government has increasingly turned to repressive and at times violent means to suppress criticism from the opposition and civil society. Some of the violations Human Rights Watch has documented include the excessive use of force by members of the army and police, reports of ill-treatment and torture by the police and other state-sponsored agents, disregard for the rule of law, restrictions on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, and discrimination in access to food aid. Human rights abuses continue to take place with impunity with few perpetrators being brought to justice.34 Police and other state-sponsored agents routinely attack and harass government critics including members of civil society organizations, human rights lawyers, journalists and trade unionists. At the same time, the police have used repressive laws such as the Public Order and Security Act to silence critical or dissenting voices within civil society.35 The government of Zimbabwe has a long history of circumventing and at times blatantly disregarding the rule of law, with state officials on occasion ignoring high court orders. The judiciary has been severely weakened and compromised, and in several instances, judges have reportedly been threatened, harassed or attacked by police and ruling party supporters.36 As a result, internationally agreed fair trial standards are not always guaranteed. The Implementation of Operation Murambatsvina (Clear the Filth) In the days and weeks after “Operation Murambatsvina” (Clear the Filth) was launched on May 19, 2005, police burnt, bulldozed and destroyed tens of thousands of properties around the country. The destructions resulted in the mass evictions of urban dwellers from housing structures and the closure of various informal sector businesses throughout the country. According to the United Nations, 700,000 people—nearly 6 percent of the total population—have been forcibly evicted from their homes, made homeless or lost their source of livelihood since May 19.37 The evictions and demolition See Human Rights Watch reports, “Under a Shadow: Civil and Political Rights in Zimbabwe,” June 2003; “The Politicization of Food in Zimbabwe,” October 2003; “Not a Level Playing Field: Zimbabwe’s Parliamentary Elections in 2005”, March 2005. 34 Human Rights Watch report, “Under a shadow: Civil and political rights in Zimbabwe,” June 2003; Amnesty International report, “Rights under siege,” May 2003. 35 Human Rights Watch reports, “Under a Shadow: Civil and Political Rights in Zimbabwe,” June 2003; “The Politicization of Food in Zimbabwe,” October 2003; “Not a Level Playing Field: Zimbabwe’s Parliamentary Elections in 2005, March 2005. 36 37 UN Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe, Report of the Fact-finding missions to assess the scope and impact of Operation Murambatsvina, July 22, 2005. 11