Special Rapporteur Clément Voule undertook an official country visit to Zimbabwe from 17 to 27 September 2019. The objective of the mission was to assess the situation of peaceful assembly and association rights within the country.

The findings and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur Voule were presented to the Human Rights Council during its 44th session in July 2020.

The Special Rapporteur welcomed the invitation Zimbabwe extended to him for the visit and the relevance of being the first special procedure mandate holder to visit the country.

The Special Rapporteur concluded his visit by urging the State to protect people’s rights to organize and to assemble:

The Government must strengthen good practices that enhance dialogue, that allow for democratic expression and organization and respond to the grievances of the people. Such an approach will help enable a solution to the crisis, with the participation of the citizens of Zimbabwe”, he stressed.

The Special Rapporteur expressed his concern at multiple accounts of security forces using excessive force, which included indiscriminate beatings, arrests, killing, torture and other forms of ill-treatment against peaceful protesters between August 2018 and January 2019, following the Government’s announcement of economic measures. Many of the reported arrests were targeted because of their political affiliation or for their dissenting views or activism, including trade union leaders. He also expressed concerned over internet shutdowns during the protests.

He affirmed that since these events “there has been a considerable deterioration of civic space in the country, which has reestablished an environment of persecution and fear.”

The report also noted “the difficult environment in which labour unions operate”, which have “significantly weakened their ability to exert influence on legal reforms and the formulation of public policies and put their leaders in dangerous positions as a result of State repression.”

The Special Rapporteur emphasized that: assemblies should not be feared and repressed but rather they should be encouraged for there is a value in expressing disagreement and differences peacefully.”

The report provides a series of specific recommendations to facilitate the protection of FOAA rights and to ensure the promotion of a safe environment for everyone seeking to exercise these rights.

Read UNSR Voule’s End of Mission Statement here

Read the full report (A/HRC/44/50/Add.2) in all UN languages here