THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT |ZIMBABWE I 2017 Civic Space and Human Rights which is just second to the worst case of ‘closed. The situation of human rights defenders in Zimbabwe was Policy Framework ‘under constant threat of prosecution’. There was no attention given to the development of a human rights policy for Zimbabwe. Calls by civil society and the international community to scrap POSA and AIPPA were ignored. Arrests of journalists continued closing space for information, assembly and expression. The following journalists were victims of police crackdown on the media – Obey Manayiti, Shepherd The state of civil society in Zimbabwe has been Tozvireva, Abigail Mutsikidze, Garikai Chaunza, Frank rated by international NGO, CIVICUS, as ‘repressed’ Chikowore, Wisdom Mudzingairi, Everson Mashava, Kholwani Nyathi among many others. “A healthy or open civic space implies that civil society and individuals are able to organize, participate and communicate without hindrance, and in doing so, influence the political and social structures around them.” These three fundamental freedoms—of association, assembly, and expression define the boundaries of civic space (CIVICUS). Specific Cases A major threat to constitutionalism and respect for the separation of powers principle was in July 2017 when the first Constitutional Amendment (Amendment No 1) was introduced to change section 180 of the Constitution and give the President power to appoint the Chief Justice, deputy Chief Justice and the Judge President of the High Court. This amendment severely undermines the independence of the judiciary. Victor Matemadanda, a leader of the war veterans, was charged with undermining the office of the president after he called for Mugabe’s resignation as president. Several journalists were arrested in violation of freedom of the media. These include Kenneth Nyangani who was arrested for reporting that the then First Lady Grace Mugabe had donated used underwear; Martha O’Donovan who was arrested and charged with attempts to subvert a constitutionally elected government after she retweeted a tweet allegedly assaulting the former president Robert Mugabe. Police raided the offices of Magamba Network and confiscated computers. The government established the short-lived Ministry of Cyber Security, Threat Detection and Mitigation to deal with what they called ‘threats from social media.’ Interventions by civil society • On 28 July 2017, the Media Institute of Southern • Civil society through the UPR carried out extensive advocacy for the government to stop the crackdown on civic space. • In March 2017, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) issued a statement at the UN Human Rights Council calling on the Zimbabwean Government to improve the situation of human rights defenders and align domestic laws with international human rights instruments and protections guaranteed in the Constitution. Africa (MISA, Zimbabwe) led a journalists’ march to the Harare Central Police Station protesting police assault on private media journalists. • ZLHR represented Evan Mawarire, Martha O’Donovan, and Victor Matemadanda. • On 15 November 2017, the Forum members met and issued a statement calling for return to constitutionalism following the military coup. 29