U.N. experts Tuesday expressed deep concern over Zimbabwe’s Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO) Amendment Bill which was passed by the nation’s Senate on February 1 and is currently before President Emmerson Mnangagwa for his decision on its enactment.
Should Mnangagwa sign the PVO Amendment Bill into law, government would be equipped with wide powers to interfere in the operations of civil society organizations.
Through a statement released to the media on Tuesday, four UN experts said "the restrictions contained therein will have a chilling effect on civil society organizations - particularly dissenting voices."
A U.N. official added that "This bill’s requirements would also immediately render existing organizations, operating lawfully as trusts and associations, illegal.”
The experts, appointed by the United Nations' Human Rights Council, "expressed deep concern" that a newly established registrar for civil society organizations "provides for disproportionate and discretionary powers".
"It is not too late for the president to change course," the experts said, offering assistance to "revise" the law to ensure it complies with international human rights standards.
The experts also raised concerns "about the prohibition of any 'political affiliation' and unjustified restrictions on PVOs ability to obtain funding, including foreign funds."
In an interview with Open Parly ZW, a Zimbabwean media house focused on parliamentary news, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said senators who voted in favor of the bill were acting on behalf of their constituents.
“I think parliament has done a good job, we are representatives of the people, we went through the bill, it was debated and there was general support,” said Ziyambi Ziyambi.
Tendai Biti, a senior member of the opposition Citizen’s Coalition for Change (CCC) took to social media to differ with the Justice Minister.
“The Senate has passed the PVO Bill and soon it will be passed into law,” tweeted Biti.
“We expect an unprecedented attack on Human Rights Defenders & all organizations that stand for citizen rights,” added the opposition figure.
Biti’s sentiments were echoed by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC).
“The Church strongly believes that the centralization assumed in this proposed Bill reverses the spirit of devolution by ascribing too much authority to the Minister and the Registar of PVOs,” read a statement released by the ZCC.
“As the Church, we are guided by the Church teachings on the principle of subsidiarity and believe that authority to run PVOs should actually be decentralized so that there is more participation of the PVOs in issues that affect their operations,” added the statement.
Some information in the report came from the United Nations, Open Parly ZW and VOA’s Zimbabwe Service.
