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Afternoon
7 March 2000


A Government delegation from Zimbabwe this afternoon told the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that 4,000 whites still owned half of Zimbabwe's fertile land, leaving the majority of blacks landless.

The remark came as the Committee started its consideration of the fourth periodic report of Zimbabwe on how that country was implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Presenting his country's report, Patrick Anthony Chinamasa, Zimbabwe's Attorney-General, told the Committee it was inevitable that for independence to be meaningful to the majority of the population, the Government had to embark on a land redistribution programme. The population of Zimbabwe was estimated to be 10.4 million, according to the 1992 population census.

Peter Nobel, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Zimbabwe, said that financial and material constraints on minority education were to be regretted. However, the ambition of the Government with regards to teaching in the mother tongue of students was to be encouraged.

Zimbabwe's delegation also included Boniface Guwa Chidyausiku, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Tadeous T. Chifamba, Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission; Cosmas L. Zavazava, Minister Counsellor at the Permanent Mission; and Felix Maonera, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission.

Also participating in the discussion were Committee experts Deci Zou, Regis de Gouttes, Mahmoud Abul-Nasr, Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill, Agha Shahi, Brune-Otto Bryde, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Ion Diaconu, and Michael Parker Banton,

As one of the 155 States parties to the Convention, Zimbabwe is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to combat racial discrimination in compliance of the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 8 March, it will continue its consideration of Zimbabwe's report.

Report of Zimbabwe

The fourth periodic report of Zimbabwe (document CERD/C/329/Add.1) enumerates the administrative and legislative measures taken by the Government in order to implement the provisions of the Convention. It says that human rights issues are taught at a superficial level in the Zimbabwean curricula both at basic and secondary school levels. The Ministry of Education has, however, now prepared a proposal to incorporate human rights education into the school curriculum through identified "carrier" subjects.

The report says that the system of education which was inherited by the independent Zimbabwean Government in 1980 was radically biased in favour of the white community. The Government spent at least 10 times more on the white child than on the black child. Progress within the African education subsystem was characterized by bottlenecks and other impediments to progress and access. For instance, while education for the white children was free and compulsory up to the age of 16 and free up to college level, the same was not the case in African education. Consequently, at independence, the whole education system needed to be overhauled.

In addition, the report says that the Government of Zimbabwe was still committed to the fight to eradicate racial discrimination and apartheid. It has also continued to look for ways to prevent and prohibit racial discrimination through a bill which is to be enacted by the country's parliament. The bill will prohibit discrimination on the grounds of political opinion, creed and gender in a variety of circumstances.

Presentation of Report

PATRICK ANTHONY CHINAMASA, Attorney-General of Zimbabwe, said that the recommendations and remarks made by the members of the Committee on the previous report had contributed a lot to Zimbabwe's fight against racial discrimination.

The present report showed that progress had been made in some sectors, while stagnation was observed in other parts, Mr. Chinamasa said, adding that regression was also seen in one or two areas. He stressed that the parallelism of private and public education had continued in the country with the private schools perpetuating racial discrimination against the majority black population.

Mr. Chinamasa said the high fees for white private schools literally excluded the majority black students. Although the white population was a minority compared to the black population, such practices to exclude black students from white private school continued. The Government, however, continued to urge the private schools to at least provide scholarship grants to black students. He said that it was a paradox that all teachers in the private schools were paid by the Government.

Mr. Chinamasa said that Zimbabwe obtained its independence after an armed struggle and the fight was aimed at equitable land distribution. However, the question of land distribution remained one of the most critical policy issues that faced the independent Zimbabwe. To the majority of black Zimbabweans it was the raison d'etre of the liberation struggle.

Mr. Chinamasa told the Committee that 4,000 whites owned half of Zimbabwe's fertile land, leaving the majority of blacks landless. The population of Zimbabwe was estimated to be 10.4 million, according to the 1992 population census. It was therefore inevitable that for independence to be meaningful to the majority of the population, the Government had to embark on a land redistribution programme, he said.

PETER NOBEL, the Committee expert who served as the country rapporteur to the report of Zimbabwe, said that according to the World Directory of Minorities, published in 1997, the empowerment of some Ndebele political figures had not meant improved living standards for ordinary citizens. It was not the question of denial of basic political, civil or cultural rights but the denial of equal access to social and economic benefits. There were persistent allegations of deliberate blocking of investment in the field of water supply and the development of the regional capital, Bulawayo.

Referring to the appointment of the Ombudsman by the country's President, Mr. Nobel said that for the office of the Ombudsman to function well, it should be appointed by Parliament, report to Parliament and have its budget decided by the same legal body.

Mr. Nobel said that the report spoke about the private schools and the requirement that any one running such schools had to be authorized and registered by the authorities. But it did not say anything about what was required to receive authorization. The report also said that no responsible authority should charge or increase any fees by more than ten per cent without the approval of the Secretary of Education. Fees from whom, per cent of what, and when did the Secretary approve of a higher percentage, he asked.

Mr. Nobel said that financial and material constraints on minority education was to be regretted. However, the ambition of the Government with regard to teaching in the mother tongue of students was to be encouraged.

Other Committee members also raised questions on land reforms, education, respect for human rights of minorities, and citizenship.

PATRICK ANTHONY CHINAMASA, Attorney-General of Zimbabwe, responding to questions raised by Committee members, said that his country was committed to the fight against racial discrimination despite the lack of resources to finance some projects aimed at promoting racial equality.

Responding to allegations that the Government was deliberately blocking investment in the Ndebele area, Mr. Chinamasa said that there had been no such measures from the Government. The region did not attract investors to develop projects.

Despite the high fees for private schools, the Government was developing a philosophy to make education costs affordable and schools accessible to all, Mr. Chinamasa said. In addition, the Government had encouraged the establishment of private universities and other specialized institutions. After independence, black students were admitted to some of the country's universities which prompted whites to leave them and establish universities of their own.

A question was asked about whether the Government was planning to enact a law against polygamous marriages to which Mr. Chinamasa said that given the present state of affairs, an initiation to promulgate a law would not be acceptable. The situation of polygamous marriage was generally taken as a tradition and it had become part of social values.

Concerning the appointment of the Ombudsman by parliament, which was suggested by the country rapporteur, Mr. Chinamasa said that since Zimbabwe was following the British legal system, any executive appointment should emanate from the President and not from parliament. However, the office of the Ombudsman was independent in its functions and its resources were independently managed.

Mr. Chinamasa said that Zimbabwean legislation recognized spouses married to Zimbabweans males as citizens while men married to Zimbabean women were not considered as citizens. He said that the problem had drawn the attention of the Government and that a new law was envisaged to be written on the issue.



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