FACT SHEET
No. 1, 2019
Food Security and the Right to Freedom of Assembly
Zimbabwe Peace Project has over the years documented numerous cases of
destitute and marginalised citizens of Zimbabwe being unlawfully denied social
welfare assistance, solely on the basis of their political party allegiance. The
Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) in Section 77 (b) states that every
person has the right to sufficient food; with the State having the responsibility of
ensuring that reasonable legislative and other measures are taken to achieve the
progressive realisation of this right. State efforts to ensure that marginalised,
destitute citizens also enjoy this right, particularly during difficult or drought seasons
include the Presidential and Vulnerable Input Scheme; and the Food Deficit
Mitigation Strategy. These measures were put in place for the elderly, persons with
disability and child-headed families to receive assistance in the form of either
farming inputs, or food aid through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfare. The distribution of this assistance is where the discrimination occurs, as the
inputs and food aid are channelled through local, traditional structures.
Unfortunately these local structures are usually overseen by persons in the
Zimbabwe Africana National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu PF) leadership or partisan
traditional leaders, resulting in opposition party supporters or perceived opposition
party supporters frequently being discriminated and deprived of their right to food.
According to the ZimVAC 2019 report 51.4% of the population are food insecure;
meaning that the greater part of the Zimbabwean population lack reliable access to
a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food1. The food insecurity of the
majority of the Zimbabwean population is exacerbated by the blatant partisan
distribution of food aid
to already vulnerable
Food & other aid violations 2019
groups. Many of the
24
25
victims documented
during this period are
20
14
13
persons with disability
12
15
11
and the elderly, who
10
5
5
are not able to go and
2
5
1
work or produce food
0
for themselves in the
current
harsh
economic
environment.
During the course of 2019 (January to May) ZPP documented and reported violations
of the right to food and other second generation rights such as the right to
education, and healthcare. A total of 87 food and other aid related human rights
1
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/ERP/uni/FIMI.pdf