constituted one of the reasons Zambia was off the list of countries on the UN rights body now.
“Zambia’s fall from the UN grace is also buttressed by past condemnation from it’s own Human Rights Commission, the United States department and others,” he stated.
Kalaba stated that unknown to President Hichilema and his cronies, the deteriorating state of human rights in Zambia could negatively impact his re-election bid next year.
“We need to bring Zambia back to the top of the food chain regarding human rights and the fight against corruption and in my view that is only possible under CF,” stated Kalaba.
