UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 82) The GoZ has in the past reported on the different measures that it has put in place to facilitate the registration of all births, including legislative measures.
Para 83) The report on the ZHRC National Inquiry on Access to Documentation, including findings and recommendations was launched in 2020 and some of the recommendations are being implemented.
Para 84) The Civil Registry in collaboration with ZIMSTAT began producing Vital Statistical reports during the year 2021. These have statistics which are useful in determining the completeness of the birth registrations across the country as registered births will be expressed as a proportion of projected number of births which would have occurred during a reporting year.
Para 85) The Registrar General and Matabeleland Collective Trust concluded a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the intention of mobilising citizens in three provinces to take up their constitutional citizenship rights and to provide them with ease of access to national documentation for the full participation and enjoyment of their rights as Zimbabweans.

National Report Annex:
For general information on measures to improve on birth registration, refer to the 2nd Cycle report. Government is in the process of simplifying administrative procedures by aligning the Births and Deaths Registration Act to the Constitution and reviewing procedure manuals. As a measure to ensure that all births are registered, the Civil Registry collaborates with the Social Development department in registering abandoned and orphaned children. This arrangement has always benefited those children who do not meet basic requirements for birth registration.Government decentralised civil registration services through the establishment of 206 sub offices that are located at all major hospitals, some district hospitals and clinics; and other strategic places. Central, Provincial and District hospitals can now issue birth certificates immediately after children are born in the health facility and areas around the health facility.
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The law of Zimbabwe requires every birth to be registered (s81(1) of the Constitution).However, citizenship is not conferred by such registration to persons who do not qualify for citizenship in terms of the Constitution. Note that in terms of the Constitution (s36(3)), a child found in Zimbabwe who is, or appears to be, less than fifteen years of age, and whose nationality and parents are not known, is presumed to be a Zimbabwean citizen by birth.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 93) Referring to relevant supported recommendations from the previous review, SOSCVZ stated that the situation on the ground remained unchanged, with access to birth registration and the acquisition of birth certificates remaining a challenge for children and parents.
Para 94) ZiCLAN stated that mobile birth registration undertaken for children in residential care resulted in children being issued with abridged birth certificates which were not recognized by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Culture for applications for national identity cards and passports.
Para 95) JS12 stated that birth registration was particularly difficult for people in remote areas because the registry offices were centralized.

"National Report:
Para 17) Since the previous review, Government has ratified the following human rights treaties: UNCRPD and its Protocol; Palermo Protocol …

Para 19f) The Disabled Persons’ Act is being reviewed in order to align it with the Constitution and the UNCRPD.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 2) Zimbabwe supported a recommendation to ratify outstanding human rights instruments and has since ratified … OP-CRC-SC, CRPD and OP-CRPD. Zimbabwe was yet to ratify CAT, ICPPED, OP-CEDAW, ICCPR-OP1, ICCPR-OP2, OP-ICESCR …

Para 81) ACTSA stated that in 2013, Zimbabwe ratified CRPD. However, the Government has failed to align domestic legislation with the international obligations arising from this Convention."

National Report:
Para 101) In 2020, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO) disbursed ZWL$$83,800,000 to 219 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), of which ZWL$69,261,172 was disbursed to projects affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 957 jobs were sustained and 360 jobs were created. The gender composition of SME projects supported is shown in Annexure Fig 7.
Para 102) The GoZ funds the Women’s Development Fund, whose purpose is to provide loans to women’s groups without collateral. In 2020, 40 projects in 6 of the 10 provinces of the country were funded. ZWL$10,050,000 was loaned to 200 women who are in the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism and retailing sectors.
Para 108) When looking at the participation of women in the labour force, the 2019 Labour Force and Child Labour Survey estimated that there were overall employment and unemployment rates of 84% and 16% respectively. Amongst those who were employed, 57% were male and 43% were female. The unemployment rate for females was slightly higher than for males, with females at 17.2% and males at 15.7%. There was also a wide disparity on the Employment to Population Ratio (EPR). The EPR among the male population was 44.4% whilst for females it was 28.5%. Among people who were employed at management level in the country, the proportion of women was 33.7%. This is a notable increase when compared to the 27.9% which was found by a similar survey in 2014. More information on the occupations held by women in Zimbabwe is shown in the table below.

UN Compilation:
Para 64)The United Nations country team stated that there was limited political will to implement policies that protected and empowered women. Women’s empowerment programmes were underresourced and women had limited access to finance, land and freehold property. Women had limited opportunities to influence policy and continued to face legal, cultural and patriarchal barriers.
Para 66) In 2020, the CEDAW expressed its appreciation for the recognition by Zimbabwe of Sustainable Development Goal 5, on achieving gender equality and empowering women, as a priority area within the framework of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socioeconomic Transformation.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 3) Referring to relevant supported recommendations from the previous review, ZHRC noted that: … (e) women continued to face barriers to political and private participation and remained under represented at senior and management levels, and (f) there were high incidents of violence against women and girls, which was exacerbated by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Para 15) JS5 … noted the lack of exclusive gender equality legislation.
Para 18) ADH stated that although laws on personal status matters, such as marriage and divorce, were generally equitable, customary practices placed women at a disadvantage. JS19 stated that achieving gender parity remained a challenge and that women continued to be marginalized in many contexts.
Para 83) JS20 stated that the COVID-19 pandemic and the general economic crisis severely impacted women and girls. Women were over represented in the informal economy and in agriculture, were among those living in poverty and those holding low paying jobs in the formal economy. ECLJ stated that in the rural regions, poor families, especially amidst the worsening poverty aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, would often forcibly marry off their daughter to receive financial compensation in the form of a “bride price” that was paid to the family by the groom.