3.2 GUKURAHUNDI MASSACRES Simmering political tensions between the Robert Mugabe-led ZANU-PF and the Joshua Nkomo-led Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) came to a head in 1983 when the friction erupted into violence. Government-led Fifth Brigade security forces cracked down on ZAPU supporters in Matebeleland and the Midlands, where ZAPU support, much of which came from the minority Ndebele people, was strong. The operation was codenamed Gukurahundi. Between 1983 and 1987, when security forces targeted thousands of Ndebele people with torture, detention and summary execution, an estimated 20,000 people were killed. Amnesty International documented the torture and killings in various reports and letters to the government.8 During Gukurahundi and its aftermath, many thousands died, lost family members and were forced to flee their homes in the affected areas in Matabeleland. Many inevitably lost their identity documents. As a result, those born in the ensuing months and years were unable to be registered, thereby rendering them stateless. Prominent scholars have argued that when ZANU-PF came to power in 1980, the state deployed violence against those such as PF-ZAPU and former cadres of the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA)9 who happened to be construed as enemies of the state. Some have argued that Gukurahundi was a political strategy rooted in “confrontation” and “embracing violence as a legitimate political tool in fighting for independence and the political destruction of opponents and enemies.”10 3.3 PROOF OF NATIONALITY AND BIRTH REGISTRATION In order to prove that they are a citizen of a particular country and obtain their birth certificate, individuals in most countries across Southern Africa need to provide evidence that they were born in a certain area in the country, together with their parents’ identity documents. The birth certificate serves as an identity document for minors, allowing them to obtain national identity documents (IDs) and travel documents when they are older. The UNHCR sets out the crucial importance of obtaining proof of nationality and birth registration, and the problems which arise later when this is not possible: 11 “The systems for proof of nationality are in practice often as important as the provisions of the law on the qualifications in principle. If there are onerous requirements or costs attached to proof of nationality, or discrimination in practice means that proof is not obtainable, then the fact that a person actually fulfils the conditions laid down in law may be irrelevant. In principle, recognition of citizenship should start immediately after birth, with registration of the birth itself. Birth registration establishes in legal terms the place of birth and parental affiliation, which in turn serves as documentary proof underpinning acquisition of the parents’ nationality (jus sanguinis), or the nationality of the state based on where the child is born (jus soli). Birth registration (while not itself conferring citizenship) is usually fundamental to the recognition of nationality itself, and thus of all other citizenship rights: lack of birth certificates can prevent citizens from registering to vote, putting their children in school or entering them for public exams, accessing health care, or obtaining identity cards, passports, and other important documents. Yet according to UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, 55% of African children under five years old have not been registered, with the situation much worse in rural areas.”12 8 See letter from Amnesty International’s Secretary General Pierre Sané to President Robert Mugabe concerning the need for public discussion and action on the disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands in the 1980s, 23 May 1997 (AFR 46/02/97). The letter details Amnesty International’s involvement in documentation of the torture, disappearances and killings that took place. 9 Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). 10 Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Sabelo J. “Rethinking ‘Chimurenga’ and ‘Gukurahundi’ in Zimbabwe: A Critique of Partisan National History.” African Studies Review, vol. 55, no. 3, 2012, pp. 1–26. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43904846. Accessed 3 June 2020 11Bronwen Manby (2011,) Statelessness in Southern Africa https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/50c1f9562.pdf 12 UNHCR. (2011). Statelessness in Southern Africa WE ARE LIKE “STRAY ANIMALS” THOUSANDS LIVING ON THE MARGINS DUE TO STATELESSNESS IN ZIMBABWE Amnesty International 10