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Zimbabwe:
Violations of the right to food
Amnesty International
October 15, 2004
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR460292004
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to Amnesty International audio interview with Zimbabwean shopkeeper
Policies and
practices of the Government of Zimbabwe are undermining peoples’
access to food, and violate Zimbabwe’s obligations under international
human rights law a new report released by Amnesty International
on the eve of World Food Day concluded.
The report, "Zimbabwe:
Power and Hunger, Violations of the Right to Food", examines
a number of government policies and how their implementation has
resulted in the violation of basic rights. These include the controversial
"fast track land reform programme", and the operations of the government-controlled
Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
"Implementation of the 'fast track land reform programme' has been
marred by violence, corruption and a blatant disregard for the rule
of law. Hundreds have lost their lives; tens of thousands have lost
their livelihoods and, with it, their ability to have access to
adequate food," Amnesty International said.
As a result of the way in which the land reform programme has been
implemented agriculture has been disrupted, fertile land has gone
unplanted and thousands of agricultural jobs have been lost. All
this at a time when poverty and food insecurity meant millions of
people in Zimbabwe were dependent on food aid.
"Land reform can be vital to realizing human rights, including the
right to food," Amnesty International’s report says. "However, any
program of land reform should not result in violations of human
rights."
The report also criticizes the government’s response to the food
crisis in Zimbabwe. The near-monopoly of the state-controlled Grain
Marketing Board (GMB) on trade in and distribution of maize - the
staple food for millions of people in Zimbabwe has been used by
the government to control food supplies and to manipulate food for
political purposes.
"The GMB distribution system has been used to discriminate against
supporters of the political opposition. In numerous cases only those
who can prove membership of ZANU-PF have been allowed to access
maize distributed by the GMB. During election campaigns voters’
access to food has been threatened unless they vote for ZANU-PF,"
says the report. "Farm workers have also been discriminated against
by the GMB distribution system, reportedly in an attempt to force
them to work for the newly resettled farms at low rates of pay."
Discrimination has also been a problem in the international food
aid programme. While donors have sought to prevent manipulation
of international food aid by the government and its supporters,
they have themselves been unwilling to provide food aid to newly
resettled farms in need, reportedly because they believe this would
legitimise the land reform process.
"By allowing political motives to interfere with the provision of
assistance to those in need, donors may also have undermined the
efforts of those humanitarian actors who distribute assistance without
discrimination, thus further denying the population of Zimbabwe
badly needed help," Amnesty International said.
There is mounting evidence that people in Zimbabwe continue to suffer
from hunger. Although the government has claimed that the 2004 harvest
was a "bumper crop", many independent monitors, including the UN
and local and international non-governmental organizations involved
in food security, dispute the government’s figures. However, the
government has insisted it does not need international food aid
and, since mid 2004, most food aid distribution in Zimbabwe has
ceased.
Amnesty International is concerned that the cessation of most international
food aid distribution is leaving millions of people dependent on
grain distributed via the GMB. It is unclear whether the GMB has
sufficient resources to meet needs.
The organization is further concerned about potential further violations
of the rights to adequate food and freedom from hunger in the context
of the 2005 elections, given the GMB’s history of discriminatory
distribution of grain it controls and the pattern of abuse of access
to food at times of elections over the past two years.
"The government must allow independent monitoring of the food security
situation in Zimbabwe and ensure transparency and accountability
in the operations of the GMB," says the report.
Amnesty International is calling on the Zimbabwe government, as
a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICSECR), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
(ACHPR) and other international treaties under which it is obliged
to uphold the right to food, to take immediate steps to fulfil its
obligations without discrimination of any kind.
The organization also calls on international donors to ensure that
both development and humanitarian aid policies are based on human
rights principles, including ensuring non-discrimination.
Public Document
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