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The impact of Zimbabwe's mass forced evictions on the right to education
Amnesty International
October 04, 2011

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Introductions

Forced evictions are a human rights violation. They leave people more vulnerable to other human rights violations and frequently, drive poor and other disadvantaged people deeper into poverty. This report looks at the impact of the government of Zimbabwe's 2005 programme of mass forced evictions, known as Operation Murambatsvina, on the right to education. For most affected households Operation Murambatsvina resulted in violations of a wide range of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to education. Thousands of children and young people lost their access to education because they were forced to move away from their schools, while increased poverty among those affected, as a result of destruction of sources of livelihoods during the forced evictions, led to long-term inability to afford education.

The right to education is recognised under international human rights law. The United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights notes that education has a vital role in the promotion of human rights and is a primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities. Realizing the right to education can also reduce the individual's vulnerability to human rights violations such as child labour, discrimination, and helps to address social phenomena, such as early marriage, that can undermine human rights. Realizing the right to education also contributes to the realization of other human rights, including the right to health and the right to participate in public affairs.

Zimbabwe is obliged under a range of international human rights treaties including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the right to education. Under Article 13 of the ICESCR the government of Zimbabwe is obliged to ensure that primary education is compulsory and available to all, and to guarantee that the right will be exercised without discrimination of any kind. The government is also obliged to take steps to make secondary and higher education generally available and accessible. Violations of the right to education may occur through the direct action of States parties or through their failure to take steps required by the treaty.

Before Operation Murambatsvina Zimbabwe had not met the obligation to ensure that primary education was free, compulsory and available to all children. However, the country had made significant progress towards making education more accessible for the majority of the population. The positive steps taken by the government, following independence in 1980, had made Zimbabwe's education system one of the most developed systems in Africa.

Operation Murambatsvina inflicted a severe blow to the right to education for the affected population who were already amongst the poorest and most disadvantaged in Zimbabwe. The education of thousands of children was immediately disrupted as they were forced out of school due to the forced evictions, which in some instances included the demolition of school buildings. The government failure to provide alternatives resulted in many children staying out of school for prolonged periods or completely dropping out. For the effected children the disruption to their education and the government's ongoing failure to provide effective remedies constitute a violation of the right to education.

Amnesty International calls on the government of the Zimbabwe to take urgent measures to ensure that thousands of children living in Operation Garikai settlements and others affected by the mass forced evictions have access to education as required under the ICESCR (Articles 13 and 14) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Article 17) to which Zimbabwe is a state party. In line with its human rights obligations and commitments, the government should proactively ensure that thousands of children and young people living in Operation Garikai settlements benefit from national programmes that support access to education for disadvantaged individuals. No child affected by Operation Murambatsvina should be excluded from primary school because of inability to pay fees or other costs. The government should immediately review the situation of informal schools set up by communities at Hopley and Hatcliffe Extension and establish and maintain a transparent and effective system to monitor the implementation of the educational objectives set out in Article 13 of the ICESCR and Article 11 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, with the aim of ensuring that these schools are registered and receive government support to improve the quality of education.

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