THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT |ZIMBABWE I 2017 Environmental Rights It is widely acknowledged that environmental rights have a direct impact on human life, human conditions and the quality thereof and that these are all inextricably intertwined. One such example is the effects of environmental damage on human lives and the various types of harms that can occur. Environmental damage can undermine human health immediately or increase the risk of future health problems. It can destroy a resource upon which humans rely for their livelihood and it can invade the privacy of their persons or their homes, or take away their property. These impacts, from the individual to the social, potentially violate rights protected by binding regional and international human rights treaties. Therefore, the recognition of environmental rights as human rights in the constitution is a crucial step of progress towards the human rights discourse because of the interconnection between environmental damage and human rights. Environmental rights which have always been based on the premise that human beings are entitled to a generally satisfactory environment has not yet received the support of a singular binding international agreement focusing primarily on environmental rights. However, it has found recognition in binding regional instruments such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) American convention on Human Rights (ACHR) and the Aarhus convention United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)’s Convention on Access to information, public participation in decision making and access to justice in environmental matters). International and regional human rights agreements and customary international law create obligations for the governments that are parties to them. Not only must governments refrain from violations of these rights but they also have a duty to prevent such violations from occurring within their borders (InterMinisterial Task-Force on alignment Legislation (IMT) Technical Committee, 2017). Uncollected refuse near businesses 41 The Environmental Management Act was promulgated in 2002 and was the product of several influences including the 1992 Rio Earth Summit conference whose focus was the state of the global environment and the relationship between economics, science and the environment in a political context.The conference concluded with the Earth Summit, at which leaders of 105 nations gathered to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development. All nations present accepted without change the Rio Declaration, a non-binding statement of broad principles for environmental policy (Rio Earth Summit 1992). Section 73 of the Constitution guarantees every person’s right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being and to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations. The Environmental Management Act (Chapter 20:27) provides for the sustainable management of natural resources and protection of the environment, the prevention of pollution and environmental degradation, the preparation of an environmental plan and other plans for the management and protection of the environment and the establishment of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA). The main perpetrators of violations against environmental rights for 2017 were the firms operating in the extractive industry through mineral exploration and mining activities. Mining companies linked to government have been cited as the main culprits, in violating environmental regulations because they insist on starting operation before fulfilling the requirements. They were followed by the local municipalities through failure to offer refuse collection services to residents and failure to protect wetlands. Among the local municipalities, City of Harare topped the list of perpetrators in 2017. Most residential places have become health hazards because of uncollected refuse.