By Martin Muleya.
Mutare, Zimbabwe. (News Of The South) – Civic society groups have implored to the government of Zimbabwe that the right to own land should be based on production of the farming activities at that particular piece of land.
This was said at the two day workshop that started yesterday (Wednesday) at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Consultative meeting that was held at a local hotel in Mutare.
Zimbabwe Coalition Centre for Development member Andy Ziyera expressed concern that while the Constitution recognized ownership of land in the Constitution, such right has not been achieved the desired results.
“While we applaud Government of Zimbabwe for recognizing that land is a right there is need to go a step further. We urge our government to give land to those who use it productively. Also there is need to look seriously on the issue of justice vis-à-vis the rule of law.
Are we interested in the ‘rule of law’ alone at the expense of justice. We still have some unjust laws that government need to seriously look on eg. Labour laws, sexuality,” queried Ziyera?
Speaking at the same occasion Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Virginia Mabhiza remarked that the progress made by Zimbabweon human rights issues was commendable.
Since last review, Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution which must be hailed for providing a wider bill of Rights that are justiciable and are afforded by everyone in Zimbabwe regardless of nationality, tribe or disability among other grounds.
It must also be noted that one of the recommendations which Zimbabwe accepted concerned the creation of Independent Commissions. Government has been engaged in various publicity campaigns aimed at raising awareness on human rights issues throughout the country, said Mabhiza.
The Justice Perm Sec also noted that her ministry however, has been approached by various civic society groups with concerns at the slow process with which the alignment process of laws in the new homegrown Constitution has been carried out.
She conceded that the task of aligning laws with the new Constitution was not just a stroll in the park and urged stakeholders to be more patient with government as the process involves consultations.
“My Ministry has noted the concern raised by different stakeholders at the slow process with which the alignment is being carried out. It is important to remember that law making is a process not an event. As such one has to appreciate that the task of alignment of laws is a mammoth one which involves numerous stages including consultations with stakeholders,” she added.
Principal law Officer in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Innocent Mawire highlighted that since Zimbabwe first participated in the UPR in February 2011, about 177 recommendations adopted during the 19th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2012, 130 recommendations were accepted and 47 rejected.
Some of the recommendations accepted by the Government of Zimbabwe include;
*Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities
*Taking concrete measures to align Zimbabwe’s domestic laws with international human rights instruments to engage harmonization with the protections guaranteed in the Constitution.
*Combatting human trafficking
*Strengthening its institutions eg. Corruption, Crime.
*Intensifying efforts to implement national programmes that promote the rights of people.
“There are about 47 recommendations that were rejected by the Government of Zimbabwe and member States are allowed to do so. This was done in 2012 and the UN Council will not question our government over those recommendations we rejected,” said Mawire.
The Universal Periodic Review is a unique process involving a periodic review of the human rights record of all 193 UN Member States once every four and half years.
UPR provides an opportunity for all States to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to overcome challenges to the enjoyment of human rights.
Since the adoption of the National Plan of Action by stakeholders, Government has made considerable strides towards the implementation of the Universal Periodic Review recommendations. Major milestones including the holding of a referendum to adopt a new Constitution and the enactment of that Constitution, the successful holding of harmonized elections which brought to an end the Global Political Agreement and the Inclusive Government.
A national process is currently underway to align the country’s laws with the provisions of the new Constitution.
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