and outraged with the excessive use of force by the police in dealing with vendors. Running battles involving the police, municipal police and vendors and the indiscriminate assaulting of citizens by the police is now the order of the day, particularly in Harare’s CBD. Honourable Chairperson, as I am presenting this statement, Zimbabwe is currently battling a cholera outbreak, a preventable, treatable and manageable disease that has so far claimed approximately 54 lives and infected 8 831 people as of 07 October 2018.4 What is more worrisome is that the main cause of the outbreak is a poor and old sanitary system in the country, lack of access to clean, safe and portable water. This is a clear demonstration of the government’s lack of commitment to provide basic rights and services. The Constitution places an obligation on the State to guarantee the rights of persons to a clean environment (Sec.73), the right to health care (Sec.76) and the right to safe, clean and portable water (Sec.77 (a). These rights are also safeguarded in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Zimbabwe is a party. We urge the government to fund the health sector in line with the Abuja Declaration that stipulates that at least 15% of the national budget should go to public health care funding. The current set-up where healthcare funding is inadequate has resulted in an overreliance on out-of-pocket and external financing which are highly unsustainable and deplorable, to say the least. It leaves Public Health institutions at the mercy of well-wishers. The Ministry of Finance has to beg for donations to contain preventable diseases such as cholera, going as far as calling for crowd funding among the already impoverished populace. Honorable Chairperson, we remain concerned by the violation of civil and political rights taking place with no sign of abating. From the last session, we documented a total of 1212 cases related to civil and political rights of these, 20 were of torture, 21 were of abduction5 145 were of assault, 656 were of harassment and intimidation6 15 were of violation of freedom of expression and of the media 7 , amongst other violations. Fundamental rights of freedoms of expression, assembly and association, the right to demonstrate and petition continue to be violated by the government which has maintained repressive legislation on her statute books in spite of calls by CSOs to realign all domestic laws with the Constitution. Honourable Chairperson, we note with concern, the State’s non- compliance with gender equality and equal representation as provided for by sections 17 and 56 of the Constitution. In spite of signing and ratifying regional and international conventions that advance gender equality and women’s rights, Zimbabwe continues to lag behind in implementing the 50% quota system to ensure upholding gender balance. Women’s representation in key decision-making institutions such as parliament, local 4 The Government of Zimbabwe, Cholera Situation Report as of 07 October 2018 5 The Zimbabwe Human rights NGO Forum statistics 6 Statistics from ZPP 7 Statistics from MISA-Zimbabwe