STATEMENT BY ZIMBABWE CSOs, Community Groups, And Individual Participants at the Zimbabwe National People’s Assembly on 23rd September 2022.
We, the representative of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from across Zimbabwe; community groups representing the youth, women, Persons with Disabilities, ethnic minorities; economically disadvantaged groups as well as individual participants from across Zimbabwe; and who identify with the cause for social and economic justice and the value of achievement of Agenda 2030;
Note with concern about the deteriorating living conditions of the poor and vulnerable groups of people in Zimbabwe and Africa at large occasioned by a range of human factors which continue to create barriers to the realisation of development goals (including the SDGs), freedoms and fundamental rights of the people;
Note with concern progress on Agenda 2030 is under threat. In 2022, the world is not working for most people and our planet. Human rights are being ignored and millions of people are being left behind, while a few become ever richer and more powerful. The world situation is not any different from what we have back here at home in Zimbabwe with a growing income gap and deteriorating economic conditions marked by high inflation rates, low salaries, poor fiscal policies, etc.
The war in Ukraine, together with other ongoing conflicts such as that in Mozambique and Dudula Operation in South Africa among others, has led to a massive increase in the number of people facing acute food insecurity, with rising food prices making life even harder for billions of people. Zimbabwe has not been spared either as poverty levels remain relatively high even after receiving below-average rainfall this season, prices remain high, and the capacity of the social system to target and reach the poor with adequate social safety nets is constrained. the purchasing power of incomes is being eroded, putting more people in or at risk of poverty and delaying improvements in basic service delivery. The protection measures undertaken by governments to address hunger and offer livelihood opportunities lost by marginalised people during the COVID pandemic have been lackadaisical and failed to yield the imagined results.
At the same time, climate change presents a long-term threat to our shared home on this earth, with temperatures continuing to rise and extreme weather events devastating communities at the frontlines. There has been an increased risk of natural disasters with the Manicaland Province still dealing with the impacts of Cyclone Idai.
The Covid-19 pandemic pushed humanity’s resilience to the limit and continues to have vast impacts on the lives of people and the wider social, economic, and environmental fabric of our world. Hundreds of millions of people lost their jobs and income and were pushed into poverty.
These events have shone a glaring light on the persistent and underlying injustices and inequalities in our societies.
We, therefore, urge our government, African government leaders to address extreme poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in all African countries through sustainable economic models, just and equitable recovery measures as well as sustainable and effective social protection mechanisms targeting People with Disabilities, women, the youth, low wage workers, ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups indiscriminately. We demand the abandonment of unfair and failed economic policies; exclusion of any sections of populations from mainstream development plans; debilitating austerity economic programmes; underhand, unfair, and illegal dealings with foreign business companies on Africa’s natural resources as they only fuel armed conflicts on the continent with crippling impacts on the already poor and vulnerable groups.
We call on the government of Zimbabwe and all African governments to continue to collectively address global challenges that affect access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and therapeutics in Africa.
We call on the Zimbabwean Government, African governments, the AU the UN, and other international stakeholders to come together and address the root causes of many of these conflicts as most of them stem from well-known causes and vested interests, including social exclusion, undemocratic governance, corruption and illegal scramble for natural resources, the nature of which in many cases extends beyond the control of the countries caught up in the conflicts.
We urge our government, and African leaders to commit to rights-focused and people-centred actions to help poor and vulnerable groups in the Region address climate adaptation challenges and increasing related losses and damages. We call on African leaders to create regional funds to increase the Region’s capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change and also to move towards a just, clean, and inclusive energy transition with a priority focus on increasing access to cheaper decentralised renewable energy, ending deforestation, reducing household energy poverty and powering key economic sectors.
We call on our government, African governments to align legislative frameworks, policy, and practice to constitutional provisions that guarantee civic and political rights. We condemn the increased cases of state-sponsored harassment and abuse targeting civil society, religious organisations, student leaders, and Human Rights Defenders, especially during election campaigns on the continent
We need to transform a system that is no longer fit for purpose, flip the script and re-imagine our planet as our shared home, respecting the fundamental rights of all people and the planet.
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are mobilising national people’s assemblies to ensure that the recovery must Leave No One Behind… there is still time to deliver sustainable development within the Decade of Action… if leaders in each country act for Peace, Climate, and Social Justice.
This mobilisation is part of a global movement of #PeoplesAssembly2022 organised by civil society, grassroots, and marginalised peoples and communities across the globe to raise voices and key issues to influence policies from the grassroots to global levels. The mobilisations are also part of the Global Week of Action and these demands will be sent to the Heads of State meeting for the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
We are sharing the issues and our demands with the government, members of parliament, and the UN.
