Paris-Geneva, March 2, 2023 – At the beginning of February, the
Zimbabwean Parliament passed the Private Voluntary Organisations
(PVO) Amendment Bill H.B. 10, 2021 (PVO Bill). As the enactment of
the PVO Bill is now in the hands of the President of Zimbabwe, the
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT)
urges him to refrain from signing this bill into law, as its
implementation would seriously undermine freedom of association and
expression in the country.
On
February 1, 2023, the Zimbabwean Senate passed the PVO Bill. The bill
now only awaits the signature of Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson
Mnangagwa to be enacted into law. Although the official purpose of
the PVO Bill is allegedly to fight money laundering and terrorism,
civil society organisations as well as the UN
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly
have warned that the Bill violates fundamental rights and gives the
government unjustifiable control over civil society groups. In
a special report published in January 2022, Zimbabwe Human Rights
Association (ZimRights) warned that the PVO
Bill is an attack against active citizenship
as it undermines citizen engagement.
Should
it be adopted, the PVO Bill would provide the Office of the Registrar
of PVOs, which is under the control of the executive branch, with
wide and discretionary powers to interfere in civil society
organisations’ governance and activities. PVOs will be required to
register with the Registrar’s Office, which will have powers to
consider, grant or reject the registration of organisations, with
little to no judicial or administrative recourse against such
decisions. Many PVOs currently operating lawfully will not be able to
continue under the new law unless they meet the new requirements. The
Registrar will have the power to designate any PVO as “high risk”
or “vulnerable” to terrorism abuse following a non-transparent
risk assessment. That would allow them to revoke their registration
or even to replace their leadership. Additionally, the new bill would
include harsh penalties, ranging from heavy fines to imprisonment,
for administrative offences related to the registration of PVOs.
Above all, the bill contains provisions that allow for the banning of
civil society organisations from “engaging in political
activities”, a broad and vague concept that could potentially
include legitimate human rights activities.
The
Observatory recalls that the PVO Bill has been strongly contested by
civil society organisations and that the process of adoption of the
text has been marred by human
rights violations,
including acts of intimidation against human rights defenders
opposing it. The international community also voiced criticism of the
bill, with UN human rights experts recently expressing
their concerns
over the imminent adoption of the text, stating that “the
restrictions contained therein [the bill] will have a chilling effect
on civil society organisations – particularly dissenting voices. By
enacting this legislation, authorities would effectively be closing
an already shrinking civic space”.
The
Observatory expresses its concern over the dire impact this amendment
will have on civic space and freedom of association in the country if
enacted. The Observatory is further concerned by the fact that this
bill is being discussed and passed in the lead-up to the 2023 general
elections in Zimbabwe, and will have the effect of muzzling
independent civil society, which plays a crucial role in guaranteeing
participatory and transparent elections.
Zimbabwean
civil society has faced undue restrictions to the right to freedom of
association in the past months and these will only increase if the
PVO Bill is enacted. In June 2022, the Zimbabwe
Republic Police besieged a meeting of Mash Central (Bindura) Youth
School on Constitutionalism, held hostage about 86 participants,
confiscated the attendance registers, and ordered everyone to provide
them with their residential address.
In
the same month, a meeting of the Institute for Young Women
Development (IYWD) was likewise disrupted by the police and all
participants were arrested.
The
Observatory urges the President of Zimbabwe to reject to sign the PVO
Amendment Bill into law as it would impose undue restrictions on
civic space in the country. The Observatory urges the government of
Zimbabwe to engage in dialogue with civil society actors and
promote an enabling environment for them.
The Observatory further urges the authorities to protect, respect and
promote the right to freedom of association, a right protected by the
Zimbabwean Constitution, particularly Article 58, as well as by
international human rights instruments to which Zimbabwe is a party,
especially Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights.
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