6 Zimbabwe’s international obligations to the people of Porta Farm The Committee is particularly concerned about the precarious situation of persons living in illegal structures or unauthorized housing... Persons should not be subjected to forced eviction unless this is done under conditions compatible with the Covenant. Concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Zimbabwe. 20/05/97. E/C.12/1/Add.12, 20 May 1997 The dire circumstances facing the people of Porta Farm have resulted from a cyclical failure on the part of the Zimbabwean government to respect, protect and fulfil human rights in accordance with their obligations under international human rights law. Even successful legal challenges at the domestic level have not been respected by the Zimbabwean government, leaving people with little hope of protection or for any future improvement in their situation. Operation Murambatsvina and the government’s subsequent treatment of vulnerable displaced persons must be located in the context of Zimbabwe’s prolonged and well-documented human rights crisis. The past five years have seen repeated attacks by the government on human rights and a systematic dismantling of the human rights protection framework; this has included politicisation of the police force, a disregard for the authority of the courts and impunity for state agents who perpetrate human rights violations. As a state party to a range of international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter), Zimbabwe is bound to uphold the rights guaranteed therein. The actions of the government of Zimbabwe in forcibly evicting thousands of persons from Porta Farm as part of Operation Murambatsvina violates a range of human rights, in particular the right to adequate housing (Article 11(1), ICESCR; 50 Article 14, African Charter51) and the right not to be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with one’s privacy, family and home (Article 17, ICCPR; Article 18, African Charter). The manner in which the forced evictions were carried out also violates the right to life and the right to physical and mental integrity (Articles 6, 7 & 9, ICCPR; Articles 4 & 5, African Charter) and the right to an effective remedy (Article 2(3), ICCPR; Article 7, African Charter). Subsequent forced displacement of those affected by forced evictions also violates the right to freedom of movement and choice of residence (Article 12, ICCPR; Article 12, African Charter). The government has also violated the right to an adequate standard of living (Article 11(1), ICESCR) by its failure to ensure even minimal essential levels of water, food, and housing of those who were internally displaced as a result of government action. In addition to general human rights law, the UN’s Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement are particularly relevant to the circumstances of those who are now displaced as a result of their forced eviction from Porta Farm. The Guiding Principles set out authoritative standards on the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs) - that is, those persons who have been forced or obliged to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, generalized violence, violations of human rights (such as forced evictions) or natural or other human-made disasters, but who have not crossed an international border.52 Moreover, the Guiding Principles reflect and are consistent with international human rights law and international humanitarian law. 50 Article 11(1) of the ICESCR states: "The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right …". 51 The African Charter protects the right to property specifically. The right to housing has been recognised by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in a decision concerning a complaint against the Federal Republic of Nigeria. See note 46, above. 52 Introduction, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.