Universal Periodic Review and Children in Zimbabwe

What is the Universal Periodic Review?

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 194 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a significant innovation of the Human Rights Council which is based on equal treatment for all countries. It provides an opportunity for all States to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to overcome challenges to the enjoyment of human rights. The UPR also includes a sharing of best human rights practices around the globe. 

Objectives of the UPR

•          to address human rights violations,

•          improve the human rights situation,

•          encourage States to fulfill their human obligations and commitments,

•          assess the positive developments and challenge,

•          enhance the State's capacity,

•          provide technical assistance and share best practices between stakeholders.

How are the reviews conducted?

Reviews take place through an interactive discussion between the State under review and other UN Member States. This takes place during a meeting of the UPR Working Group. During this discussion any UN Member State can pose questions, comments and/or make recommendations to the States under review. The troikas may group issues or questions to be shared with the State under review to ensure that the interactive dialogue takes place in a smooth and orderly manner. The duration of the review will be three hours for each country in the Working Group. 

Can non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participate in the UPR process?

NGOs can submit information which can be added to the “other stakeholders” report which is considered during the review. Information they provide can be referred to by any of the States taking part in the interactive discussion during the review at the Working Group meeting. NGOs can attend the UPR Working Group sessions and can make statements at the regular session of the Human Rights Council when the outcome of the State reviews are considered.

When was the first review of Zimbabwe?  

The review of Zimbabwe took place on 10 and 12 October 2011 in Geneva, at the 12^th Session of the Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Concil. The second phase was in March 2012, when the country then either accept or reject the recommendations that had been set as under consideration.

Results of Zimbabwe’s UPR Review

A total of 177 recommendations for consideration by Zimbabwe to improve its human rights situation came out of the UPR. The Government of Zimbabwe accepted 130 and rejected 47 of these recommendations.

List of Child related recommendations:

Ratification and domestication of human rights treaties

ü  Sign and ratify the Optional Protocols to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on the involvement of children in armed conflict

ü  Ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

ü  Ratify the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children

ü  Take concrete measures to align Zimbabwe’s domestic laws, including customary laws, with international human rights instruments that are party to, to ensure harmonization with the protections guaranteed in the Constitution

General measures to implement human rights

ü  Intensify effort to implement national programmes that promote the rights of its people, including in the field of the rights of children and women as well as rights to education, health, adequate water and sanitation […]

ü  Undertake continued action including legislation to address the marginalization of women, children and other vulnerable groups from socio-economic and political spheres

Birth registration

ü  Undertake a review with a view to ensuring a coordinated system bridging gaps, especially with respect to the provision of birth certificates

Prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment

ü  Prohibit corporal punishment as a form of sentence as well as prohibit corporal punishment in all other settings

Orphans and vulnerable children

ü  Continue to work according to the National Action Plan II to focus on the situation of orphans and vulnerable children to ensure their access to health care and education

ü  Look into the matter of orphans caught up in the battle for property within the Anglican Church and ensure that orphans are being given experienced caretakers and have their basic rights covered

ü  Repriotitize resources to increase the budget for basic education, including the provision of additional tuition assistance to orphans and vulnerable children

ü  Continue free access to education, notably for girls and vulnerable children

Economic, social and cultural rights

ü  Continue with positive actions and programmes aimed at guaranteeing universal education and health services of quality to its people as well as those aimed at reducing poverty

ü  Concentrate more resources for the assurance of economic and social rights and for the implementation of Millenium Development Goals (MDG’s), in particular in the fields of education, healthcare and social security

ü  Continue to  take positive steps to enhance the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, especially in the areas of education, health and the care of the disabled

ü  Continue to invest heavily in education at all levels, invest more in rural development where the majority of women live, and seek technical assistance in the area of fighting disease

ü  Further reduce maternal and child mortality rates 

ü  Address the issue of school drop-out rates of children and examine related issues of child malnutrition

ü  Implement school meals programmes and link them to local food production

Monitoring and Reporting

ü  Create a system to collect updated and disaggregated data on the situation of the rights of the child

Rejected Recommendations:

×         Set a higher age of criminal responsibility for children from 7 to 12 years  and take all necessary measures to establish a specialized juvenile justice system, where children are treated in accordance with the principles of  the best interest of the child

×         Amend expeditiously the Birth and Death Registration Act to ensure that all children born in Zimbabwe, regardless of their parents’ origin are issued with birth certificates

What happens if a State is not cooperating with the UPR?

The Human Rights Council will decide on the measures it would need to take in case of persistent non-cooperation by a State with the UPR.

For further information:

www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR

www.upr-info.org/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Periodic_Review.