Aligning the administrative justice act with the constitution. Its about belonging, identity and access to rights, benefits and privileges. Clause 1 sets out the short title of the bill to be the zimbabwean citizenship bill, 2018. The bill of rights can also be referred to as the declaration of rights or the fundamental rights chapter. The zimbabwe ngo forum the forum, notes with concern ongoing attempts by the government of zimbabwe to amend the constitution following the recent gazetting by the clerk of parliament of the of constitution of zimbabwe amendment no. Human rights are also enshrined in documents and instruments such as the universal declaration of human rights udhr and the african charter on human and peoples rights achpr human rights listed in the constitution are legally binding and if violated, one can seek justice and recompense in the supreme court. The constitution s effective date is 22nd august 20. Rights of women enshrined in constitution the herald.
Zimbabwes constitution, which was adopted in 20, hereinafter referred to as the constitution, contains a progressive and justiciable bill of rights. The following constitutional bill is published with this gazette extraordinary in terms of section 328b of the constitution of zimbabweconstitution of zimbabwe amendment no. May 22 20 saw the introduction of zimbabwes current constitution. Under section 328 of the constitution of zimbabwe amendment no. A constant assault on democracy and constitutionalism the constitution of zimbabwe was a ceasefire document conceived during peace talks to protect selected interests. The right to administrative justice zimbabwe today. The constitution of zimbabwe which was in use just after the country attained its independence in 1980, has been criticized by the child rights sector for not being child friendly.
A section of the constitution, chapter 3, deals specifically with the issue of citizenship, while parts of the declaration of rights specifically confer certain citizenspecific rights. The new constitution places some curbs on the president and bolsters the bill of rights. The powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. Zimbabwe has prioritized childrens rights, it adopted the convention on the rights of the child and various laws have been passed in the recent years which protect children. Mar 18, 20 a key component of the agreement that brought together zimbabwe s feuding political parties in a unity government in 2008 was a new constitution to be put to the public vote. The inclusion of social, economic, cultural and environmental rights is a. Citizenship is one of the most important rights in the constitution of zimbabwe. Duty to respect fundamental human rights and freedoms. Should it be passed by parliament, the bill will introduce several changes to the constitution of zimbabwe with some of them ranging from being minor to being very important. It is the view of zimbabwe lawyers for human rights zlhr that the bill raises serious concerns, and the portfolio committee. We hope to foster these rights as a country simply because zimbabwe is a unitary. The independence constitution of 1980 was the result of the 1979 lancaster house agreement and is sometimes called the lancaster constitution. The disadvantage with the constitution then, was that its bill of rights did not protect children.
Speaker of parliament, lovemore moyo, announced that no lawmaker had opposed the passage of the. Existing laws in zimbabwe fail to protect the rights of. The government of zimbabwe should be taking a cue from. Feb 17, 2020 the constitution amendment bill of 2019 is one of the biggest threats to civil and political rights in zimbabwe. The new zimbabwe constitution was enacted by the constitution of zimbabwe amendment no. Elections in zimbabwe they are harmonized and therefore citizens vote for the president, councilors, and. Harare, zimbabwe, 16 september 2011 this past july, the 19th session of zimbabwes junior parliament officially opened, with the incoming child president, anesu rangwani pledging a greater role by children in the crafting of a new constitution that should incorporate a separate bill of rights for children. Mar 17, 20 a woman cast her ballot saturday at a polling center in harare, zimbabwe. Jul 16, 2019 when passed into law, the freedom of information bill is meant to give effect to the access to information provisions enshrined in sections 61 and 62 of the 20 zimbabwe constitution. May 01, 2017 the constitution of zimbabwe which was in use just after the country attained its independence in 1980, has been criticized by the child rights sector for not being child friendly. Of significance is the definition of responsible parent which, in line with the constitution, confers the same parental rights on either of the parents of a child. These human rights and freedoms indubitably include the right to access information.
The following constitutional bill is published with this gazette extraordinary in terms of section 328b of the constitution of zimbabwe constitution of zimbabwe amendment no. Reflections on youth, women quota as proposed in zimbabwe. The inclusion of social, economic, cultural and environmental rights is a new feature of the constitution. In terms of section 2431a d and f of the constitution, the zhrc is tasked with the promotion, protection, development, and attainment of human rights and freedoms. Indeed, this was the case in the ministerial draft of the freedom of information bill. Single handedly, the bill seeks to take zimbabwe back to the legacy of the lancaster house constitution, which had numerous restrictions.
This complete constitution has been generated from excerpts of texts from the repository of the. First amendment of the bill of rights and land reform 1 the lancaster house constitution entrenched the bill of rights for the first ten years of independence. Constitution, to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual specified. You can read the bill of the proposed amendments here, and view a simplified list of them here the legal resources foundation has prepared a summary of these amendments in english, shona and ndebele we have a constitutional amendments page which we update each time. Clause 2 defines some of the terms used in the bill and these are selfexplanatory.
This act may be cited as the constitution of zimbabwe amendment no. The present constitution of zimbabwe became fully operational on the 22nd august, 20, having been assented to on the 22nd may, 20, by the president as the constitution of zimbabwe amendment no. Mar 08, 2020 on december 31, 2019 and again on january 17, 2020, the government, through the government gazette, published the constitution of zimbabwe amendment number 2 bill. Most modern constitutions have a declaration or bill of rights setting out. On december 31, 2019 and again on january 17, 2020, the government, through the government gazette, published the constitution of zimbabwe amendment number 2 bill. Oct 01, 2015 this article explores childrens rights as enshrined in the constitution of zimbabwe amendment no 20 act of 20. Fundamental rights in the constitution are found in chapter 4. African customary law, customs, and womens rights muna ndulo. Why mnangagwas constitutional amendments are raising dust. A proposed constitution, drafted by a constitutional convention, was defeated by a constitutional referendum during 2000 in practice, the 2008 powersharing deal provided the.
In january 2020, government announced a number of proposed amendments to the constitution of zimbabwe. Constitution since citizens right to access information and freedom of expression are stifled by the bill regardless of the fact that these rights are provided for in the constitution of the country. This constitution replaced the old constitution sometimes referred to as the. We have already promoted entrenchment of labour rights by embedding them in section 65 of the constitution. The bill is a violation of sections 17, 56 and 80 of the constitution, which guarantee gender parity at all levels of leadership. A national human rights institution established under section 242 of the constitution of zimbabwe, whose main mandate is to protect, promote and enforce human rights. It is therefore, null and void to the extent of its inconsistency. This constitution had a provision which entrenched the declaration of rights or bill of rights for ten years from the date of independence. A gender commission was also established to accelerate the implementation of provisions related to women. The bill passed after the house of assembly approved three amendments made by the senate on tuesday.
Final papers of the 2016 national symposium on the promise of the declaration of rights under the constitution of zimbabwe. This general notice nullifies general notice 434 of 2016, which was published in the extraordinary gazette on 23rd december, 2016. The constitution amendment bill of 2019 is one of the biggest threats to civil and political rights in zimbabwe. May 22, 20 aligning the administrative justice act with the constitution. Zimbabwes new 20 constitution addressed womens rights and gender equality, and its bill of rights addressed damaging cultural and discriminatory practices. The declaration of rights provides for the right to education, health care, food and water as well as marriage rights and the rights of women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities and war veterans. Why citizens must reject the constitution amendment bill.
It only included civil and political rights in issues to do with governance lincoln university, 2017. Elections in zimbabwe they are harmonized and therefore citizens vote for the president, councilors, and members of parliament at the same time. Manual on citizenship rights in zimbabwe bigsaturdayread. Harare parliament wednesday passed the constitution of zimbabwe amendment number 20 bill paving way for president robert mugabe to sign the draft constitution into law. History of constitutional amendments in zimbabwe zimbabwe. Zimbabwe lawyers for human rights zlhr sadly finds itself having to take note of the fact that, since independence, the executive and legislature have found it.
The bill of rights is the cornerstone of any democratic state, it serves as a measure to protect the citizen from arbitrary abuse of power by the state. Human rights are also enshrined in documents and instruments such as the universal declaration of human rights udhr and the african charter on human and peoples rights achpr human rights listed in the constitution are legally binding and if violated, one can seek justice and recompense in. A proposed constitution, drafted by a constitutional convention, was defeated by a constitutional referendum during 2000. Harare, zimbabwe, 16 september 2011 this past july, the 19th session of zimbabwes junior parliament officially opened, with the incoming child president, anesu rangwani pledging a greater role by children in the crafting of a new constitution that should. A key component of the agreement that brought together zimbabwes feuding political parties in a unity government in 2008 was a new constitution to be put to the public vote. The proposed new constitution of zimbabwe, which had been drafted by a constitutional convention the previous year, was defeated. A constitution establishes the basic institutions of the state and regulates the executive.
The defeat was unexpected and was taken as a personal rebuff for president robert mugabe and a political triumph for the newly formed opposition group, the movement for democratic change. The declaration of rights covers labour and political rights, freedom of movement and residence, the right to administrative justice and a fair hearing. This article explores childrens rights as enshrined in the constitution of zimbabwe amendment no 20 act of 20. Zimbabwe was granted independence under the lancaster house constitution lhc of 1979. Singlehandedly, the bill seeks to take zimbabwe back to the legacy of the lancaster house constitution, crisis said in a statement. The lancaster house constitution entrenched the bill of rights for the first ten years of independence. This bill will repeal the citizenship of zimbabwe act chapter 4. Constitution states that public officers owe a duty to everyone in zimbabwe to.
The constitution of zimbabwe had been drawn up as part of the lancaster house agreement of 1979 and had served the country for nearly 20 years. On labour, the declaration of rights states that every zimbabwean has the right to fair and safe labour practices and standards and to be paid a fair and reasonable wage. It is the view of zimbabwe lawyers for human rights zlhr that the bill raises serious concerns, and the. There was a widespread feeling in zimbabwe that it was too heavily influenced by the countrys colonial past, and that a new constitution written in the light of the experience of independence was desirable. It therefore remains flawed and unable to substantively promote and protect the human rights of all the people of zimbabwe today. Despite president emerson mnangagwa repeatedly voicing his commitments to human rights reforms, zimbabwe remained highly intolerant of basic rights, peaceful dissent, and free expression in 2019. The constitution of zimbabwe is the supreme law of zimbabwe. A woman cast her ballot saturday at a polling center in harare, zimbabwe. Zimbabwes children advocate for bill of rights in the new. Constitution of zimbabwe amendment bill, 2005 representations made by the zimbabwe human rights ngo forum to the portfolio committee on justice, legal and. Section 3a of the bill reflects this when it states that one object of the bill is, to give effect to the right to access information in accordance with the.
These rights are constitutional rights and therefore legally binding. I am a member of parliament and will take you through the new. Zimbabwe is a unitary, democratic and sovereign republic. Apr 12, 2017 zimbabwes constitution, which was adopted in 20, hereinafter referred to as the constitution, contains a progressive and justiciable bill of rights. The enumeration in the constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. The declaration of rights sometimes referred to as the bill of rights sets out rights and freedoms that the people of zimbabwe are entitled to by virtue of being human beings. The disadvantage with the constitution then, was that its. Crisis in zimbabwe coalition cizc on wednesday held a workshop which was attended by representatives from the countrys civil society who spoke out against constitution amendment bill number 2 of 2019 zimbabwe nongovernmental organisation ngo human rights forum representative, blessing gorejena, spoke on citizens ignorance concerning. The bill also recognises the constitutional imperatives relating to children and the rights of both parents in relation to the guardianship of children. Bill of rights sets out rights and freedoms that the people of zimbabwe are entitled to by virtue of being human beings. A constitutional referendum was held in zimbabwe on 12 february 2000.
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