XV Edition GIZ Law Journal

ZIMBABWE

ZIMBABWE

obviously did not go down well in a population that has been faced with economic hardship for so long. What followed was a three day stay-away to protest against the rising cost of living organized by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the use of violence on the side of the protesters (including road barricades and looting), an extremely forceful response by the state security apparatus and a 36 hour long Zimbabwean wide shutdown of all Internet connections on 15 and 16 January 2019. Among the human rights violations documented were killings, rape, beatings, unlawful and arbitrary arrests of demonstrators, including juveniles and Human Rights Defenders (HRD) or their close relatives, detention in undesignated places of detention such as military barracks and assault and torture of abducted persons before they were taken to the police for processing. Overall more than 1000 people were arrested. Withthesituationunfolding,humanrightsorganizations did their best to monitor and document the violations all over the country. Among those organizations was the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) which is one of the five independent commissions, established under Chapter 12 of the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe. Its mandate is to promote, protect and enforce human rights and fundamental freedoms in Zimbabwe. In addition, ZHRC fulfills the function of the ombudsman and therefore investigates cases of maladministration. Its efficiency and effectiveness are however hampered by a number of constraints: For example, ZHRC is not adequately funded, which is why it is dependent on additional financing by development partners. At the same time, the Secretariat of the ZHRC was set up with inadequate organizational, human and material resources. Despite these challenges ZHRC has over the past years earned a reputation as the key national institution for the promotion and enforcement of human rights and

administrative justice and is accredited with A-status by the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) since 2016. This is especially due to the persistence of the commission to investigate all human rights violations brought to its attention - also those where state agents are the perpetrators - and due to its well-researched and objective reports. The partnership between GIZ and ZHRC already started in 2014, but has intensified over the years considerably. Since 2017 the BMZ-funded project Strengthening Democracy and Citizen Participation has supported ZHRC in its institutional capacity development, whereby the capacity of ZHRC to process cases of human rights violations increased. The project, co-funded by the European Union, is furthermore supporting ZHRC’s core activities, e.g. complaints handling and investigations as well as monitoring and inspections. During the massive crackdown following the demonstrations, the ZHRC urged a powerful statement in which they declared that: “As the Commission, we are of the view that such heavy-handedness on the part of the security sector does not solve our national problems but only helps to create resentment and anger amongst the citizens which in turn breeds the violence that we are currently experiencing. Lastly, as Zimbabweans, let us all remember that this is our country together, and we must all work to ensure a Zimbabwean society where everyone enjoys their rights and where citizens can thrive and prosper whilst building a better country for future generations.” 60 This statement was later followed by a more comprehensive report 61 of the commission in which it stated that: “The findings reveal that in the aftermath of the 14th of January 2019 disturbances, armed and uniformed members of the Zimbabwe National Army and the Zimbabwe Republic Police instigated systematic

or suspend the registration of the PVO without any established criteria. It also prohibits PVOs from engaging in “political lobbying,” a vague term that could ban any work that overlaps with politics, opposes, or supports certain government policies, or is related to the 2023 elections. • In addition, the Constitutional Amendment No 2 was passed in 2021 giving the President the power to appoint the Auditor General and Judges of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts. This consolidates and solidifies his position and undermines the separation of powers, checks and balances, citizen participation, Parliamentary oversight, and independence of institutions. However, not all is bad: In September 2021, the Freedom of Information Act was passed which provides the opportunity for any citizen or organisation to request information from public offices and establishes a duty on every responsible person or holder of a statutory office to keep, organise, maintain information and disclose it when required. This act is a potentially powerful tool for civil society as it provides clarity on the duties of public entities to efficiently provide information to the public, as well as establishing timelines for response to information requests. In addition, the Cyber and Data Protection Act came into effect in December 2021 and contains progressive provisions that provide for the protection of personal data and privacy, place legal responsibilities on data controllers for the proper collection, processing, transmission, and storage of data, and establish the requirement for unequivocal, free and informed consent. Other progressive provisions relate to the prevention of cyber-bullying and harassment, and the criminalisation of child sexual abuse material, among others. However, the Act also contains provisions that are a potential threat to fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression. The law establishes a Cybersecurity and Monitoring of Interception of Communications Centre, which is to be housed in the Office of the President. This presents a legal basis for the government, and more so, the Executive to be monitoring and intercepting communications of targeted persons, who, believed reasonably or not to be enemies of the State. Additionally, the Act criminalises what is termed the transmission of data messages that incite violence or damage to property. This provision potentially results in self-censorship on digital activism in Zimbabwe. Subsequently, ordinary citizens in Zimbabwe cannot campaign, or demonstrate and petition online, in line with their constitutional rights, without running the risk of being charged with inciting violence.ng a difference – the role of human rights organizations in Zimbabwe” Kathleen Lindner & Katharina Guhr “With effect from midnight tonight, a fuel pump price of $3,11 per liters for diesel, and $3,31 per liters for petrol, will come into effect.” This announcement was made by the Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the night from 12 to 13 January 2019 just before taking off for a tour to several Eastern European countries. The statement basically led to a more than 200% increase of the fuel price in the country that has been suffering from a severe economic crisis for years. The announcement

60 http://www.zhrc.org.zw/zhrc-statement-on-the-deteriorating-socio-economic-and-security-situation-in-zimbabwe/ (10.04.2019). 61 http://www.zhrc.org.zw/download/zhrc-monitoring-report-in-the-aftermath-of-the-14-january-to-16-january-2019-stay-away-and-subsequent disturbances/ (09.04.2019).

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