March 2002
Vol. 14, No. 1 (A)
ZIMBABWE
FAST TRACK LAND REFORM IN ZIMBABWE
I. SUMMARY................................................................................................................................................2
II. RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................................5
To the Zimbabwean Government:................................................................................................................5
To the International Community, including in particular the Southern African Development Community, the
Commonwealth, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States:.........................................5
III. BACKGROUND......................................................................................................................................6
Land Reform in the Twenty Years After Independence..................................................................................6
Fast Track Land Reform............................................................................................................................11
Problems Caused by a Disorderly Process ..................................................................................................14
IV. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS...........................................................................................................18
Violence and Intimidation in the Course of Land Occupations .....................................................................18
Assaults Against White Farm Owners.....................................................................................................19
Assaults Against Farm Workers .............................................................................................................19
Use of Farms as Bases to Harass Opposition Supporters ..........................................................................21
Police Failure to Protect Victims ................................................................................................................23
Discrimination in Land Allocation .............................................................................................................27
Gender Issues in Allocation of Land...........................................................................................................31
Displacement and Marginalization of Farm Workers...................................................................................32
Difficulties for Organizations Working in Rural Areas................................................................................35
V. INTERNATIONAL LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATIONS.....................................................36
Right to Property ......................................................................................................................................37
Right to Due Process of Law and Nondiscrimination...................................................................................37
VI. ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ................................................................................38
Britain......................................................................................................................................................38
European Union........................................................................................................................................39
United States ............................................................................................................................................39
Commonwealth ........................................................................................................................................39
United Nations..........................................................................................................................................40
The Organization of African Unity.............................................................................................................41
Southern African Development Community ...............................................................................................41
VII. CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................................................42
VIII. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.....................................................................................................................44