AS the world paused last week to observe International Human Rights Day, Zimbabwe joined the global reflection under the theme Our Everyday Essentials.
This commemoration invites every nation to introspect, to look beyond speeches and declarations, and to honestly assess how far it has gone in respecting, protecting and fulfilling the fundamental rights of its citizens.
For Zimbabwe, this moment must be more than ceremonial — it must be a clarion call to transform our solemn commitments to lived realities that touch every village, township and city street.
Human rights are not political ornaments; they are the moral foundations upon which any just, prosperous and inclusive society must rest. Yet, as we examine our recent record, the evidence shows that we are still drifting dangerously between aspiration and regression.
Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), one of the most respected local human rights watchdogs, recently gave a sobering portrayal of our situation.
In marking Human Rights Day, the organisation revealed that it had recorded “1 235 cases affecting 44 853 people in 2025,” confirming a worsening human rights environment.
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Behind these numbers are real lives, families whose dignity has been eroded by injustice, neglect and abuse. ZPP noted that “the violations range from collapsing service delivery to serious abuses in mining communities, including displacement, arbitrary eviction, disrupted schooling, loss of farming land and even death”.
These are not marginal inconveniences; they go to the heart of survival and dignity.
To be displaced from one’s home or stripped of one’s livelihood without due process is to have one’s humanity denied. To live without safe water, proper sanitation or functioning healthcare is to endure daily violations of constitutional rights guaranteed under sections 49, 51, 52 and 53 of the Constitution — the right to life, dignity, personal security and protection from inhumane or degrading treatment.
The continuing decay of basic service delivery, particularly in urban areas, has entrenched what the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) called “systemic human rights violations.” Harare residents, through CHRA, painted a vivid picture of despair: “For years, residents have been forced to navigate life-threatening realities such as unsafe water, prolonged dry taps, uncollected refuse, sewer bursts and environmental pollution, including hazardous industrial emissions and toxic wastewater discharges in residential areas.” It is difficult to argue with the association’s conclusion that these are not mere governance lapses, but gross infringements of human rights born from decades of poor management, weak oversight and disregard for citizens’ welfare. A city where waste rots uncollected and families fetch water from unsafe wells is a city where dignity has been forgotten. The breakdown of municipal systems translates directly to the erosion of citizens’ rights. Service delivery failures are not only administrative; they are moral and legal catastrophes.
In rural and mining communities, the violations take another form — exploitative labour conditions, violent evictions and environmental degradation. While Zimbabwe has long welcomed foreign investors under the mantra “Zimbabwe is open for business,” we cannot allow investment to become an excuse for exploitation. ZPP has condemned “foreign investors and mining companies accused of physically, psychologically and economically abusing workers and residents,” urging that prosecution be pursued “regardless of offenders’ influence or nationality.” The principle is simple: economic development cannot be genuine if it leaves behind a trail of dispossessed villagers and poisoned rivers. Sustainable growth must rest on respect for people, communities and the natural environment that sustains them. Economic progress divorced from human dignity is not progress at all — it is exploitation dressed in policy clothing.
The situation is compounded by the continued shrinking of civic space. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) observed that “the enactment of the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Act [2025] tightened registration and reporting requirements for Civil Society Organisations, limiting civic space.” This law, though presented as a regulatory measure, has effectively constrained grassroots mobilisation and independent advocacy. When civil society organisations — the conscience of the nation — are suffocated by legal and administrative restrictions, accountability withers. The ability of citizens to organise, to speak freely, to criticise power and demand justice, forms the backbone of democratic life. Without it, governance becomes insulated from the people it claims to serve.
The irony, however, is that 2025 was also a year of historic progress. Zimbabwe took a monumental step forward with the abolition of the death penalty — an act hailed by ZimRights as a “courageous legal transformation” that aligned the country with global human rights standards after years of advocacy. This milestone shows that when there is political will, transformation is possible. The outlawing of capital punishment demonstrated that our nation can place human dignity above retribution, signalling the belief that every life has intrinsic worth. If such moral courage could guide other areas of governance — labour rights, environmental protection, access to water, gender equality, health and education reform — then the vision of a humane and just Zimbabwe would be more than a distant dream.
And yet, despite the gains, persistent problems continue to undermine our moral standing and hinder progress towards Vision 2030. Arbitrary evictions, such as a recent case along Chinhoyi road where families were reportedly “left in the rain” following demolitions, reveal an alarming disregard for the human cost of bureaucratic decisions. Even when such actions are legally sanctioned, they must never be executed without empathy, planning and adherence to human rights principles. The right to shelter, to adequate housing, is intimately tied to the right to dignity. For a government that aspires for global re-engagement and investment partnerships, it is imperative to demonstrate that we protect our own citizens. A nation that displaces its vulnerable under storm clouds loses moral authority in the eyes of the world.
Zimbabwe’s repeated violations in labour, political freedoms and socio-economic governance betray a deeper systemic malaise — a deficit of accountability and political will. The laws are there; the institutions exist. We have the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and other Chapter 12 institutions mandated to uphold justice and equality. Yet ZPP’s appeal that these bodies should “shorten investigative cycles and strengthen enforcement of their recommendations to ensure timely justice for victims” highlights a paralysis of action. Laws that live only in statutes and not in practice cannot uplift citizens. Institutions without independence or adequate resources cannot safeguard rights. We can no longer be comforted by the existence of frameworks on paper; we must measure ourselves by what they achieve in the lives of the poorest and most marginalised Zimbabweans.
To meet the objectives of Vision 2030 — to build a middle-income, inclusive and equitable society — we must realise that human rights are not a luxury to be enjoyed after economic stability; they are the engine of development itself. Economic progress without rights is a mirage, for it leaves behind a trail of exploitation, injustice and exclusion. Human rights provide the moral compass and structural integrity that ensure progress is inclusive and sustainable. In this light, the State must demonstrate political courage to uphold the rule of law impartially, to root out corruption that diverts resources from vital services and to ensure transparency in administrative processes. Governance must be seen not as dominance over citizens but as service to them.
As we re-engage with the international community and seek to restore global confidence, our human rights record will speak louder than our diplomatic declarations. A country cannot credibly claim to be “open for business” when public trust is corroded by repression, mismanagement and impunity. Investors, just like citizens, seek environments governed by predictability, fairness and respect for rights. A government that guarantees the rights of its people guarantees the stability businesses need to thrive. Protecting rights, therefore, is not only a moral duty; it is a pragmatic pillar of national prosperity.
In the end, Zimbabwe’s greatness will not be measured merely by infrastructural projects, budget surpluses or GDP figures. It will be judged by whether every child has access to clean water and quality education, whether every worker is treated with decency, whether every journalist can write without fear, whether every woman can walk free from violence and whether every citizen can hold power accountable without retribution. The promise of our Constitution will remain hollow until it lights every corner of our nation with equality and justice.
Human rights are the mirror of our national conscience. They reflect who we are and what kind of nation we wish to become. As ZPP wisely reminded us, “Human rights are not privileges; they are everyday essentials that must be safeguarded for all Zimbabweans.” If we truly mean to leave no one behind, we must act with urgency to make those essentials real. That means building institutions that are independent, nurturing a political culture anchored on empathy and accountability and ensuring that every law, policy, and development plan radiates respect for human dignity.
Only then will Zimbabwe cease to oscillate between hope and betrayal. Only then will we stand proudly before the world, not as a country pleading for forgiveness for its past, but as one that has reclaimed the soul of its people by making human rights the living, breathing reality of everyday.