This report traces developments that have taken place since our June report and gives an overview of the main consequences of Operation Murambatsvina since it commenced on 19 May 2005. It also locates the Operation in the context of events that have happened in Zimbabwe over several years.

A report demonstrating a recent study on risk aversion, Operation Murambatsvina [OM] had severe effects upon the population of Zimbabwe (Masunungure et al. 2017). The percentage of Zimbabweans that reported being “risk takers” in 1999 was 84%, but this dropped to a paltry 13% in 2005.The present study examined the changes in aspects of citizen agency – political participation, community participation, political trust and political affiliation – as well as lived poverty for three periods, 2004, 2005 and 2009.

The report shows findings from the study area of Masvingo pertaining to who got the land during the land reform program and whether they are utilizing it or not.

The report talks of the forceful eviction of commercial white farmers during the fast track land reform process and how it was one of the primary drivers of Zimbabwe's sudden economic downfall. The process was characterized by gross human rights violations and disregard of the rule of law.

AN ACT to provide for the acquisition of State land and the disposal of State land; to provide for the control of the subdivision and lease of land for farming or other purposes; to provide for limiting of the number of pieces of land that may be owned by any person and the sizes of such land, and for prohibiting or restricting the rights of non-residents to own, lease or occupy land in Zimbabwe, and to provide for other matters incidental to and connected with the foregoing.

The ZTVP conducted a ‘snap’ survey of 236 Zimbabweans in 5 different locations of Gauteng during July and early August 2005. None of those interviewed were or are clients of the ZTVP or the related ‘Tree of Life’ healing programme.

Today the 31 st of January 201 9, the NPRC acting in terms of its mandate provided for in Section 252 (d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (Number 20) of 201 3 initiated a planning process for National Dialogue with key stakeholders who included Government, Traditional Leaders, the Church, Arts and Culture, Civil Society, Business, Academia, Persons with Disabilities, Women and Youth among others. The objective of the meeting was to jointly develop a framework for a comprehensive dialogue process.

This bulletin is a summary of a report by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission [hereafter referred to as “the Commission” or “ZHRC”] recording its assessment of the human rights situation of communities in the Tsholotsho district affected by the floods experienced in the 2013/2014 rainy season.

Resumption of the Budget debate is on the Order Paper for today, Tuesday 26th November.

This bulletin contains the text of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission’s Press Statement on the promotion and protection of environmental and related rights in the face of ongoing flooding in urban areas.

The year under review was not without its fair share of challenges. Funding constraints have meant that the ZHRC continues to operate from only two offices Countrywide making it inaccessible to the larger populace.

The Tsholotsho flood report presents the findings and recommendations of a comprehensive report conducted by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, into the events associated with the mission visit to the floods victims in Tsholotsho found in Matabeleland North of Zimbabwe.

AN ACT to make provision for the maintenance of peace, order and security in Zimbabwe; to repeal the Public Order and Security Act [Chapter 11:17]; and to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

Statement about the Political situation in Zimbabwe in November 2017

On the 24th July the Deputy Speaker of Parliament announced that the Parliamentary Legal Committee had issued an adverse report on the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill, meaning that the Committee had found some provisions of the Bill to be unconstitutional. The report can be seen on the Veritas website [link] as can the Bill itself [link].

Both Houses of Parliament sat this week. The Senate sat on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th August and then adjourned until Tuesday 27th August. The National Assembly sat on Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday before also adjourning to Tuesday 27th August

On Friday 8th November the Office of the President and Cabinet announced changes made by President Mnangagwa to his Ministerial line-up with immediate effect. The following tables show the complete Ministerial line-up including the changes, in alphabetical order by name of Ministry.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the living conditions of juvenile inmates and the status of their facilities, as well as to hear the general concerns of the inmates and their proposals for solutions and recommendations.

The Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, presented the 2020 National Budget to the National Assembly this afternoon

Statement by Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 16th August 2019 Demonstrations in Harare

On Friday 11 March 2016, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with four Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) namely Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR)

This report was compiled by the Secretariat of the Commission represented in the various programme units with the guidance and direction of members of the Commission.

This Bill was gazetted in the Government Gazette dated 19th April [released to the public on 17th April ahead of the public holidays on 18th and 19th April].

The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission is concerned by the deteriorating political and economic situation in the country. The NPRC is therefore initiating a multi-stakeholder consultative dialogue process.

Veritas draws attention to the Parliament of Zimbabwe’s public notice announcing the names of the 133 persons in respect of whom nomination documents have been submitted for appointment as members of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.

There is one vacancy to be filled on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission following the resignation of Commissioner C. T. Khombe before the expiry of his term of office.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) carried out a human rights situation monitoring exercise in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts in Manicaland Province in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai.

The press statement was issued by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission on 15th August 2019 ahead of the mass demonstrations planned for 16th August.

National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Commissioner

National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Consultations

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has taken note of and is concerned about the impasse between the Government of Zimbabwe and members of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) who have been on strike since the 1st of March 2018.

Zimbabwe Senate Thematic Committees October 2018

Zimbabwe National Assembly Portfolio Committees October 2018

This bulletin introduces the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission’s APRILJULY OUTREACH PROGRAMME that will take the Commission to the people of Zimbabwe all-round the country.

This bulletin is to remind readers about this month’s segment of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission’s APRIL-JULY OUTREACH PROGRAMME that will take the Commission to the people of Zimbabwe all round the country.

In the National Assembly yesterday, Tuesday 10th May, the Minister of State in Vice-President Mphoko’s office, Hon Tabitha Kanengoni, withdrew the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Bill in terms of Standing Order 157.

This bulletin is an update on the membership of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] following its return to full strength with the filling of six vacancies last month.

This bulletin is the first of several that will draw attention to and summarise reports of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission on investigations carried out since the Commission became operational.

In Parliament recently, the Deputy Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare made a Ministerial Statement on the Government’s Food Deficit Mitigation Programme, which was repeated in the Senate the following day.

The ZHRC is encouraged by assurances by the military concerning the imperative to uphold constitutionalism and values of justice, non-violence, human rights and freedoms in resolving the current political situation.

Bill Watch 65/2019 contained speculation that Parliament would, as it has done in past years, have a ten-day break to allow ZANU PF MPs to attend to their party obligations in connection with the ZANU PF Annual Conference.

Last week, only the National Assembly was in session.

The 2020 National Budget Presentation on 14th November, noted briefly in Bill Watch 59/2019 [link], was not the only important event of the last Parliamentary week. This bulletin is to update readers on other noteworthy developments in the National Assembly that occurred last week.

The Senate and the National Assembly last sat on Thursday 24th October. Since then MPs have been occupied mainly with Budget business.

Both Houses will reconvene next week, having adjourned until Tuesday 12th November after their last sittings on 24th October. In the meantime, MPs and Ministers have been attending the pre-Budget Seminar at Victoria Falls from 30th October to 4th November.

It has always been difficult to find out which international treaties are binding on Zimbabwe. This is partly because the procedures by which Zimbabwe becomes a party to treaties are not transparent, and partly because the government has not published a treaty list ‒ i.e. a list of the treaties that are binding on this country ‒ for nearly 20 years.

When opening the current session of Parliament on 1st October the President criticised Parliament’s low output of Bills during the last session

The Second Session of this Parliament – the Ninth Parliament of Parliament [and second Parliament under the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe] was officially opened by President Mnangagwa on Tuesday 1st October at a joint sitting of both Houses.

This bulletin continues where Bill Watch 52 of 16th October [“Statutory Instruments: Part 1]” [link] stopped; it will deal with Government Gazettes from SI 205/2019 of 20th September up to SI 221/2019 of 18th October.

The purpose of this bulletin and another to follow soon is to provide, in two Parts, an update on Government Gazettes and statutory instruments from 1st August to date which have not been noted previously in our bulletins.

President Mnangagwa opened the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament of Zimbabwe at a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament in the National Assembly today.

There will be a ceremonial opening of the Second Session on Tuesday 1st October. During this opening the President will present his State of the Nation Address [SONA] and outline the legislative agenda for this session.

Three months ago, when the Minister of Finance and Economic Development gazetted SI 142/2019 [link] declaring RTGS dollars to be the only legal tender in Zimbabwe, press headlines referred to the "outlawing" of the use of the US dollars and other foreign currencies in Zimbabwe. Ministers and officials said the same thing.

On Tuesday 27th August the Senate received the Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC]'s non-adverse report on the amendment to clause 7(5) of the Bill made at its special sitting on 14th August.

Recalled from their recess by the President to conduct special business [see Bill Watch 45/2019 of 12th August [link] – Senators assembled on Wednesday 14th August for a single sitting that lasted for just over eight hours, with the adjournment until Tuesday 27th August coming at 10.37 pm.

The 39th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was held at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania last weekend. All sixteen SADC member States were represented.

By furious fast-tracking of business on Wednesday 8th [they sat until 10.39 pm] and Thursday 9th [until 4.10 am on Friday morning] the National Assembly managed to pass, not only the Finance (No. 2) Bill and the Appropriation Supplementary (2019) Bill [the two Budget bills], but also, with amendments, the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill

At a sitting that started on 8th August and ended at 4.10 am on 9th August the National Assembly passed the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill with amendments, most of which were intended to meet objections raised by the Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC] in its adverse report on the Bill.

On Thursday 2nd August the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hon Mthuli Ncube, presented his 2019 Mid-Year Budget Review and Supplementary Budget to the National Assembly. President Mnangagwa attended the presentation. Opposition MDC-A MPs did not

Both the Senate and the National Assembly will continue sitting this week, the third week of the current series of sittings.

Parliament has in separate public notices dated 23rd July invited the public to make comments on the above-mentioned Bills. In each case the deadline for receipt of written submissions is Friday next week, 2nd August.

The Marriages Bill, 2019 [H.B. 7, 2019] was gazetted on Friday 19th July. The Bill can be downloaded from the Veritas website [link]. For our analysis of the Bill see Bill Watch 36/2019 of 22nd July

SI 142 of 2019 [link] ‒ the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Legal Tender) Regulations, 2019, to give it its full name ‒ declared that the Zimbabwe dollar should be the sole legal tender in Zimbabwe for all transactions.

This morning an important statutory instrument was published in a Government Gazette Extraordinary: the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Legal Tender) Regulations, 2019 (SI 142 of 2019). The instrument can be viewed on the Veritas website

Both the National Assembly and the Senate sat last week and this week. Two Bills were passed and progress made on two others.

The Tripartite Negotiating Forum Act, 2019 (Act No. 3 of 2019) was gazetted and came into force on Tuesday 4th June [Government Gazette Extraordinary dated 4th June 2019].

The Strategic Plan informs the manner in which we engage with key stakeholders and partners in the domestic and international human rights community as we seek to fulfill our broad constitutional mandate.

On 19 September 2019, Dr Peter Magombeyi, a medical doctor was found alive and disoriented, dumped about 33 km out of Harare in a placed called Nyabira.

Dr Peter Magombeyi, a medical doctor and Acting President of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA), was abducted on the night of 14 September.

Zimbawe Lawyers for Human Rights 2016 Annual report where they celebrated 20 years of Human Rights Activism

Statement by youth leaders from 20 Zimbabwe Political Parties following Youth Political Party Dialogues with the Security Sector and Chapter 12 Commissions convened by the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) on 7 June and 28 June 2019 respectively.

The Government of Zimbabwe blames the country’s steep economic decline in the decades after 2000, on sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, particularly those of the EU and US. The Government has framed these measures as an international trade embargo against Zimbabwe and, because they do not have the imprimatur of the United Nations Security Council, maintain that they are illegal.

ACT tO amend the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01J; and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The May report highlights a growing and disturbing trend of discrimination in the distribution of food aid based on political affiliation. Food aid is increasingly being used by Zanu PF leaders and activists to repress political opponents and reward supporters.

The Specific objective of the Research unit is “to document, research on, verify and publish incidents of gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe, particularly those associated with organized violence and torture”. There are 3 types of reports that are compiled by the unit. These include Special/ad hoc reports, the human rights bulletin and the MPVR.

The Report highlights issues about Human rights education in medical education, Prison Health Protection Program and Training on health and human rights in prisons.

Statement to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights at the 65th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights under Agenda Item 4e

Act to provide for the establishment of the Health Service Board and its functions; to constitute the Health Service and to provide for its administration and the conditions of service of its members; to provide for the transfer of persons engaged in public health service delivery from the Public Service to the Health Service and to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

AN ACT to provide for the establishment of the Zimbabwe Special Economic Zones Authority and to provide for the functions thereof; to provide for the constitution and functions of the Special Economic Zones Board; to provide for the establishment of special economic zones,and the administration, control, regulatory measures and incentives in connection therewith; and to provide for matters incidental to or connected with the foregoing.

One of the objectives of the Congress is to represent the Zimbabwe labour movement in international fora and promote friendship, cooperation, solidarity and fraternal understanding with other trade union movements, progressive institutions and mass organizations whose aims and principles coincide with those of the Congress

Several Acts of Parliament contain provisions permitting the President or a Minister to make statutory instruments ‒ regulations, orders and so on ‒ which amend the Acts themselves.