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 5.1 Analysis of Human Rights Affected by Non-Documentation ELEMENTS VIOLATED HUMAN RIGHT/FREEDOM INVOLVED130 5.1.1 Right to Nationality/Citizenship at Birth (section 35) 5.1.2 Freedom of Movement within and outside of the Country (section 66). 5.1.3 Political Rights (section 67) 5.1.4 Right to Health Care (section 76) Deprives children of the right to nationality and birth registration at birth. Deprives affected persons of their right of legal recognition later in life. Un-documented children at risk of statelessness at birth and later in life131. Deprives affected people of protection of the State wherever they maybe. Deprives affected people of the right to passports and other travel documents. Failure to benefit and enjoy other human rights and entitlements enjoyed by citizens, such as access to social services and political participation. Restricted movement in and out of Zimbabwe. Those affected cannot fully enjoy their socio- economic rights, because they cannot make a livelihood through cross border trading. Affects enjoyment of the right to life, personal security, and human dignity, as people risked their lives by crossing the borders illegally. Increased corrupt activities in order to acquire documents and cross borders illegally. Affects the right to health care, since people fail to seek medical treatment outside the country. Failure to vote in all elections and referenda. Inability to stand for elections into public office as un-documented people are regarded as foreigners. Inability to affect the election by participating in the making of political choices. Cannot fully participate in the activities of a political party as identity documentation is required in order to participate meaningfully. Right to form a political party undermined by lack of identity document which is required to register oneself as leader of the party. Participating as election agents not permissible without an identity document. Failure to access treatment at many health institutions where national identity documents are required. Inability to be a member of a medical aid society or medical insurance company. Exclusion from life assurance as proof of age is important in computation of premiums payable. PWDs without passports, cannot access duty-free assistive devices and technology available from other countries. 132 This also affects other people without passports who want to seek medical health care outside Zimbabwe. Withholding of birth records to induce settlement of debts violate the child’s right to registration and nationality/citizenship at birth. Non-documentation places children outside of the policy of free services of children under the age of five (5) years. Non-documentation of senior citizens deprives them of benefiting from policy on free services for those above 65 years of age. In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Statelessness arises from gaps in law and practice that deny an individual the right to a nationality at birth or later in life. Effectively, witnesses without national documents are alienated from Zimbabwean citizenship as enshrined in section 35, in particular subsection (2), which gives only legally recognised Zimbabwean citizens entitlement to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship. 130 131 44 44