Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission calls everyone to order

Statement on Protection of the Rights of Human Rights Defenders in Zimbabwe

19 August 2020

1. Introduction

Section 232 (b) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 20 Act, 2013 provides that the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) is one of the five Independent Commissions Supporting Democracy. The common objectives of Independent Commissions are provided for in section 233 of the Constitution as follows:

1. a) to support and entrench human rights and democracy;
2. b) to protect the sovereignty and interests of the people;
3. c) to promote constitutionalism;
4. d) to promote transparency and accountability in public institutions;
5. e) to secure the observance of democratic values and principles by the State and all institutions and agencies of government, and government-controlled entities; and
6. f) to ensure that injustices are remedied.
7. The role of ZHRC in supporting democracy is also in line with provisions of the Universal Declaration on Democracy (1997) and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance (2007). Articles 3 and 6 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and Article 4 of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance reiterate the State’s obligation to promote democracy, the principle of the rule of law and human rights.
8. Protection of Rights of Human Rights Defenders

As a national human rights institution supporting democracy, the ZHRC is concerned with the infringement of the rights of human rights defenders in Zimbabwe. According to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (1998) and the Marrakech Declaration (2018), human rights defenders are persons who individually or with others, act to promote and protect human rights. They comprise of individual activists, national human rights institutions, lawyers, teachers, journalists, trade unionists, environmentalists, whistle-blowers, religious institutions and residents’ associations, among others.

Human rights defenders can defend human rights as part of their jobs or in a voluntary capacity by: supporting respect for human rights in their communities and countries, collecting and disseminating information on human rights violations, supporting victims of human rights violations, taking action to secure accountability and end impunity; supporting better governance and government policies, contributing to the implementation of human rights treaties as well as human rights education and training.

5. It has been noted that violations of rights of human rights defenders can include, among others:
6. a) Smear campaigns
7. b) Surveillance and enforced disappearances
8. c) Harassment
9. d) False charges
10. e) Arbitrary detention
11. f) Restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedoms of expression, assembly and association
12. g) Physical and verbal att\acks

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