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Precious Manomano Herald Reporter

Zimbabwe will continue ensuring that citizens enjoy their rights as envisaged by the sustainable development goals and as part of measures for the country to attain an upper middle income status by 2030, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said yesterday.

Speaking in Geneva, Switzerland where he is attending a high level segment of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, he said the enjoyment of human rights helped to foster sustained inclusive and equitable economic growth in Zimbabwe.

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on these matters.

Minister Ziyambi said Zimbabwe was continually upgrading its monitoring and reporting of human rights in the country. “In terms of compliance with its reporting obligations under core human rights instruments, my Government continues to make steady progress. We recently submitted an updated common core document, along with consolidated reports under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.” This final report on elimination of racial discrimination had been scheduled for review before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, he said.

Zimbabwe’s National Disability Policy, launched in August 2021, mainstreamed disability in all laws, policies and programmes and the Education Act had been amended, now incorporating human rights norms relative to gender, disability, health and equity for children.

Government was also in the process of adopting a national migration policy which specifically provided for safe and orderly regular migration, with a focus on women, children and persons with disabilities.

Minister Ziyambi said the Government would continue with efforts to secure funding for purposes of compensating those former farmers whose land was acquired for resettlement for the improvements they had made to the land when they farmed it.

A US$3,5 billion compensation agreement was reached in July 2021, with the almost 4 000 individuals set to benefit.

Minister Ziyambi said Government would also provide scarce budgetary resources to support the most vulnerable in the country and to alleviate their suffering, especially those hard hit by Covid-19.