Commissions Watch 4/2017 Human Rights Commission Report: on 2014 Tsholotsho Flooding 22 June COMMISSIONS WATCH 4/2017 ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION [22nd June 2017] Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission: A Report on Communities Displaced by Floods This bulletin is a summary of a report by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission [hereafter referred to as “the Commission” or “ZHRC”] recording its assessment of the human rights situation of communities in the Tsholotsho district affected by the floods experienced in the 2013/2014 rainy season. The report considered the actions of the entities sharing disaster management responsibilities in the context of the floods and made “recommendations designed to enhance the safety and well-being of the affected communities in future” [See the full text of the report on the Veritas website link.] Although the report was produced over two years ago, we believe it is important to once again draw attention to its existence, for the following reasons— • Its recommendations for the enactment of appropriate legislation have not been implemented by Government [see further below]. • In February this year the Tsholotsho district was once again severely affected by flooding of low-lying areas in the wake of Cyclone Dineo, resulting in over 850 people being displaced and much loss of property, crops and livestock. Other areas, too, were affected. • The recent commissioning of the Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam in Masvingo Province served as a reminder of the displacement of 2 700 families living both upstream and downstream of the dam site in February 2014 as a result of flooding. That situation was the subject of another Human Rights Commission report [link] outlining the State’s responsibilities for displaced persons under the Constitution and international law [see summary in Veritas’ Commissions Watch 2/2017 link]. The recommendations in this report have not been implemented. More than three years after the disaster, many of its victims are still in the temporary Chingwizi Relocation Site awaiting permanent relocation. This is a national disgrace. Background to the Report The Commission, in line with its mandate of promoting, protecting and enforcing human rights, conducted an investigative report on the situation in Tsholotsho which is in Matabeleland North Province. The district was affected by floods during the 2013/2014 rainy season which resulted in

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