3.4 DISCRIMINATORY AND ARBITRARY LAWS The Zimbabwean authorities have passed discriminatory legislation over the years that has effectively excluded, marginalized and disenfranchised specific groups of people.13 The Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act 23/1984 was used to arbitrarily deprive persons of foreign origin of their right to a Zimbabwean nationality even though most of them were entitled to citizenship by birth.14 While states have a right to determine their citizenship laws, these laws must be in conformity with International Human Rights Law. As such, domestic law and practices must not be discriminatory and must conform to obligations to not render anyone stateless. Migrant workers and members of their families, including from neighbouring SADC countries who had settled in Zimbabwe prior to independence, found themselves at the receiving end of arbitrary and discriminatory provisions of the nationality legislation. Migrant workers located on mines and farms lost Zimbabwean nationality by operation of the law in 2001.15 While many were still considered Zimbabwean at the time of the 2001 amendment, the law required them to renounce their ancestral nationality within six months of the law entering into force. Many were unable to do so because they did not hold identity documents showing they were nationals of those other countries. In 2003 the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act was once again amended to allow people born in Zimbabwe, but whose parents came as unskilled workers from another country in the SADC region, to apply for “confirmation” of their citizenship of Zimbabwe and at the same time sign a form renouncing their potential entitlement to foreign citizenship.16 In 2009, the Constitution was amended to extend the right of citizenship to children born in Zimbabwe with one parent or grandparent who is or was a citizen (by birth or descent only), and removed the restriction on transmission of citizenship to children born outside the country. Following the promulgation of the 2013 Constitution, and in line with international human rights standards, Zimbabwean citizenship must not be revoked if a person would be rendered stateless.17 The 2013 Constitution also allows people to claim Zimbabwean citizenship before this Constitution came into force if at least one of their parents was from a SADC country.18 Although these provisions could potentially resolve statelessness for many people, no subsidiary legislation has been enacted to date and many people are left in limbo as a result. Although different groups have been affected by statelessness, including thousands of white commercial farmers, this report focuses on its impact on migrants and descendants of victims of Gukurahundi, both of them historically marginalized categories of people. 13 Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act 23/1984. Section 7 deprived citizenship to persons from countries such as Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Without citizenship many of these persons could not exercise citizenship rights such as the right to vote as their IDs were endorsed with the inscription “Alien”. This disenfranchisement meant that most migrants were prevented from voting in several general elections in Zimbabwe. 14 Section 7 provides for the 2001 amendment of the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act 23/1984. The amendment required persons of foreign nationality to renounce their foreign citizenship if they wished to retain Zimbabwean citizenship. The failure to renounce foreign citizenship within six months resulted in many persons originally from neighbouring Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) states losing their Zimbabwean nationality. 15 The 2001 amendment gave people of foreign origin 6 months to renounce their foreign nationality. Any person who failed to complete the renunciation within 6 months would automatically lose their Zimbabwean nationality. The law unfairly targeted migrant workers, many of whom no longer had ties with their countries of origin. 16 See Citizenship of Zimbabwe Amendment Act No. 12 of 2003, introducing section 9A to the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act. 17 Article 39(3) Constitution of Zimbabwe 18 Article 43 Constitution of Zimbabwe WE ARE LIKE “STRAY ANIMALS” THOUSANDS LIVING ON THE MARGINS DUE TO STATELESSNESS IN ZIMBABWE Amnesty International 11