3. Fundamental Rights The crisis of governance in Zimbabwe has largely been about lack of respect for human rights. This is why it has often been described as a human rights crisis. Although the human rights crisis in Zimbabwe cannot be blamed entirely on a bad constitution, the current constitution has significantly contributed to the crisis by virtue of failing to provide for a comprehensive bill of rights with strong mechanisms to ensure the enforcement of the rights enshrined. For instance, the current constitution provides for a very narrow declaration of rights under chapter 3. It does not provide for economic, social and cultural rights. Even though it provides for some civil and political rights, the same bill of rights allows a vague criterion to determine the lawfulness of limitation of rights. Section 3.11 allows fundamental rights to be limited on the basis of protecting public interest. Public interest is a wide and vague concept, leaving all the fundamental rights enshrined under chapter 3 difficult to enforce especially against the state, as the state can always justify its actions on the basis of protecting public interests. For instance, the Public Order and Security Act violates the right to freedom of assembly and peaceful demonstration but the state has defended its constitutionality on the basis that it protects public order and security, itself a fundamental public interest issue. During the constitution making process, there has been an insistence, particularly by civil society, that the new constitution must provide for a comprehensive bill of rights with strong mechanisms to ensure that the rights enshrined are not only justiciable but in effect materialize in the lives of ordinary citizens. Through chapter 4, the COPAC draft constitution provides for a declaration of rights. For any bill of rights to be considered strong, the constitution must provide for it in a manner that captures the following pre-requisites;  Constitution must provide for civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights.  The bill of rights must apply vertically (binding the state and all its organs) and horizontally, binding all private persons including juristic persons.  All the rights must be justiciable i.e., the court must be able to enforce them.  There must be a flexible, wide criterion of determining the locus standi/one’s eligibility to stand before the court claiming the enforcement of the right(s).  There must be an objective and well balanced approach to determine the legality of limitation of rights.  The bill of rights must enable one to timeously seek the enforcement of his/her rights.  The court must be given the flexibility to determine the appropriate remedy or relief.  There must be constitutionally entrenched independent institutions that promote the observance of human rights. 14