Commissions Watch 4/2017
Human Rights Commission Report:
on 2014 Tsholotsho Flooding
22 June
In assessing the flood situation in Tsholotsho, the Commissioners were
guided by the constitutional, legislative and policy framework, as well as the
regional and international legal framework.
Constitutional provisions The report lists the following provisions of the
Constitution as being of importance: sections 71, 73, 75, 76, 77, 80, 81, 82
and 292. These basically enshrine fundamental and basic rights such as
property rights, environmental rights, and the rights to education, health
care, food and water, the rights of women, children, the elderly, and
security of tenure for occupiers of agricultural land, respectively.
Regional and international legal framework The report lists the following
instruments—
• African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of
Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the “Kampala Convention”) of
2009 – singling out Articles 4, 5, 6 and 9 [full text available on Veritas
website link]
• UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (1998) – particularly
Principles 5, 9, 16(3), 18, and 19(2) [full text available on Veritas
website link].
Key findings
The findings by the Commissioners revealed that the impact of the floods
differed from household to household. However, basically households were
affected in the following ways—
• some households were totally destroyed, as well as their crops that
were at tasselling stage.
•
some had temporary shelters.
•
some families were in the open with blankets only.
• some houses had big cracks that were in threat of total destruction in
future floods.
• some had houses that were not affected at all by the floods.
The report commends the State for averting loss of lives by availing
helicopters from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to rescue affected people
during the flood. Also commended are the different Government Ministries,
the District Civil Protection Unit, Civil Society Organisations, Faith Based
Organisations, private individuals and entities who assisted the affected
victims in various ways such as providing temporary shelter, blankets,
clothes and basic building materials.