N AT I O N A L I N Q U I R Y R E P O R T ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION For Human Dignity “We as Tonga speaking people, we are so marginalized. Considering we have vast resources, but we are treated differently compared with other tribes. So, we end up being marginalized in everything, including documentation.” Stakeholder from Mola Community, Mashonaland West Province. Doma ‘‘We the Doma community live in a border area, remote to services and offices. We rely on Zambia for access to services. Accessing documents is difficult as we have to travel long distances. People do not have money so it becomes difficult to acquire documents.’’ Chief, Mbire Mashonaland Central Province. “Doma people cannot speak up for themselves because they are reserved in nature, illiterate and financially constrained, which hinders them from accessing national documentation”. Secretary to Village Head Mbire Mashonaland Central Province. Mixed race (Coloured) Community “I recognise that there is marginalisation based on the national identification or the double zero classification of our citizens. We went to the historical outlines where we found that particularly, this issue dates back to 1931 and 1930 where there was Land Tenure Act and Land Apportionment Act. Particularly, what does it have in relation to my community? I looked at my community, they are mostly people with double zero classification, people with no district of origin and looking contrary to the historical outline and said how are my people going to benefit from the said land allocations.” Male Representative of Sunningdale Residents Association, Harare Metropolitan Province. ELDERLY PERSONS “The witness is being kept at Zororo Old People’s home. When he came to Zororo Old People’s home he came without a birth certificate and an ID card as a result we failed to register him properly in our system. We have challenges in registering him with those who offer funeral services. We failed to register him for the Social Welfare services where we get some other assistance. We do not know his relatives, where he comes from since he does not have national identity card or birth certificate”. Male representative from Zororo Old People’s Home, on behalf of an elderly resident, Mutare, Manicaland Province FOREIGN NATIONALS FROM SADC COUNTRIES “In areas bordering Zambia and Mozambique, especially Mbire, Muzarabani, Mt Darwin and Rushinga, there are communities who live along the border line and are often difficult to establish their actual nationality. Parents may be from different sides of the border and they do not hold travel documents and neither do they cross the border procedurally. These people are difficult to register. Provincial Registrar Mashonaland Central Province In our community, we are at the border with Mozambique. Love knows no boundaries and our children from Zimbabwe and Mozambique interact resulting in intermarriages between them. The challenge is that when a Mozambican wife is un-documented, even when the husband has documents, the children cannot be registered”. 54-year-old Village Head, Rushinga, Mashonaland Central Province “My parents are of Mozambican descent. I was born here in Zimbabwe but when I acquired an ID, they recorded alien on it. It pains me that I was born here but I am considered an alien….” 71-year-old lady from Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central. PRISON INMATES “I once obtained a birth certificate but lost it when I was in primary school, maybe in grade 4 and I cannot proceed with trial because they need proof of my age. My parents are both deceased. My uncle disowned me and told me that I needed to fend for myself so I have no one to assist me because at court they want a birth certificate as proof of my age. I do not have the birth entry number but I know the names of my parents. The impact is that the trial is not proceeding because of lack of a birth certificate.” 17-year male Prison inmate, Marondera Prison, Mashonaland East Province “I once obtained an ID and lost it in 2017. On replacement I was given a waiting pass with a different ID number from the first one and when I went to get a plastic one, I was told that I have two ID numbers and therefore this had 89 89