Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

107th session

8–30 August 2022

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted

by States parties under article 9 of the Convention

List of themes in relation to the combined fifth to eleventh reports of Zimbabwe

Note by the Country Rapporteur

1.The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination decided at its seventy-sixth session that the Country Rapporteur would send to the State party concerned a short list of themes with a view to guiding and focusing the dialogue between the State party’s delegation and the Committee during the consideration of the State party’s report. The present document contains a list of such themes. It is not an exhaustive list; other issues may also be raised in the course of the dialogue. No written replies are required.

The Convention in domestic law and the institutional and policy framework for its implementation (arts. 1, 2, 6 and 7)

2.Updated and reliable information and statistics on the composition of the State party’s population, including on ethnic minorities and asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons and migrants as well as on their social and economic situation; and information on officially recognized ethnic minorities.

3.Update on the incorporation of the Convention into the domestic law of the State party; and information on instances in which courts, tribunals or other bodies have applied or reflected the Convention in their decisions.

4.Measures taken to ensure the independence and effectiveness of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission; measures to provide the Commission with adequate human and financial resources, including for regional offices; and information on the Commission’s activities in the area of racial discrimination.

5.Effectiveness of activities of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, in particular with respect to the massacres in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in the 1980s; and measures to allocate adequate resources to the Commission.

6.Updated information, including statistics, on racial segregation in schools and on measures taken to address and prevent such segregation.

7.Number and content of complaints received by the police and other authorities, and cases brought to courts, tribunals and other administrative bodies related to racial discrimination, and information on their outcomes.

8.Information on the impact of measures taken by the State party in the areas of culture and education under article 7 of the Convention.

9.Information on the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and of structural inequalities in the health-care system of the State party on ethnic minorities, asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons and migrants, and in particular on women in this context.

10.Information on the impact of the climate crisis on ethnic minorities, asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons and migrants in the State party, and in particular on women in this context.

Racist hate crimes and hate speech, and combating prejudices (art. 4)

11.Measures taken to ensure that the legislation in the State party fully complies with all provisions of article 4 of the Convention; and information on whether the Criminal legislation includes a racist motive as aggravating circumstance and whether changes have been made to the Prevention of Discrimination Act to remove any limits or conditions on the prohibition of racist statements.

12.Information on the extent of racist hate speech and hate crimes in the State party, and information on instances of such crimes.

Situation of ethnic minorities (arts. 2 and 5)

13.Information on measures taken to provide education in minority languages and on the extent to which pupils from ethnic minorities receive education in their languages in practice.

14.Measures to prevent and address discrimination of ethnic minorities, including with respect to employment and access to national identity documentation; information on measures to address discrimination of members of the Doma and Tshwa San tribes; and information on reports of harassment of the white minority living in the country.

15.Information on tensions and violence between ethnic groups and measures taken to ensure that all ethnic groups in the State party enjoy the right, without discrimination, to security of person and protection by the State against violence and bodily harm, including in the context of political violence. Measures to promote tolerance and understanding among different groups living in the territory of the State party and the impact of such measures.

16.Information on measures taken to ensure adequate political representation of ethnic minorities on all levels in the State party, and statistics on such representation.

17.Information and statistics on land redistribution, including on the impact that related policies have had with regards to reducing inequality, including on the various ethnic groups in the State party; and information on the implementation of the Global Compensation Deed Agreement.

18.Information on measures taken to increase efforts to prevent, investigate and prosecute crimes involving trafficking in persons, including with respect to complicit government officials; measures to facilitate the lodging of complaints by victims; measures to increase support and protection provided for victims of trafficking in persons; and statistics on victims of trafficking in persons, including their nationality and ethnic background.

Situation of migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons (arts. 2 and 5)

19.Information on discrimination faced by migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons and other non-nationals residing in the State party and on legislative or other measures to ensure the protection of their rights under article 5 of the Convention without discrimination, in particular with regards to employment, education, health care and housing.

20.Information on allegations that refugees are often compelled to work in the informal sector, often working under duress or in jobs presenting special hazards or risks, since they do not have access to the formal labour market. Measures taken to ensure that the principle of non-refoulement is implemented without exception, in particular in view of the reported forcible return of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

21.Information on steps taken to remove discriminatory provisions in the legislation on citizenship. Measures taken to prevent and reduce statelessness, including on steps to identify and register all stateless persons in the State party. Measures taken to remove barriers to acquiring citizenship faced by ethnic Ndebele whose families were killed or disappeared during the Gukurahundi massacres.

22.Measures taken to ensure that all children born in the State party have access to birth registration immediately after birth, regardless of the residence status or citizenship of their parents or any other reason.