Habakkuk Trust in Bulawayo helps communities in Matabeleland to access identity documents. The director, Dumisani Nkomo, told Amnesty International that in Ward 13, an administrative area, in Garanyemba, Gwanda, his organization came across 1,500 children without birth certificates; either because they lacked baby health cards or were born outside Zimbabwe to parents who did not have documentation or could not afford the US$50 fee to register children born outside the country. In Wards 19 and 6 in Matobo South, namely Zamanyoni, Bhalagwe and Mahetshe, there are many children whose access to education has been affected due to lack of birth certificates,” Dumisani Nkomo.89. One school in Matobo South enrolled 450 students, of whom 320 have no birth certificates. Birth registration and a birth certificate are free for those born in Zimbabwe to parents who are citizens. Before December 2018 the office of the Registrar General charged US$50 to process birth certificates for children born outside Zimbabwe and US$25 for a child born in Zimbabwe if neither parent is a citizen. Amnesty International met with the current Registrar General in October 2018 in Harare and raised concerns about the discriminatory fees, pointing out that they leave people at risk of failing to gain the Zimbabwean citizenship to which they are entitled. In January 2019 the office responded positively to these concerns and reduced the fee for children born outside Zimbabwe from US$50 to US$5. Amnesty International recognizes the steps taken by the government to reduce birth registration fees for people who are Zimbabwean by descent. 10.2 RIGHT TO HEALTH The right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest standard of physical and mental health that will permit them to live with dignity, equal and free from discrimination, is protected by various international human rights instruments to which Zimbabwe is a party. These include Article 12(1) of the ICESCR which guarantees that everyone should enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;90 and Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 16 of the African Charter 91 which enjoin States Parties to take the necessary measures to protect the health of their people and to ensure that they receive medical attention when they are sick.92 Section 76 of the Zimbabwean Constitution guarantees everyone the right to health care, including reproductive health care services.93 Despite these obligations, stateless people in Zimbabwe face barriers to accessing health care. Pregnant women are excluded from critical life-saving services such as antenatal care and assistance during labour. Botshiwe Dube, from Tsholotsho, told Amnesty International that because she was unable to access health care and treatment, she “gave birth to her children like goats at the homestead” and she sees her children and grandchildren as “stray animals because they are all undocumented.” Ngozi Mine Dump site is a slum settlement on the outskirts of Bulawayo. Stateless people who live there in extreme poverty have no access to formal health care facilities. One of them, Siphilisiwe Tshuma, told Amnesty International that she has eight children, five of whom were born at Ngozi Mine Dump site. Siphilisiwe says she gave birth in her shack with the assistance only of unqualified and unregistered midwives as she could 89 Interview with Dumisani Nkomo in Bulawayo on 9 October 2018. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights REF 91 Also see Article 14 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child on Health and Health Services “to ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care to all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care.” https://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/au/afr_charter_rights_welfare_child_africa_1990.pdf 92 African Commission on Human and People’s Rights https://www.achpr.org/legalinstruments/detail?id=49 REF 93 Constitution of Zimbabwe http://www.veritaszim.net/sites/veritas_d/files/Constitution%20of%20Zimbabwe%20Amendment%20%28No.%2020%29.pdf 90 WE ARE LIKE “STRAY ANIMALS” THOUSANDS LIVING ON THE MARGINS DUE TO STATELESSNESS IN ZIMBABWE Amnesty International 32