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Executive summary of shadow report to African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
Combined Zimbabwean civil society organisations
May 15, 2007

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Contents

Preface
Overview
Introduction
Background

Civil and Political Rights

Non-discrimination before the law and equal protection of the law
Respect for life and integrity of person
Respect for dignity and prohibition against exploitation, degradation and torture and inhuman punishment and treatment
Right to liberty and security of person
Right to have one's cause heard
Right to receive information and freedom of expression
Freedoms of association and assembly
Freedom of movement and residence

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Right to property
Right to work
Right to health
Right to education

Preface

The civic organisations that produced this report have done so under most unsatisfactory conditions. The Government of Zimbabwe did not circulate its state report to all relevant stakeholders in advance of tabling the report before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Such lack of consultation seriously undermines the effectiveness of the process of State party reporting as an evaluation exercise. It is noteworthy that State Party reporting is useful only if implemented by a State that has a genuine desire to take stock of its human rights performance and with a real intention to seek advice and support that would bring about practical change in respect of all areas of concern. The lack of active consultation by the government of Zimbabwe has led to the production of a report that selectively reports on issues, glosses over serious human rights concerns and lacks detail to support the claims that progress has been made. It is only pragmatic that a State that has limited capacity, both human and financial should actively engage other relevant stakeholders as it tries to gather information on the actual situation obtaining on the ground.

Overview

This shadow report clearly establishes that the Government of Zimbabwe has committed a series of abuses of the rights enshrined in the African Charter and has badly failed in its obligation under Article 1 of the African Charter to take legislative and other measures to give effect to the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter.

Over the period between 1996 to April 2006 the Government has passed a series of legislative measures that have drastically curtailed many of these rights and freedoms. This violates its obligations under the African Charter. The Government has criminalized dissent and protest by persons opposed to or critical of its policies. It has severely restricted freedom of speech and freedom of the media. It has made concerted efforts to compromise the independence of the judiciary. It has sought to transform the law enforcement agencies from professional, apolitical forces into forces that enforce the laws in a partisan fashion against the political opposition and brutally suppress anti-government protest. Under its so-called Youth Training Programme it has indoctrinated youths and encouraged these youths to attack opposition supporters. These youths have been used in many instances to carry out police duties in contravention of Zimbabwe's national laws and have performed these "duties" with excessive zeal. They have also been deployed with the police to forestall anti-government demonstrations.

The State of Zimbabwe has failed in its obligations to respect and protect the protected rights and state agents and supporters of the ruling party have perpetrated many serious human rights violations and the Government has done far too little to prevent these abuses or to bring the perpetrators to book. Indeed some members of the Government have made statements that have encouraged or justified such abuses and many of the perpetrators have been granted amnesty. Many of the victims of the human rights violations that have occurred since the year 2000 have been denied the right to an effective remedy.

Violations of economic social and cultural rights have been abundant. The forced evictions of the urban poor during 2005 caused enormous suffering, leaving an estimated 700 000 people without shelter or means of support. The calamitous economic decline that has been experienced in Zimbabwe has pushed ever growing numbers of Zimbabweans below the poverty datum line and has badly affected health delivery.

The human rights violations complained of in this report can not be justified on the need for land reform as claimed by the government of Zimbabwe. Equitable land redistribution in Zimbabwe was long overdue. However, the manner in which the Government carried out its fast-track land redistribution programme was unacceptable attended as it was by considerable violence. The exercise, noble as it was in principle, ended up in practice being a chaotic process with all sorts of criminal elements taking advantage of the program to enrich themselves. The chaotic land reform process resulted in a drastic drop in agricultural production and much of the best quality land found its way into the hands of high-ranking government officials, with some of the persons acquiring multiple farms. The manner in which the land reform program was implemented was incompatible with the human rights principle that those who are particularly vulnerable deserve special measures of protection and should be treated as priority.

Electoral processes in Zimbabwe have been fraught with irregularities and violence to an extent that would constitute a breach of the right to freely participate in the governance of one's country.

This report demonstrates that the African Commission should call upon the Government of Zimbabwe to take urgent measures to address properly all these issues and to put a stop to the widespread abuses of human rights that have been occurring.

Introduction

It is noted with regret that in its report the government of Zimbabwe has not met the guidelines set by the Commission on the drafting of state reports. In many respects the report reads like a compendium of Zimbabwean laws without any attempt to give information on the practical implementation and effects of these laws or whether the laws in themselves are sufficient to address the human rights issues under consideration. There is very little statistical information contained in its report. Its report consists mainly of generalised statements about the situation in Zimbabwe, some of which are very misleading. It fails to provide any in depth analysis of the situation on the ground regarding the enjoyment of the protected rights and says little about progress made by the state of Zimbabwe since the last periodic report was considered. As a result of the woeful inadequacy of the state report civil society organisations are only able to comment upon the aspects of the state report that are incomplete or misleading. The civic society organisations also provide a detailed overview of the state of human rights protection in Zimbabwe.

The state party of Zimbabwe has not presented a report in more than ten years, its last report having been submitted in 1996. The African Charter on Human and People' Rights (the Charter)'s requirement for periodic reports is every two years. Regular reporting is important as it allows regular dialogue between the African Commission on Human and People's Rights ("the Commission") and the state parties and allows the Commission to advise the state parties on the necessary legislative, policy and implementation changes needed for the state to comply with its international obligations. It further facilitates dialogue between the state and civil society. While acknowledging the effort made by the state party of Zimbabwe in submitting this report, it is important that there be strict and full compliance with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. In the ten years that Zimbabwe has not reported it at has accumulated five over due reports, during which period opportunity for constructive discussion on the human rights challenges facing the country were missed. The Commission should enjoin the State party of Zimbabwe to make effort to timeously produce its reports.

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