HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN CONSEQUENCES OF POLITICAL REPRESSION IN ZIMBABWE. PART 2

The Health Crisis

The Cholera Outbreak

The cholera outbreak that started in August 2008 exposed the true decline of healthcare in Zimbabwe. Between 1985 and 1992 no cases of death from cholera were reported in Zimbabwe.[41] Since 1992, as the health and sanitation infrastructure has deteriorated in Zimbabwe, there have been an increasing number of outbreaks. However, deaths from cholera had typically been few, as mortality can be preventedthrough simple treatment-oral, or in severe cases, intravenousrehydration. Typically only one percent-or one person in every 100 infected-dies from cholera.[42] However, in the current outbreak Zimbabwe has seen a mortality rate five to six times higher. On January 12, 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) reported over 39,000 cholera cases in Zimbabwe and over 2,000 deaths.[43] The actual figures may be higher due to the incapacity of Zimbabwe’s health services to document cases.

One international health expert told Human Rights Watch that “The cholera outbreak is an indication of the general collapse in the health system. This… outbreak is [such as] we have never seen in Zimbabwe.”[44]

According to health experts, the high mortality in the current outbreak is exacerbated by severe malnutrition and high rates of HIV prevalence.[45]

While exploding only in the past few months, Zimbabwean authorities had been aware of the potential for a massive cholera epidemic for nearly a year. In December 2007, 459 cases of cholera were reported in two high-density suburbs of Harare and 11 people died from cholera and more than 300 were hospitalized in Bulawayo.[46] Repeated calls to address the epidemic and to ensure that municipal water sources were properly treated were unaddressed by the government.

In response to a lack of water purification chemicals and electrical shortages, the national water board cut off all water supplies to Harare residents in early December 2008.[47] However, the Zimbabwe authorities failed to anticipate the consequences. While capacity to respond may have been undermined by a lack of medical and financial resources, health experts say the authorities initially refused to acknowledge the true extent of the cholera crisis and the urgent need to respond.[48]

Despite an alarming increase in cholera deaths, infections and their locations, the government did not immediately appeal for international help and initially refused to declare the outbreak an emergency. One international health expert told Human Rights Watch: “By the time the government called us in to assist, over 200 people had been infected in just one…Harare…suburb. A faster response may have prevented the spread of the disease.”[49]

On December 4, 2008, four months after the start of the current outbreak in Harare, ZANU-PF Health Minister David Parirenyatwa declared the outbreak a national emergency.[50] But on December 11 Mugabe claimed the crisis was over, ignoring international humanitarian and WHO data, which showed a sharp increase in infections and deaths.[51]

A Failing Health System

Many district hospitals and municipal clinics in Zimbabwe are currently either closed or operating at minimum capacity. Other aggravating factors include dilapidated infrastructure, equipment failures, and a “brain drain” of medical professionals.[52] As a result, ordinary Zimbabweans cannot access basic healthcare. The cholera outbreak has been aggravated by the closure in November of Harare’s two main public hospitals, Parirenyatwa and Harare, and a shortage of drugs and medical personnel.[53]

The main victims of the health crisis are the elderly, children, women and the chronically ill, including people living with HIV/AIDS.[54]The crisis is such that in November 2008, UNICEF moved into a 120-day emergency mode, focusing on the cholera outbreak and providing emergency health care to children.[55]

On November 20 the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR), a local human rights NGO, expressed grave concerns about the impact on maternal health of the closure of two government maternity hospitals in greater Harare.[56] Since 1994, mortality has increased among mothers from 283 to more than 1,100 deaths per 100,000 live births.[57] ZADHR said that about 3,000 women a month were giving birth in public hospitals in Harare, with between 250 and 300 needing lifesaving caesarean sections.[58] The closure of the maternity hospitals will result in many poor women being denied emergency treatment,[59] and may further contribute to the already rising maternal mortality rates. Private hospitals charge for their services in foreign currency, pricing out most Zimbabweans.

The authorities have treated health workers protesting the decline in Zimbabwe’s health system harshly. On November 18, heavily armed riot police prevented a group of health workers from petitioning the Minister of Health and Child Welfare. The workers were demanding that the government restore accessible and affordable healthcare. Police initially forced the health workers to protest within the grounds of Parirenyatwa Hospital, but after four hours the police entered the hospital grounds and forcibly dispersed the workers, assaulting several.[60]

Official Restrictions on the Operations of Humanitarian Agencies

The work of local and international humanitarian organizations has been hampered by a difficult economic environment and political interference in their operations. Relations between humanitarian agencies and ZANU-PF have been poor for several years. The latter has repeatedly accused NGOs in Zimbabwe, including humanitarian organizations, of supporting the MDC and working with western donors to overthrow the government. According to the UN’s 2009 Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for Zimbabwe, violence and government restrictions have prevented humanitarian activities. The CAP document stated:

A protracted election period, from March through August, essentially put the country on hold for six months, during which time election violence and government restrictions halted most humanitarian field activities. Half a year of critical humanitarian service delivery in support of food security, clean water, health, and education services was lost, and the impact of this is likely to continue into 2009.[61]

Such political interference has not only stifled the operations of humanitarian organizations, it has significantly worsened the humanitarian situation itself and compounded the suffering of Zimbabweans. On June 4, 2008 the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare wrote all NGOs and private voluntary organizations and announced a full suspension of all their field operations.[62] Earlier, Minister of Local Government Ignatius Chombo had accused local and international humanitarian agencies of breaching their registration terms and conditions. Chombo accused some NGOs of using food distribution programs to support the MDC.[63] According to The Zimbabwe Times, on June 15, while addressing a campaign rally in Silobela, Mugabe accused NGOs of using food handouts to overthrow the government.[64]

The Zimbabwe authorities have failed to provide any evidence to support their allegations that NGOs were in breach of their registration terms and conditions or conducting discriminatory practices in their food distribution programs. In any case, under Zimbabwe’s laws regulating the operations of NGOs, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare does not have the powers to order the suspension of NGOs.[65] This raises concerns that the suspension was an attempt to prevent NGOs from witnessing and reporting on the state-sponsored violence that was taking place in the rural parts of the country at the time. It also significantly affected the ability of the NGOs to assist the poor and destitute.

The suspension limited the ability of humanitarian agencies to determine the true extent of the food crisis, and assess the future needs of the population. It obliged them to delay responding to the food crisis until after the authorities lifted the formal ban in September 2008. The agencies were therefore forced to conduct registration and verification exercises at the same time as distributing food. Humanitarian agency representatives told Human Rights Watch that this had put a strain on their ability to reach all those in need:

The suspension was the period [that] we should have [been able to use] for…registration and verification. The numbers of needy skyrocketed because the crisis was only attended to at the last minute. Our food aid was in South Africa …Because we were suspended we couldn’t bring it in. It takes [time] to move 10,000 tons of food. It also cost us money to keep the food in South Africa because we had to [rent] extra warehouses.[66]

Attempts by ZANU-PF to Interfere in Food Aid Distribution

Despite the formal lifting of the ban, restrictions on the operations of humanitarian agencies remain. The terms of a new Memorandum of Understanding signed between local and international humanitarian agencies and the ZANU-PF authorities say that if the agencies wish to operate in a specific area, they must first get permission and sign a written agreement with local government structures setting the terms for the distribution.[67]

While such a request by the government may seem reasonable, local government and party structures in Zimbabwe have attempted to use this requirement to control and impede the efforts of humanitarian agencies to assess needs and provide much needed food and other assistance to Zimbabweans. The requirements have also left the delivery of humanitarian assistance open to manipulation by government agents and ZANU-PF officials.Representatives from a number of NGOs told Human Rights Watch that banning restrictions continue to be enforced in some localities by ZANU-PF officials, “war veterans” and traditional leaders.

Local authorities and chiefs have also tried to interfere directly in humanitarian agencies’ food distribution. ZANU-PF officials in at least two areas insisted that food aid should be distributed exclusively through their local structures. Two NGOs independently told Human Rights Watch that the Governor of Masvingo province was insisting that someone from ZANU-PF must accompany all humanitarian agencies or they would not be able to distribute food.[68]

In another case, in Gokwe, Midlands, one humanitarian NGO was unable to distribute food because ZANU-PF officials and militia continued to patrol the area and demand that food be distributed through them.[69] Representatives from the particular NGOs informed Human Rights Watch that they had raised the issue with the government but their concerns were not addressed. The NGOs expressed reluctance to raise the situation with donors because they feared expulsion from the country or the renewed suspension on their operations.

Government Non-Issuance of Employment Permits for International NGO Staff

The Zimbabwe government has also hampered the work of international humanitarian organizations by unnecessarily denying foreign staff employment permits and extensions of permits. Representatives of four such agencies interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that since the lifting of the aid suspension, the Zimbabwe authorities have refused to issue new employment permits or extend the employment permits for some international staff without presenting any valid reasons for doing so.[70]

The non-issuance of employment permits appears to be another government tactic to try to control and restrict the activities of humanitarian organizations. One NGO representative told Human Rights Watch:

I have just been informed that a key food aid staff member’s employment permit will not be extended. The appeal will take more than four months. But this is a key person. This is someone that we really need for their expertise.[71]

Another added, “There are a lot of stumbling blocks and hurdles that the authorities put in our way. The work permit issue is just another one of them.”[72]

  1. Ongoing Violations of Civil and Political Rights

Zimbabwe’s September 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA) has not brought an end to ZANU-PF’s attacks on its opponents and critics. The party continues to use state institutions such as the police and the justice system as a weapon against MDC supporters, civil society activists, and human rights defenders.

Enforced Disappearances and Illegal Detentions

Since the end of October 2008, ZANU-PF has used the police and other state agencies to arbitrarily arrest and ”disappear”[73] more than 40 MDC members and human rights activists. The first wave of abductions and “disappearances” took place on October 29 when 15 MDC members, including Violet Mupfuranhehwe and her two-year-old child, were abducted from their homes in Banket, Mashonaland West. The assailants in these pre-dawn raids were 12 armed men in civilian clothing claiming to be members of the Law and Order section of the Zimbabwe Republic Police Force.[74]

On December 3, Jestina Mukoko, a leading human rights activist and Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) director, was taken from her home in Norton at around 5 a.m. by at least 15 men who identified themselves as working for the Law and Order section of the Zimbabwe Republic Police Force.[75] Zachariah Nkomo, the brother of Harrison Nkomo, a human rights lawyer working for Mukoko’s release, was abducted from his home in Rujeko, Masvingo province, around midnight on December 5 by four unidentified men in civilian clothes.[76]

On December 8, two of Mukoko’s colleagues, Pascal Gonzo and Broderick Takawira, ZPP’s provincial coordinator, were abducted by five unidentified men from the ZPP premises in Harare. The men, in civilian clothes, forced Gonzo and Takawira into one of six Mazda Familia sedans outside.[77] Another MDC activist, Ghandi Mudzingwa was abducted by unidentified men in Harare on the same day.[78] Police initially denied holding Mukoko and her colleagues. However, on December 22, lawyers working on the cases learned that the 32 activists were in various police stations in Harare.[79] They had been held by the security forces in unknown detention centers for between two and eight weeks.

On December 24, Mukoko, Takawira and six MDC members (Pieta Kaseke, Violet Mupfuranhehwe, Fidelis Chiramba, Collen Mutemagau, Concillia Chinanzvavana, and Emmanuel Chinanzvavana) were arraigned before the Harare Magistrate’s Court.[80] The eight were accused of contravening section 24(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The police alleged they had recruited or attempted to recruit individuals for training in banditry, insurgency, sabotage, or terrorism, which can carry a life sentence if convicted.

Responding to an urgent high court application for the detainees’ release, Justice Yunus Omerjee ruled the detention of the six MDC members was unlawful and ordered their immediate release.[81] He also ordered that Mukoko and Takawira be sent to the Avenues Clinic for medical treatment. Police did not comply with any of the orders. The state then successfully appealed to the Supreme Court for the continued detention of the activists, and police moved all eight from Harare remand prison to the notorious Chikurubi maximum security and Chikurubi female prisons. This included Mupfuranhehwe and her infant son.[82]

Mukoko told her lawyers that, during her 19-day detention, CIO agents and police officers repeatedly beat her on the soles of her feet with rubber truncheons, forced her to kneel on gravel for hours under interrogation, and threatened her life. She said she was forced to “confess” on camera about her alleged role in recruiting people to overthrow the government. The other activists charged with Mukoko also allege torture during their detention.[83]

Following Mukoko’s appearance in court, 11 other MDC members and civil society activists were arraigned on various charges, including banditry and recruiting people to overthrow the government. The police also transferred them to Chikurubi maximum security and Chikurubi female prisons.[84]

On January 7, seven MDC members were officially charged with bombing police stations, railway lines, and other centers and engaging in acts of banditry, insurgency, sabotage, or terrorism. The basis of the charges was section 23 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, which carries a potential death sentence in the event of conviction. The seven are due back in court on January 23.[85]

Thirteen additional activists remain in police custody at various police stations in Harare.[86] At the time of writing, apart from the seven who were formally charged, none of the remaining 25 activists in police custody and in prison have been formally charged with any offenses.[87] On January 9, an application by the defense lawyers for removal from remand for those in prison was denied by a magistrate at Harare Magistrate’s Court. Those in remand are due to appear in court on January 14.[88] The authorities are refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 11 other MDC members.

Human Rights Watch believes that the charges against the 32 MDC members and human rights activists are politically motivated. The Zimbabwe authorities appear to be using these cases as a pretext to clamp down on the MDC and prevent human rights activists from reporting on human rights abuses. The arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and unlawful detentions, as well as reports of torture and abuse by the Zimbabwe authorities, violate Zimbabwe’s obligations under international human rights law.

The reports of abuse and torture of the MDC members and civil society activists to obtain confessions raise deep concerns that any trials against those detained could be fair. International law prohibits the use of evidence obtained through torture and other forms of coercive interrogation.

These enforced disappearances and abductions also violate the terms of the GPA, in which ZANU-PF committed to ending abuses and investigating acts of violence perpetrated by Zimbabwe’s security forces and other groups.[89]

Restrictions on Freedom of Association, Assembly, and Expression

The ZANU-PF authorities have not lifted their restrictions on freedom of association, assembly, and expression as required under the GPA. On October 27 police tear-gassed and beat about 150 activists from the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) and the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) who were holding a peaceful demonstration in Harare.[90] Forty-two women from WCoZ were arrested. The demonstrators were calling for a resolution to the political impasse between ZANU-PF and the MDC so that the country’s leaders could address the severe food shortages in the country. The authorities charged the 42 women with “gathering without police permission” in contravention of the Public Order and Security Act.[91] The women were forced to pay on-the-spot fines and were released later that day. At least 35 activists were treated for injuries at hospitals and clinics in Harare, including five who were admitted to hospitals with more severe injuries. On October 16, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, leaders of the women’s rights organization Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were arrested in Bulawayo when they tried to lead a peaceful demonstration about the serious food shortages in the country.[92] On October 27, the Bulawayo Magistrate’s Court denied the women bail, ruling that it would not be in the “interests of justice.” The women remained in custody for three weeks at Mlondlozi Female Prison in Bulawayo before they were released.

  1. Zimbabwe’s Obligations under Regional and International Law

Under international human rights law, every person has the rights to food, to the highest attainable standard of health, to life, to seek, receive and impart information, to nondiscrimination and equal protection of the law, and to be protected from violence, among other rights. International human rights law also requires states to address persistent violations of human rights and take measures to prevent their occurrence.

These rights are guaranteed by important international and regional treaties to which Zimbabwe is a party. These include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).

Right to Food

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights guarantee the right to food. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, couches the right within the broader context of an adequate standard of living that includes health, food, medical care, social services, and economic security.[93]

As a party to the ICESCR, which Zimbabwe ratified in 1991, Zimbabwe recognizes the right of everyone to adequate food. It agrees to “take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right,” including working cooperatively with the international community to alleviate hunger within its borders.[94]

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the international expert body that monitors state compliance with the ICESCR, stressed in its General Comment No. 12, the need for accountability and transparency in implementing national strategies for the right to food:

The formulation and implementation of national strategies for the right to food requires full compliance with the principles of accountability, transparency, people’s participation … Appropriate institutional mechanisms should be devised to secure a representative process towards the formulation of a strategy, drawing on all available domestic expertise relevant to food and nutrition.[95]

The ICESCR prohibits discrimination by states with respect to the right to food on several grounds, including on the basis of political or other opinion.[96] General Comment No. 12 specifies that it is a violation of the ICESCR to discriminate with respect to “access to food, as well as to means and entitlements for its procurement.”[97] National strategies for the right to food should give particular attention to the need to prevent discrimination in access to food or resources for food.[98] And even when a state faces severe resource constraints, it should undertake measures to ensure that the right to adequate food is met for vulnerable population groups and individuals.[99]

According to General Comment No. 12, a state violates the ICECSR when it fails to ensure the satisfaction of at least the minimum essential level required to be free from hunger. A state that contends that resource constraints make it impossible to provide access to food for those who are unable by themselves to secure such access, needs to demonstrate that “every effort has been made to use all the resources at its disposal in an effort to satisfy, as a matter of priority, those minimum obligations.” If it claims that it cannot carry out its obligation for reasons beyond its control, the state has the burden of proving that it has unsuccessfully sought to obtain international support to ensure the availability and accessibility of the necessary food.[100]

Finally, according to General Comment No. 12, a state violates the right to food through “denial of access to food to particular individuals or groups, whether the discrimination is based on legislation or is pro-active; the prevention of access to humanitarian food aid in internal conflicts or other emergency situations….and failure to regulate activities of individuals or groups so as to prevent them from violating the right of food of others.”[101]

As the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food stated in his 2008 report to the Human Rights Council, “Governments are bound to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food without discrimination, which also means that they should be held accountable to their populations if they violate those obligations.”[102]

Right to Health

All individuals have the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health, a right which has been enshrined in international and regional treaties. The right to health is guaranteed by the ICESCR, CEDAW, and the ACHPR. This right imposes an obligation on states to take necessary steps for the prevention, treatment and control of epidemics and other diseases.

The ICESCR guarantees the right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of health, and requires states parties to take steps individually and through international cooperation to progressively realize this right via the prevention, treatment, and control of epidemic diseases and the creation of conditions to assure medical service and attention to all.[103]  “Progressive realization” demands of states parties a “specific and continuing obligation to move as expeditiously and effectively as possible towards the full realization of [the right].”[104] According to the WHO, “[w]hen considering the level of implementation of this right in a particular State, the availability of resources at that time and the development context are taken into account. Nonetheless, no State can justify a failure to respect its obligations because of a lack of resources. States must guarantee the right to health to the maximum of their available resources, even if these are tight.”[105] The concept of available resources is intended to include available assistance from the international community.[106]

The right to health is further guaranteed by a number of other international human rights treaties and commitments. The Convention on the Rights of the Child binds states to “recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health.”[107]  The right to health is also protected under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, CEDAW, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[108]

States committed in the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS to “promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”[109] and “in an urgent manner make every effort to: provide progressively and in a sustainable manner, the highest attainable standard of treatment for HIV/AIDS, including the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections, and effective use of quality-controlled antiretroviral therapy in a careful and monitored manner to improve adherence and effectiveness and reduce the risk of developing resistance.”[110]

Regional treaties also speak to the right to health.  The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ensures the right to health and binds states parties to “take the necessary measures to protect the health of their people and to ensure that they receive medical attention when they are sick.”[111]  Furthermore, the African Charter on the Rights of the Child provides for the right of every child to the best attainable health, and binds states parties to move toward implementing this right, including the provision of “necessary medical assistance and health care to all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care.”[112]

VII. The Regional Failure to Address Zimbabwe’s Crisis

Leaders of southern African states have repeatedly ignored the violations of human rights inflicted on the people of Zimbabwe by Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF government, and they have not taken serious steps to help alleviate their suffering.

ZANU-PF’s long history of abuses culminated in the widespread violence in the build-up to the June 27, 2008 presidential election run-off between Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai was forced to pull out of the race after over 160 MDC activists were killed and thousands beaten and tortured.[113]

Despite declarations by AU and SADC observers that the subsequent one-candidate elections were not free and fair due to the violence, Mugabe declared himself president. As this and previous Human Rights Watch reports document, serious human rights abuses by ZANU-PF continued, as before, following the signing of the Global Political Agreement between ZANU-PF and the MDC on September 15. Yet neither the AU nor SADC have condemned Mugabe’s actions or taken any measures that would promote a genuine democratic transition, including questioning Mugabe’s right to assume Zimbabwe’s seat at the AU summit.

At the 11th ordinary session of the AU summit from June 30 to July 1, 2008, in Egypt, AU leaders missed an important opportunity to press Mugabe on the worsening human rights situation in a decisive manner.[114]  An AU resolution on Zimbabwe expressed deep concern at the situation in the country and its impact on the sub-region. The resolution appealed to the parties concerned to refrain from actions that would negatively impact on the climate of dialogue. However, the resolution failed to condemn the widespread violence perpetrated by ZANU-PF before the presidential run-off on June 27, or to hold Mugabe responsible. And instead of demanding respect for human rights in Zimbabwe, the resolution merely endorsed SADC’s mediation efforts under former South African president Thabo Mbeki.

As many observers-Zimbabwean as well as international-warned it would, this approach has proven ineffectual. It is beyond time for the AU to act. SADC has not achieved the results that all African governments and their leaders must be surely committed to-the end of abuses and the restoration of the rule of law in Zimbabwe. There can be no genuine change in Zimbabwe if abuses are not tackled head-on and their perpetrators held to account.

The combination of political instability, the cholera outbreak, and severe food insecurity has driven thousands of Zimbabweans into neighboring countries. Credible current estimates say that over 38,000 Zimbabweans have lodged asylum claims in the South African border town of Musina since July 2008.[115] This is nearly double the total number of Zimbabwean claims in all six of South Africa’s refugee reception offices in 2007. This influx also took cholera across Zimbabwe’s borders. At least ten people have died from cholera in South Africa and doctors in Musina are treating hundreds of infected in cholera camps.[116] The South African authorities themselves declared the border with Zimbabwe a disaster area on December 11, 2008.[117] The cholera outbreak has also spread to Zimbabwe’s other neighbors including Botswana, Mozambique, and Zambia.[118]

The crisis threatens the southern African sub-region, but the lack of sub-regional progress so far clearly indicates that the overt engagement of the AU as the wider African inter-governmental body is overdue. The crisis of political legitimacy in Zimbabwe is at the root of the country’s problems. The urgent humanitarian needs of Zimbabweans cannot be isolated: their suffering is a direct consequence of ZANU-PF’s abusive rule. The AU-and the wider international community-can only restore peace and security to the region by openly acknowledging the scale of the crisis, putting human rights at the top of the agenda, and holding abusers to account.

VIII. Acknowledgements

This report was researched by a consultant to the Africa division and Tiseke Kasambala, senior researcher in the Africa division. It was written by Tiseke Kasambala. The report was edited by Jon Elliott, advocacy director of the Africa Division, and Andrew Mawson, deputy program director. Legal review was provided by James Ross, Legal and Policy Director. Jeffrey Severson and Charlene Harry, associates for the Africa Division, Grace Choi, and Fitzroy Hepkins provided production assistance.

Human Rights Watch wishes to acknowledge with gratitude the contribution provided in and outside Zimbabwe by representatives of local human rights organizations, local and international humanitarian agencies, the donor community and UN agencies, and all Zimbabweans who agreed to be interviewed for this report.

[1] UNICEF country information on Zimbabwe, http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zimbabwe_statistics.html (accessed January 14, 2009).

[2] For more on the evictions see the Human Rights Watch report, Evicted and Forsaken: Internally Displaced Persons in the Aftermath of Operation Murambatsvina, November 2005, http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/11/30/zimbabwe-evicted-and-forsaken-0

[3] UNICEF country information on Zimbabwe, http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zimbabwe_1403.html (accessed January 9, 2009).

[4] The Demographic and Health Survery reports a maternal mortality rate of 283 per 100,000 live births in 1994 and 695 per 100,000 live births in 1999, http://www.who.int/whosis/data/ (accessed January 13, 2009).  Data referenced in the 2004 Zimbabwe Millennium Development Progress report, www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0001702/Zimbabwe_MDG-report2004_goal5.pdf (accessed January 13, 2009).

[5] World Health Organization, Daily Cholera Updates and Alerts, January 12, 2009, http://www.who.int/hac/crises/zmb/sitreps/zimbabwe_cholera_update_12jan2009.pdf (accessed January 18, 2009).

[6] UN Consolidated Appeal Process for Zimbabwe 2009, http://ochaonline.un.org/AppealsFunding/CAP2009/tabid/5120/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed January 12, 2009).

[7] Human Rights Watch, No Bright Future: Government Failures, Human Rights Abuses, and Squandered Progress in the Fight against AIDS in Zimbabwe, July 2006, http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2006/07/27/no-bright-future.

[8] Human Rights Watch, Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe, March 2002, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2002/zimbabwe/.

[9] “Major food appeal for Zimbabwe as WFP relief distributions begin,” World Food Program press release, October 9, 2008, http://www.wfp.org/ENGLISH/?ModuleID=137&Key=2955 (accessed January 10, 2009).

[10] World Food Program, Zimbabwe country page, http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp?country=716, (accessed August 11, 2008).

[11] “Major food appeal for Zimbabwe as WFP relief distributions begin,” World Food Program press release, October 9, 2008, http://www.wfp.org/ENGLISH/?ModuleID=137&Key=2955 (accessed January 10, 2009).

[12] FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment mission to Zimbabwe, Special Report, June 18, 2008. http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ai469e/ai469e00.htm (accessed December 2, 2008).

[13] “Major food appeal for Zimbabwe as WFP relief distributions begin,” World Food Program press release, October 9, 2008, http://www.wfp.org/ENGLISH/?ModuleID=137&Key=2955 (accessed January 10, 2009).

[14] According to humanitarian agencies an average family of four requires a 20kg bucket of maize per month.

[15] UN Consolidated Appeal Process for Zimbabwe 2009,  http://ochaonline.un.org/AppealsFunding/CAP2009/tabid/5120/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed January 12, 2009).

[16] Human Rights Watch interview with teacher, Harare, November 18, 2008.

[17] Human Rights Watch interviews with 6 agriculturalists, Harare, November 16–23, 2008.

[18] FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment mission to Zimbabwe, Special Report, June 18, 2008. http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ai469e/ai469e00.htm (accessed December 2, 2008).

[19] Human Rights Watch interview with agricultural expert, Harare, November 26.

[20] Human Rights Watch interview with farmer, Rusape, Manicaland, November 27, 2008.

[21] See Human Rights Watch, “Bullets for Each of You”: State-Sponsored Violence since the March 29 Elections, June 2008, http://hrw.org/reports/2008/zimbabwe0608.

[22] UN Consolidated Appeal Process for Zimbabwe 2009, http://ochaonline.un.org/AppealsFunding/CAP2009/tabid/5120/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed January 12, 2009).

[23] “Zimbabwe: UN voices concern over politically-motivated violence,” UN press statement, May 13, 2008, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26658&Cr=zimbabwe&Cr1= (accessed May 27, 2008).

[24] “Conditions in Zimbabwe could reach crisis levels if situation continues,” UNICEF press release, May 28, 2008, http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zimbabwe_44071.html (accessed January 9, 2009); “UNICEF deplores impact of violence on children,” UNICEF press release, May 2, 2008, http://www.unicef.org.uk/press/news_detail.asp?news_id=1121 (accessed May 27, 2008).

[25] Human Rights Watch interview with farm manager, Mashonaland West, November 19, 2008.

[26] Human Rights Watch interview with farmer, Mashonaland West, November 19, 2008.

[27] Human Rights Watch, “Bullets for Each of You”.

[28] UN Consolidated Appeal Process for Zimbabwe 2009, http://ochaonline.un.org/AppealsFunding/CAP2009/tabid/5120/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed January 12, 2009).

[29] Human Rights Watch interviews with economists, Harare, November 16–26, 2008. See also Transparency International, “Zimbabwe: Country Study Report 2006/07,” http://www.transparency.org/regional_pages/africa_middle_east/studies_and_reports#nis (accessed December 4, 2008).

[30] Address by Dr Gideon Gono, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to the Extraordinary Session of ZANU-PF Congress in Harare, December 14, 2007; see AFP,  “Mugabe’s cronies strip Zimbabwe of scarce cash: bank chief,” December 14, 2008, http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=17919, (accessed December 4, 2008).

[31] “Reserve Bank governor blames ruling elite for country’s ills,” Irinnews, February 1, 2007, http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=15967, (accessed December 4, 2008).

[32] Human Rights Watch interviews with agricultural experts and small scale farmers, Harare, Mashonaland East and West, Manicaland, Midlands, Masvingo, November 26-30, 2008.

[33] Human Rights Watch interviews, Harare, November 16-26, 2008; “Zimbabwe: You have to plant before you can harvest,” IRINnews, October 8, 2008, http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=80820, (accessed November 29, 2008); “Mujuru launches Champion’s Farmer Program,” The Herald Newspaper,  November 29, 2008.

[34] Human Rights Watch interview with farmer who witnessed the incident, Mashonaland East, November 23, 2008.

[35] Human Rights Watch interview with agriculturalist, Harare, November 20, 2008.

[36] Human Rights Watch interviews with farmers in Mashonaland East and Midlands, November 26-30, 2008.

[37] The GMB recently removed its eight-year monopoly on the importation and exportation of maize. According to agricultural experts, the government’s monopoly has had an adverse effect on maize production in the country.

[38] Human Rights Watch interviews with farmers, Mashonaland East, November 23, 2008.

[39] Human Rights Watch interview with senior GMB employee, Harare, November 17, 2008.

[40] Human Rights Watch interviews, Harare, Mashonaland East and West, Masvingo, and Midlands, November 26-30, 2008.

[41] Epidemiological features of epidemic cholera (El Tor) in Zimbabwe. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygien ,Volume 90 ,Issue 4 ,Pages 378 – 382 M .

[42]Cholera: A New Homeland in Africa? Nicholas H. Gaffga,* Robert V. Tauxe, and Eric D. Mintz Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 77(4), 2007, pp. 705–713; Human Rights Watch interviews with health experts, Harare, November 24 and 25, 2008.

[43] WHO Daily Cholera Updates and Alerts, January 12, 2009, http://www.who.int/hac/crises/zmb/sitreps/zimbabwe_cholera_update_12jan2009.pdf (accessed January 18, 2009).

[44] Human Rights Watch interview with health expert, Harare, November 24, 2008.

[45] Human Rights Watch interviews with health experts, Harare, November 24 and 25, 2008.

[46] Human Rights Watch, “Neighbors in Need: Zimbabweans Seeking Refuge in South Africa,” June 2008, http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/06/18/neighbors-need-0.

[47] Peta Thornycroft, Patience Rusere, James Butty & Irwin Chifera, “Zimbabwe Cholera Crisis Mounts As Harare Water System Shut Down,” VOA news, December 1, 2008, http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-12/2008-12-01-voa65.cfm?CFID=88834910&CFTOKEN=80667442&jsessionid=00308957b76f5eadc4667e442139713c1d24, (accessed December 1, 2008).

[48] Human Rights Watch interviews with health experts, Harare, November 24 and 25, 2008.

[49] Human Rights Watch interview with health expert, Harare, November 24, 2008.

[50] Barry Bearak, “Zimbabwe Declares Cholera Emergency,” New York Times, December 4, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/world/africa/05zimbabwe.html?ref=health (accessed December 4. 2008).

[51] “Zimbabwe Cholera is Over – Mugabe,” BBC online news, December 11, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7777178.stm, (accessed December 11, 2008).

[52] UN Consolidated Appeal Process for Zimbabwe 2009,  http://ochaonline.un.org/AppealsFunding/CAP2009/tabid/5120/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed January 12, 2009).

[53] Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights “Collapsed Health System Violating Health Rights,” November 19, 2008.

[54] UN Consolidated Appeal Process for Zimbabwe 2009, http://ochaonline.un.org/AppealsFunding/CAP2009/tabid/5120/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed January 12, 2009).

[55] “UNICEF Intensifies Emergency Response,” UNICEF press statement, December 2, 2008, http://www.unicef.org/media/media_46710.html (accessed December 2, 2008).

[56] Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, “Pregnant Women in Grave Danger,” November 20, 2008. See also Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights “Collapsed Health System Violating Health Rights,” November 19, 2008.

[57]Government of Zimbabwe, “Zimbabwe Millennium Development Goals, 2004 Progress Report,”

http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/atf/cf/%7BD15FF017-0467-419B-823ED6659E0CCD39%

7D/2004%20ZMDG%20Report.pdf (accessed March 28, 2008); World Bank, “Millennium Development Goals:

Eradicating poverty and improving lives: 2006 World Development Indicators, 2006,”

http://devdata.worldbank.org/wdi2006/contents/Foreword.htm (accessed March 28, 2008).

[58] Ibid.

[59] Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, “Pregnant Women in Grave Danger,” November 20, 2008.

[60] Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights “Collapsed Health System Violating Health Rights,” November 19, 2008.

[61] UN Consolidated Appeal Process for Zimbabwe 2009, http://ochaonline.un.org/AppealsFunding/CAP2009/tabid/5120/language/en-US/Default.aspx (accessed January 12, 2009).

[62] “Zimbabwe: Reverse Ban on Food Aid to Rural Areas,” Human Rights Watch news release, June 4, 2008, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/06/04/zimbab19022.htm.

[63] Ibid.

[64] “State Makes U-Turn on Food Distribution,” The Zimbabwe Times, June 18, 2008, http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=493 (accessed June 18, 2008).

[65] Under the Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO) Act, there is no provision empowering the Minister to order the suspension of NGO or PVO operations. Section 21 of the Act which provided for this eventuality was declared void by the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe. The court ruled that the section was at odds with section 18 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which stipulates that everyone is entitled to protection of the law. See Holland & Ors vs Minister of Public Service, Labout and Social Welfare 1997 (1) ZLR 186 (S).

[66] Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, November 25, 2008.

[67] Human Rights Watch interviews with local and international NGOs, Harare, November 16-26, 2008.

[68] Human Rights Watch interviews with representatives of humanitarian organizations, Harare, November 18, 2008.

[69] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with representative of humanitarian organization, November 11, 2008.

[70] Human Rights Watch interviews with representatives of international humanitarian organizations, Harare, November 23, 24 and 25, 2008.

[71] Ibid.

[72] Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, November 25, 2008.

[73] An enforced disappearance is detention by authorities who refuse to acknowledge that they are holding the person or to reveal the person’s fate or whereabouts, placing that person outside the protection of the law, and is a serious violation of international law.  See International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, G.A. res. 61/177, U.N. Doc. A/RES/61/177 (2006), adopted Dec. 20, 2006.

[74] “Zimbabwe: End Enforced Disappearances,” Human Rights Watch news release, December 19, 2008, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/12/19/zimbabwe-end-enforced-disappearances

[75] “Zimbabwe: Investigate Whereabouts of Abducted Human Rights Activist,” Human Rights Watch news release, December 3, 2008, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/12/03/zimbabwe-investigate-whereabouts-abducted-human-rights-activist

[76] “Zimbabwe: International Organizations Call for End to Abductions of Activists,” Human Rights Watch news release, December 10, 2008, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/12/09/zimbabwe-international-organizations-call-end-abductions-activists

[77] Ibid.

[78] “Zimbabwe: End Enforced Disappearances,” Human Rights Watch news release, December 19, 2008, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/12/19/zimbabwe-end-enforced-disappearances

[79] Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, statement on abductions, December 24, 2008. On file with Human Rights Watch.

[80] Ibid.

[81] Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, updates and timelines on abductions, January 6, 2009. On file with Human Rights Watch

[82] Ibid.

[83] Ibid.

[84] Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, updates and timelines on abductions, January 6, 2009. On file with Human Rights Watch.

[85] Ibid. Human Rights Watch opposes the death sentence in all circumstances because of its inherent cruelty.

[86] Ibid.

[87] Ibid.

[88] Human Rights Watch telephone interviews with lawyers Otto Saki and Alec Muchadema, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Harare, January 9, 2009.

[89]See article XVIII (18.5), Agreement between the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations, on resolving the challenges facing Zimbabwe, September 15, http:www.kubatana.net, (accessed January 18, 2009)

[90] “Zimbabwe: End Crackdown on Peaceful Demonstrators,” Human Rights Watch news release, October 29, 2008, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/10/29/zimbabwe-end-crackdown-peaceful-demonstrators

[91] Ibid

[92] Ibid

[93] Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Resolution 217 A (III), December 10, 1948, art. 25.

[94] International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (iCESCR), Resolution 2200 A (XXI), December 16, 1966, art. 11(1). Zimbabwe ratified the ICESCR on May 13, 1991.

[95] The right to adequate food (Art. 11),’ May 12, 1999. E/C.12/1999/5, CESCR General Comment 12 (23) and (24). (General Comments).

[96] ICESCR, art. 2,

[97] ‘The right to adequate food (Art. 11),’ May 12, 1999. E/C.12/1999/5, CESCR General Comment 12 (18). (General Comments).

[98] ‘The right to adequate food (Art. 11),’ May 12, 1999. E/C.12/1999/5, CESCR General Comment 12 (26). (General Comments).

[99] Ibid. para. 28.

[100] ‘The right to adequate food (Art. 11),’ May 12, 1999. E/C.12/1999/5, CESCR General Comment 12 (17). (General Comments).

[101]Ibid. para. 19.

[102]Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, Human Rights Council, January 10, 2008, A/HRC/7/5, para. 19.

[103]International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), adopted December 16, 1966, G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3, entered into force January 3, 1976, art. 12.

[104]UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR), “Substantive Issues Arising in the Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,” General Comment No. 14, The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, E/C.12/2000/4, ( 2000), paras. 30-31.

[105]OHCHR and WHO, “The Right to Health,” p. 5.

[106] See Ryszard Cholewinski, “Economic and Social Rights of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Europe,” Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, pp. 714-19.

[107]Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted November 20, 1989, G.A. Res. 44/25, annex, 44 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 167, U.N. Doc. A/44/49 (1989), entered into force September 2, 1990, art. 24(2)(b).

[108] The right to the health is recognized by articles article 5(e)(iv) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; 11(1)(f), 12 and 14(2)(b) of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women; by the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families: arts. 28, 43 (e) and 45 (c), and by the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 25.

[109]UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, para. 37.

[110]Ibid., para. 55.

[111]African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, 21 I.L.M. 58 (1982), entered into force Oct. 21, 1986, art. 16.

[112]African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/24.9/49 (1990), entered into force Nov. 29, 1999.

[113] See Human Rights Watch, “They Beat Me Like a Dog”: Political Persecution of Opposition Activists and Supporters in Zimbabwe, August 2008, http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/08/11/they-beat-me-dog-0.

[114] African Union, Resolution on Zimbabwe, July 1, 2008, http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/2008/june/summit/dec/ASSEMBLY%20DECISIONS%20193%20-%20207%20(XI).pdf (accessed January 12, 2009).

[115] “Zimbabwe: End Strain on Asylum System and Protect Zimbabweans,” Human Rights Watch news release, January 8, 2009, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/01/08/south-africa-end-strain-asylum-system-and-protect-zimbabweans

[116] “Further Cholera Deaths in Limpopo,” Mail and Guardian newspaper, December 19, 2008, http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-12-19-further-cholera-deaths-in-limpopo, (accessed December 19, 2008).

[117] “SA Declares cholera emergency,” News24, December 11, 2008, http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2440525,00.html, (accessed December 11, 2008).

[118] WHO, Weekly emergency situation update, vol.2, no.2, January 12, 2009, http://www.who.int/hac/crises/afro_update_12jan2009.pdf, (accessed January 12, 2009)

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