Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Among other major changes made by presidential decree to the Constitutional draft, was the reversal of the marriage rights accorded indirectly to homosexuals in the original draft. In all, 14 of the 44 amendments substantively altered the original draft Constitutional proposals. It was vaguely suggested, with no reference to the mechanisms by which this might be done, that changes wanted by the general public could also be accommodated, but this never happened. Some individual commissionersxxi urged specific interest groups as well as voters generally to endorse what they called the draft’s improvements on the much-amended Lancaster House constitution. But 10 commissioners publicly rejected these amendments as not having been approved by the CC itself. The heads of Christian churches expressed five reservations about the amended draft and wished these to be included in a further-amended draft before polling. These included outlawing homosexuality, euthanasia and abortion. None was included. Proposed Changes to the Existing Declaration of Rights The Government’s draft constitution proposed to bind all persons and State organs to uphold the ‘Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms’ set out in Chapter III. These sought to limit the application of the death penalty, exempting minors and pregnant women, but upheld it as a constitutional principle, together with corporal punishment of minors. (After the Draft had been published, corporal punishment was removed by Presidential action without consulting the Constitutional Commissioners.) The remaining clauses of Chapter III reworded and clarified without substantially changing the existing basic rights described in Chapter 2, but also added new rights: to dignity and reputation, language and cultural life, information, just administrative action, privacy and political rights (to vote and stand in elections). The right to establish and maintain independent educational institutions and a very limited number of children’s and parental rights were also addressed. A new protection was suggested against arbitrary eviction. Against the recognition of these rights, limitations upon them were also specified, both general and – in the Second Schedule - specifically under ‘emergency laws’ and conditions of ‘preventive detention’. In addition to the fundamental rights, the constitutional proposals envisaged unenforceable ‘directory’ rights covering most second and third generation social, economic and cultural rights as a matter of public policy and ‘national objectives’. These directory rights also included ‘good governance’ as a basic political right, and conditions of labour as civil rights. The special ‘rights’ recognised for vulnerable social groups (children, the elderly, and the disabled) were also ‘directory’ and not enforceable. They were not included under Chapter III: Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of the draft Constitutional proposals. All the rights which were classified as ‘directory’ shared one common feature: they would be expensive for the State to implement. But even the ‘fundamental’ Chapter III rights were carefully hedged. ‘Human beings and juristic persons are entitled to the rights and freedoms set out in this Chapter to the extent that those rights and freedoms can appropriately be extended to them’ (s34(3)). Proposed Changes to Existing Presidential Powers The 1999 draft constitution proposed to strengthen the power of the State President still further, in addition to continuing the existing presidential immunity from criminal and civil lawsuit, together with the incumbent’s existing unfettered powers of pardon for criminal offences; and allowing the 14