Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe
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- Date recorded
- May 31, 2002
- Category
- Displacements
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
This report considers the human rights implications of the so-called fast track process of land redistribution in Zimbabwe, under which the government has revised the constitution and amended legislation in order to allow it to acquire commercial farms compulsorily and without compensation, and the land occupations that have accompanied it since early 2000.
Human Rights July 2019 Newsletter
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- Date recorded
- Jul 31, 2019
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The newsletter talks about the human rights developments in the country and keeps people informed on how "The Forum" worked for the realization and enjoyment of the rights of Zimbabwean people in the month of July.
Lancaster House Agreement
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- Date recorded
- Jan 1, 1980
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The Lancaster House Agreement was a political consensus which brought the independence of Zimbabwe from Rhodesian rule. The agreement came into being after a series of negotiations between the nationalist parties and the Rhodesian Front between September and December 1979. The Agreement was facilitated by the British and the American governments to bring to an end the 14 year war in Rhodesia between the Rhodesians and the guerrilla movements.
ZESN August Issue 2016
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- Date recorded
- Aug 31, 2016
- Category
- 2008 & Beyond
- Elections
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
New Amendments to the electoral Act falls short of expectations.
ZPP MMR January 2017
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- Date recorded
- Jan 31, 2017
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Trauma
- Summary
The month of January recorded many violations which were politically motivated. Most of the reported cases were harassment and intimidation of opposition political activists. Other prominent cases were those of deprivation of state sponsored food aid and inputs for farming.
ZPP MMR June 2017
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- Date recorded
- Jun 30, 2017
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
A season of Rallies: Dominant human rights violations recorded during June 2017 revolve around preparations for the presidential youth interface rallies, Heroes Day commemorations, the upcoming Chiwundura by-election, continued barring of students from attending classes, harassment of vendors and discrimination during food aid distribution.
ZPP MMR September 2016
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- Date recorded
- Sep 30, 2016
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
Social and citizen movements continue to gather momentum although in the month under review their activities have been restricted by the ban on protests affecting Harare. The social movements and unions like #Tajamuka, #ThisFlag, #ThisGown, National Vendors Union of Zimbabwe (NAVUZ), Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (RTUZ) and have been recently joined by the National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA), a coalition of 18 political parties.
ZPP Sept 2015 MMR
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- Date recorded
- Sep 30, 2015
- Category
- 2008 & Beyond
- Politics & Governance
- Trauma
- Summary
The report stresses how the political environment continues to be stressed with various coercion phenomena manifesting around several sticky issues thus support or starve.
‘OPEN FOR BUSINESS’, CLOSED FOR DISSENT CRACKDOWN IN ZIMBABWE DURING THE NATIONAL STAY-AWAY 14-16 JANUARY 2019
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- Date recorded
- Jan 16, 2019
- Category
- 2008 & Beyond
- Politics & Governance
- Riots
- Summary
This briefing analyses events and the context, and documents key human rights concerns in months prior to, during and following the national stay-away protests which started on 14 January 2019 and ended on 16 January 2019. The findings are based on interviews with witnesses, victims, victims’ families, human rights defenders and activists, journalists, lawyers and Zimbabwean non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as desk-based research.
“A Woman’s Place is in the Home?” – Gender Based Violence and Opposition Politics in Zimbabwe.
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2006
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Women
- Summary
This report, examining the violent and turbulent years between 2000 and 2006, shows that Zimbabwe has been no exception in this regard.
“Bullets for Each of You” State-Sponsored Violence since Zimbabwe’s March 29 Elections
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- Date recorded
- Jun 30, 2008
- Category
- 2008 & Beyond
- Elections
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
This report, based on investigations in Zimbabwe, describes the scale of the abuses and identifies those responsible—officials from ZANU-PF, often working through proxy forces of so-called war veterans and youth militia, backed by members of the armed forces and police. Local institutions have identified at least 2,000 beatings and cases of torture.
“Clear the Filth” : Mass Evictions and Demolitions in Zimbabwe
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- Date recorded
- Sep 11, 2005
- Category
- Displacements
- Murambatsvina
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
This report tells the stories of the mass evictions and house demolitions and the continuing suffering of those affected, mostly in the words of victims. Women, children and men recount how they were forced to destroy their own houses, often at gunpoint.
“Our Hands Are Tied” : Erosion of the Rule of Law in Zimbabwe
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- Date recorded
- Nov 30, 2008
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
This report finds that legal accountability and the rule of law in Zimbabwe have been seriously eroded under the ZANU-PF government through its interference in the criminal justice system. It shows that victims of human rights abuses—mainly MDC supporters—continue to be denied their right to justice and an effective remedy.
“Resolute action to immediately revive the grassroots structures?” Or Crimes Against Humanity?
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2008
- Category
- 2008 & Beyond
- Politics & Governance
- Trauma
- Summary
In this report, the Human Rights Forum made the very strong allegation that the Government of Zimbabwe is complicit at the least in the commission of Crimes against Humanity.
“They Beat Me like a Dog” Political Persecution of Opposition Activists and Supporters in Zimbabwe
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- Date recorded
- Aug 31, 2008
- Category
- 2008 & Beyond
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
This report describes abuses by ZANU-PF that continue to take place despite ongoing negotiations between the two parties. Hundreds of MDC activists who fled the violence in the weeks before the June 27 runoff remain in hiding while “war veterans” and youth militia continue to terrorize villagers in the rural areas.
“You Will Be Thoroughly Beaten” The Brutal Suppression of Dissent in Zimbabwe
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- Date recorded
- Nov 30, 2006
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
This report highlights the repressive tactics that the government has used in the past year to suppress the increasing political and economic discontent among the population. The police have arbitrarily arrested hundreds of civil society activists during routine meetings or peaceful demonstrations, often with excessive force, and in some cases subjected those in custody to severe beatings that amounted to torture, and other mistreatment.
1. What is a Constitution
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The constitution of a country is a set of rules that define the nature and extent of the country’s government. It is sometimes referred to as the country’s fundamental or basic law, and has supremacy over all other laws.
2. A Preamble to a Constitution
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The preamble to a constitution is an introduction to the constitution and usually bears the formal heading “Preamble”. It presents the history behind the constitution’s enactment, and sometimes sets out the nation’s core principles and values.
3. Founding Principles of a Constitution
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
Founding Principles of the Constitution can be described as: “those values that citizens commit themselves to their adherence. They are the foundations of the Constitution and they reflect the manner in which the people desire to be governed.”
4. The Constitution and the Rule of Law
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
Our current Constitution states that public officers owe a duty to everyone in Zimbabwe to observe and uphold the rule of law [section 18(1a)], and the “Kariba Draft” Constitution contains a similar provision.Fundamentally it means that people’s rights and obligations must be determined by laws rather than by individuals or groups of individuals exercising an arbitrary discretion.
5 points for new government
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- Date recorded
- Feb 28, 2009
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The report emphasizes on Putting HUMAN RIGHTS AT THE TOP OF THE POLITICAL AGENDA and Amnesty International is also concerned about the deteriorating economic and social conditions in Zimbabwe. In particular, the organisation is concerned about the increased food insecurity, collapse of public health, and failing education system.
5. Citizenship
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
Citizens form the basis of every independent State because a State is an abstract concept comprising the people who live within a defined area. Of the people who constitute a State it is the citizens who have a right to determine who will govern them and, sometimes, to decide the form which their government should take.
6. A Declaration or Bill of Rights
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2018
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The purpose of a Declaration or Bill of Rights is to protect the rights of citizens and ordinary people living in the country. Although generally these rights must not be overridden by the government, some have to be qualified.
7. Social and Economic and Cultural Rights
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
Here, when we refer to “social, economic and cultural rights” [“SEC rights”] we mean second-generation rights as well as any third-generation rights which are capable of being defined reasonably clearly.
8. Separation of Powers
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
In essence, the doctrine of separation of powers is that for a free and democratic society to exist there must be a clear separation between the three branches of government, namely: The Executive,The Legislature and The Judicial Branch.
9. Executive Powers
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The Executive, the branch of government headed by the President, is currently the most powerful of the three branches. The President and his Ministers control the Defence Forces, the Police and the civil administration; they represent the country in its dealings with foreign governments; and generally they are responsible for running the day-to-day affairs of the country. The Executive is the branch of government which impinges most frequently on the lives of ordinary people.
10 18 Gonese et al v President et al
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- Date recorded
- Oct 31, 2018
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
This is an application in terms of s 167(2)(d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe for the Court to determine whether Parliament or the President has failed to fulfil a constitutional obligation. The applicants aver that the respondents have failed to do so in respect of the presentation and passage of the Local Government Amendment Act No. 8 of 2016 in Parliament. It is further averred that presenting and passing a Bill in contravention of the Constitution amounts to a failure to fulfil a constitutional obligation.
10. Legislature
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The legislative branch of government is the branch which makes laws for the country. A legislature embodies the idea that people are the source of political power in the State and should control the law-making process.
11. The Judiciary
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The judiciary is one of the three main branches of government, the other two being the Legislature (i.e. Parliament) and the Executive (the President, Ministers, the Public Service, the Police and Defence Forces). The judiciary consists of all judicial officers, namely, the people such as judges and magistrates who decide civil and criminal cases in courts.
12. Security Services and Security Service Commissions
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- Date recorded
- Dec 31, 2013
- Category
- Politics & Governance
- Summary
The disciplined services – the Defence Forces (consisting of the Army and the Air Force), the Police Force and the Prison Service – are the subject of separate parts of the present Constitution.