Summary: Non-signatory Zimbabwe has expressed interest in the convention, but has not taken any steps to accede and was the only country to join Russia in voting against a UN resolution promoting the convention in 2015 and December 2016. Zimbabwe has participated as an observer in most of the convention’s meetings, most recently in 2015. Zimbabwe produced, exported, and imported cluster munitions in the past and is believed to stockpile them, but it is not clear if it ever used cluster munitions.

Policy

The Republic of Zimbabwe has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Zimbabwe has expressed interest in joining the convention and conducted stakeholder consultations on the matter in the past, but it has not taken any steps towards accession.[1] In October 2016, a government representative told the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) that Zimbabwe may participate in the work of the convention but that does not necessarily mean it intends to join it.[2]

In December 2016, Zimbabwe was the only country to join Russia in voting against a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that calls on states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to join “as soon as possible.”[3] Zimbabwe has not explained why it voted no on the non-binding resolution or on the first UNGA resolution on the convention in December 2015.[4]

Zimbabwe participated in two regional meetings held during the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and expressed its support for a comprehensive ban without exceptions.[5] It was absent from the Dublin negotiations in May 2008 and the Oslo signing conference in December 2008.

Zimbabwe participated as an observer in the convention’s annual Meetings of States Parties in 2010–2013 and attended intersessional meetings in Geneva in 2012–2015. It has participated in regional workshops on the convention, most recently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in August 2016.[6]

Zimbabwe is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

It is unclear if Zimbabwe has ever used cluster munitions.[7]

Zimbabwe is not known to have produced or exported cluster munitions since it gained independence in 1980, but it likely has a stockpile.

Jane’s Information Group has reported that the Alpha bomblet developed for the South African CB-470 cluster bomb was produced in Rhodesia and that “Zimbabwe may have quantities of the Alpha bomblet.”[8] In 2010, an official informed the CMC that Zimbabwe still possessed cluster munitions that remained from the former Rhodesia’s arsenal.[9]

Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paolo reported in 2012 on declassified Ministry of Defense documents showing that Brazil transferred 104 BLG-250K and four BLG-60K cluster bombs and various components for BLG-500K, BLG-250K, and BLG-60k cluster bombs to Zimbabwe between January 2001 and May 2002.[10]

Zimbabwe also possesses RM-70 122mm surface-to-surface rocket systems, but it is not known if these include versions with submunition payloads.[11]

Contaminated by: antipersonnel mines (heavy contamination), antivehicle mines, and explosive remnants of war (ERW).

Article 5 deadline: 1 January 2018
(Eight-year extension requested)

As of July 2017, the Republic of Zimbabwe had confirmed mine contamination of just over 62km². Nearly 9.5km² of land was released in 2016; 6.3km² was canceled by non-technical survey, 1.5km² reduced through technical survey, and 1.7km² cleared. This was more than double the amount released in 2015, by both survey and clearance, and was in part attributable to an increased operational capacity.

Recommendations for action

• Continued efforts should be made to ensure that all operators are using appropriate land-release methodologies and standards.
• Zimbabwe should develop a resource mobilization plan and clarify how financial resources will be used to meet its extension request targets.

Contamination

At the end of 2016, Zimbabwe had a total of 66.2km² of confirmed mined area remaining.[1] This is a significant drop from the nearly 75km² remaining at the end of 2015,[2] and is due to cancelation of close to 6.3km² in the Rusitu to Muzite mined area and more than doubled clearance output from operators in 2016 compared to the previous year.

Mined areas (as of end 2016)[3]

Zimbabwe’s contamination, the overwhelming majority of which is of antipersonnel mines, originates from the laying of minefields in the late 1970s during a conflict of decolonization. At the time of its independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was left with six distinct major mined areas along its borders with Mozambique and Zambia, laid by the Rhodesian army.[4] Initially, antipersonnel mines were laid in very dense belts (reportedly 5,500 mines per kilometer of frontage) to form a “cordon sanitaire.” Over time, this cordon sanitaire was breached or subject to erosion. In response, in many sections, a second belt of “ploughshare” directional fragmentation mines protected by antipersonnel mines was laid “inland” of the cordon sanitaire.[5] Antivehicle mines were used extensively by insurgents but most were detonated by vehicles or have since been cleared.[6]

At the end of 2016, remaining contamination comprised five minefields, referred to as: Musengezi to Rwenya, Sango Border Post to Crooks Corner, Rusitu to Muzite Mission, Leacon Hill to Sheba Forest, and Lusulu. The Burma Valley minefield was completed in 2015 and a former suspected hazardous area (SHA) at Kariba was cleared of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in 2013.[7]

Remaining mined areas are located close to populated areas and have considerable humanitarian, social, and economic impacts on local communities, most severely affecting poor, rural populations living along heavily mined border areas. Mines continued to prevent free movement of people, deny use of agricultural land, kill and injure livestock and impede access for grazing, halt the productivity of areas of commercial farming, and impel some poor communities to take unacceptable risks to use contaminated land. The threat to livestock is particularly severe and results in a heavy socio-economic impact as livestock is a major investment commodity in rural Zimbabwe.[8]

Accordingly, clearance of mined areas will generate opportunities for local farmers, commercial agriculture, business, and tourism, allow for the construction of schools and clinics, and enable the safe return of those displaced as a result of the mine threat.[9]

Program Management

The National Mine Action Authority of Zimbabwe (NAMAAZ) is a policy and regulatory body on all issues relating to mine action in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Mine Action Center (ZIMAC) was established in 2000 within the Ministry of Defense as the focal point and coordination center of all mine action in the country. ZIMAC is mandated to report to NAMAAZ.[10]

Since 2012, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has provided assistance to the government of Zimbabwe to train ZIMAC personnel and to supply metal detectors, protective equipment, and trauma kits, under a joint cooperation agreement.[11]

In its Fifth Article 5 deadline extension request in 2017, Zimbabwe again pledged to relocate ZIMAC outside of military installations once the Ministry of Defense has secured the necessary funds.[12] In 2016, ZIMAC was still housed within military premises, reportedly owing to budgetary constraints.[13]

Operators

The Zimbabwean Armed Forces’ National Mine Clearance Squadrons (NMCS), HALO Trust, and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) conducted land release in Zimbabwe in 2016. APOPO and Mines Advisory Group (MAG) joined in 2017. In 2013, ZIMAC tasked HALO to survey and clear the Musengezi to Rwenya, Rushinga, and Mukumbura mined areas; NPA was assigned survey and clearance of the Rusitu to Muzite Mission, Leacon Hill to Sheba Forest, and Burma Valley mined areas; and the NMCS are responsible for survey and clearance of the Sango Border Post to Crooks Corner and Lusulu mined areas.[14]

In 2016, HALO Trust’s capacity more than doubled from 13 to 30 manual demining sections as a result of additional funding.[15] NPA reached its maximum operating capacity at the end of 2016 with a total of 56 deminers, up from 48 at the start of the year, also benefitting from additional funding.[16] ZIMAC reported that the capacity of the NMCS increased from 120 deminers to 150 during the year.[17]

In 2016, ZIMAC began accrediting two further international demining operators, MAG and APOPO, both of which were scheduled to begin operations in 2017.[18] APOPO reported it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ZIMAC and that the Ministry of Defense had granted permission for the organization to begin operating in Zimbabwe.[19] In September 2017, MAG had also signed a MoU with ZIMAC and established an office in Harare ready to support the start of clearance operations later in the year.[20] MAG said it had been provided with a tasking profile in Mashonaland East incorporating a mined area that is 130km in length with a total area of more than 11.8km².[21]

Strategic planning

Zimbabwe has developed a National Mine Action Strategy for 2018–2025, its first ever mine action strategy, which is expected to be formally approved by the government by 2018. It was developed in consultation with stakeholders with the support of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). The strategy time-line corresponds to Zimbabwe’s fifth Article 5 extension request with the overall goal of completing Article 5 obligations in 2025.[22]

Standards

ZIMAC reported that national mine action standards would be revised in the second half of 2017, with input from all mine action stakeholders. Once disseminated, ZIMAC quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) officers will monitor their implementation.[23] HALO Trust confirmed that standards for mechanical clearance would be updated, as it was introducing mechanical clearance operations during the year, and NPA confirmed that revisions would also include standards for mine detection dogs (MDDs).[24]

Information management

ZIMAC’s information management capacity showed significant signs of progress in 2016.[25] ZIMAC reported that the national Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database was markedly improved during the year and that work was continuing in 2017 with GICHD assistance to input and improve historic operator data.[26] The GICHD reported it conducted an information management baseline assessment in May 2017 and drafted a corresponding workplan. A key objective is to update the national database to ensure it includes all the information from the various operators, including historical data.[27] Inflated and outdated baseline contamination estimates were eliminated from the database and erroneous reporting, such as for the total area released in the Burma Valley minefield, was corrected, as evidenced in Zimbabwe’s revised Article 5 extension request. NPA reported continuing to use a digital recording and mapping system, the DEDUCT Observer application in 2016, and that it was sending ZIMAC daily electronic updates on survey and clearance outputs through the DEDUCT system.[28]

Land Release

A total of nearly 9.5km² of land was released by HALO Trust and NPA in 2016, including just under 3.2km² of mined area released by clearance and technical survey and 6.3km² canceled by non-technical survey.[29] This is more than double the total area released in 2015 (just under 4.1km²).[30] The significant increase in output in 2016 was the result of cancelation of nearly 6.3km² at the Muzite to Rusitu mined area by NPA and ZIMAC survey teams and a doubling in total clearance output by the three operators.[31]

Survey in 2016

Close to 7.8km² of land was released by survey in 2016, including just under 6.3km² canceled through non-technical survey and 1.5km² reduced through technical survey, with a further 9.8km² confirmed as mined.[32] This is more than twice the amount released by survey in 2015, when just over 3.4km² of land was released.[33]

In 2016, NPA reported that comprehensive combined non-technical and technical survey was carried out within the Leacon Hill to Sheba Forrest and Muzite to Rusitu mined areas as a joint exercise by ZIMAC officials and NPA teams. A total of nearly 6.3km² was canceled within the Muzite to Rusitu mined area and more than 8.7km² confirmed, changing the status of the mined area from suspected to confirmed contamination. The survey also identified the time and capacity needed for completion of clearance of the minefield, as well as defining the direct and indirect beneficiaries and expected land use upon completion.[34]

Mined area survey in 2016[35]

Note: TS = technical survey.

Clearance in 2016

In 2016, HALO Trust, NPA, and the NMCS cleared a total of just under 1.7km² of mined area, destroying 23,193 antipersonnel mines, four antivehicle mines, and 14 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO). This is more than twice the amount cleared in 2015, when the three entities cleared a total of almost 0.71m² of mined area.[36]

HALO Trust attributed the large increase in its clearance output in 2016 to a nearly doubling of its manual demining capacity thanks to increased funding.[37] NPA reported that its increase in mine clearance in 2016 was due in part to the deployment of additional teams in January and October, but was primarily the result of a 50% reduction in the amount of fadeout required during clearance, from 10 meters to five meters, after a change in methodology approved by ZIMAC. Both NPA and HALO Trust emphasized the importance and positive impact of a supportive host government and ZIMAC’s willingness to accept innovation in clearance methodologies as key reasons behind the increase in clearance output.[38]

Mine clearance in 2016[39]

Note: AP = antipersonnel AV = antivehicle.

Progress in 2017

As of May 2017, APOPO had been tasked to survey and clear a 37km-long stretch of minefield along the border with Mozambique, running southwest from the Sango Border Post to the Mwenezi river, in cooperation with the NMCS. It stated that, as of May 2017, a task assessment had been carried out.[40]

MAG reported that in September 2017 it had been provided with a tasking profile in Mashonaland East incorporating a mined area that is 130km in length with a total area of more than 11.8km².[41]

Deminer safety

HALO Trust reported that five of its staff were involved in accidents during mine clearance operations involving R2M2 mines in 2016. Two deminers were injured in the accidents, while three were unharmed.[42] NPA reported no accidents or injuries involving its mine action personnel since the start of its operations in 2013.[43]

Article 5 Compliance

In June 2014, Zimbabwe was granted an Article 5 mine clearance deadline extension of three years until 1 January 2018. Since its initial Article 5 deadline expired on 1 March 2009, it has submitted four subsequent extension requests. The current extension until 1 January 2018 is to enable further survey and clearance, but Zimbabwe is not committing itself to complete its clearance obligations within the requested period, nor will it manage to do so.[44]

Zimbabwe submitted its fifth extension request in March 2017, which it revised in August, for a period of eight years through to 31 December 2025, setting a deadline for the completion of clearance for the first time. According to its extension request workplan, a total of more 6.3km² would be addressed in 2017, followed by close to 8km² in 2018; 8.5km² in 2019; 9.1km² in 2020; 7.7km² in 2021; 7.8km² in 2022; 7.9km² in 2023; 6.7km² in 2024; and 4.2km² in 2025, for a total of just over 66.2km² of remaining contamination released.[45]

In August 2017, it submitted a revised version of the request, correcting errors in reporting and deleting outdated contamination estimates. The revised request sets for the first time an end-date for completion of clearance. It also establishes a realistic estimate of remaining contamination, and sets attainable annual clearance targets, provided sufficient funding is secured.[46]

Operators commended the cooperative and inclusive process behind the preparation of the extension request and the national mine action strategic plan, as well as efforts to accurately define the amount of contamination remaining, enabled by the application of solid survey methodology in earlier years.[47]

In the request, Zimbabwe lists three primary factors that have prevented it from completing its Article 5 obligations thus far since becoming a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty: the extent of the contamination, inadequate national funding for demining, and a lack of demining equipment. Positively, however, Zimbabwe reported that the impact of these factors was ameliorated by the completion of re-survey, allowing efforts to focus on clearance; increasing partnerships between international operators and the government to build capacity; and continued assistance from the ICRC for better demining equipment.[48] In the request, Zimbabwe also enumerated possible risks and assumptions that could impede it from completing clearance in due time, including heavy rain, difficult terrain, significant metal contamination in ploughshare minefields, political instability, and lack of funding.[49]

In its 2017 extension request, Zimbabwe estimated that activities planned for the eight-year extension period through to completion of clearance will cost a total of almost US$130 million, with $12.7 million to be provided by the government of Zimbabwe, including $0.6 million in 2017.[50] The request states that resource mobilization will be an ongoing effort, and that Zimbabwe will continue to seek support from the international community. To complement efforts, ZIMAC was also developing a website to increase the visibility of the mine action program.[51]

NPA reported receiving in-kind support during joint risk education activities carried out by NPA and the NMCS teams, along with assistance for the renewal of work permits.[52] HALO Trust did not report receiving in-kind support from the government in 2016, but noted the contributions of the NMCS to the national demining program and the overall supportive operational environment, while raising some concerns about an increase in import bureaucracy and subsequent increases in costs and delays during the year.[53]

ZIMAC reported that with the commencement of MAG and APOPO’s operations in late 2017 a marked increase in land release output was expected. In addition, it emphasized that the introduction of MDD teams by NPA would increase the speed of technical survey while the deployment of mechanical assets by HALO Trust would reduce the time needed to remove deeply buried mines in manual demining.[54] ZIMAC stated that the development of a new national mine action strategy had given the national program a new impetus to complete clearance by 2025 and would help to ensure the full support of other relevant government departments to mine action.[55]

In its revised 2017 Article 5 extension request, Zimbabwe reported that during its previous extension period, from December 2014 to December 2016, almost 143km² (some two-thirds) of all recorded mined areas had been addressed, from a total of close to 209km² remaining as of December 2014.[56]

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the mine action research in 2017, including on survey and clearance, and shared all its resulting landmine and cluster munition reports with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.

In 2016, four donors contributed US$4.9 million toward clearance operations in the Republic of Zimbabwe, $1.7 million more than in 2015.[1] All funds were allocated to clearance and risk education activities.

International contributions: 2016[2]

In 2012–2016, the government of Zimbabwe contributed more than $3 million to its mine action program, or 16% of its total mine action budget.[3]

Since 2012, when Zimbabwe received international assistance for mine action for the first time, international contributions have totaled more than $16 million.

In December 2013, Zimbabwe submitted its fourth Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, in which it estimated a total of $12,965,125 would be needed to clear some 4km² between 2015 and January 2018, of which $2.9 million would be provided by Zimbabwe. The remaining $10 million would need to be sought from other sources, which implies that Zimbabwe’s capacity to address its mine contamination largely depends on adequate and steady international funding.[4]

Summary of contributions: 2012–2016[5]

Casualties Overview

In 2016, the Monitor identified five landmine/ERW casualties in the Republic of Zimbabwe. Two were boys, both injured, a third was an adult male whose survival outcome was unknown, and two were deminers injured in the course of their work. The boys were injured while tampering or playing with an explosive resulting in the loss of one’s hand and fragmentation injuries to the other. The adult was injured while herding cattle. Of the two deminers, one suffered only minor injuries while the other lost a finger and sustained other injuries to his arms.[1]

Five casualties represent the lowest number reported since the Monitor began casualty tracking. The Zimbabwe Mine Action Centre (ZIMAC) attributes this reduction to the success of mine risk education activities and minefield marking programs.[2] However, the only casualty reporting mechanism in Zimbabwe comes from the two international operators, the HALO Trust and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which are working in a limited area along the northeastern border of Zimbabwe. No casualties were reported from the Rushitu to Muzite Mission minefield on the eastern border or the Sango Border Post to Crooks Corner Minefield on the southern border. Had casualties occurred in either of those minefields, it is not clear if those casualties would have been reported to ZIMAC.

Since 1980, 1,615 casualties have been reported in Zimbabwe.

Cluster munition casualties

There have been at least three cluster munition casualties in Zimbabwe, dating to the period of the 1970s liberation war. In an incident documented by a former Rhodesian soldier in his memoirs, two children were killed and a third injured when they found an unexploded bomblet and threw it against a large rock.[3]

Action points based on findings

• Expand casualty data collection to all areas affected by landmines and all organizations working in mine action.
• Disability policies should be updated and aligned with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
• Ensure sustainability of prosthetic and orthotic services.
• Provide economic inclusion opportunities for survivors and persons with disabilities.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Zimbabwe is responsible for a significant number of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors who are in need. Zimbabwe has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Victim assistance since 2015

In 2015, support from the Norwegian government concluded but other stakeholders have stepped in to deliver wheelchairs and other mobility devices to support the Local Rehabilitation Workshop (LOREWO) based near the Mpilo referral hospital in Bulawayo.[1] The ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) provided support to the Parirenyatwa group of hospitals until 2013 when the SFD ended support, as expected, as part of the ICRC SFD phase out, believing that they had reached a satisfactory level of autonomy.[2] ICRC SFD assistance to the Bulawayo Rehabilitation Center had been phased out by the end of 2012, as planned.[3]

Disability issues are coordinated by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, while emergency assistance is led by the Victim Friendly Unit. Responsibility for surveying survivors needs and other assistance to mine/ERW survivors is centralized through the national mine action center, ZIMAC.[4]

Victim assistance in 2016

Assessing victim assistance needs

No systematic victim assistance needs assessment was conducted in 2016. Casualty data and the individual needs of survivors are collected and reported to ZIMAC by the international operators, HALO Trust and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA). HALO and NPA, with the support of the United States (US) Department of State, identify survivors in their working areas, and conduct individual assessments.[5] In 2016, HALO assessed the needs of fewer survivors than in 2015.[6]

ZIMAC communicates all reported landmine casualties to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare for inclusion in the database of all persons with disabilities maintained by the ministry, instead of creating a parallel data management system.[7]

Victim assistance coordination[8]

Note: N/A = not applicable.

Victim assistance coordination has been the responsibility of ZIMAC, a section within the Zimbabwean army. Coordination for disability programming nationally is the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. ZIMAC has provided information on survivors to the Ministry to enable the survivors to access services available through the ministry. In 2017, the victim assistance focal point changed from ZIMAC to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.[9]

In 2016 the ICRC hosted a study tour for ZIMAC officials to visit Lebanon and observe the mine action program there, including victim assistance programming.[10]

ZIMAC, with the support of the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and the Mine Ban Treaty’s Implementation Support Unit (ISU), is developing a National Mine Action Strategic Plan, which may be published in 2017. It is unclear how victim assistance will be included in that plan.[11]

A draft national disability policy was pending an endorsement by the cabinet as of September 2017.[12]

Participation and inclusion in victim assistance

In the absence of a coordinating mechanism for victim assistance or a formal plan for victim assistance activities, survivors are unable to participate in the formulation of victim assistance strategies. However, a strong disability community exists in Zimbabwe, including disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) and service providers, which could contribute to a future coordinating mechanism. DPOs and their representatives, including the Federation of Organizations of Disabled People in Zimbabwe (FODPZ), were consulted on the development of the policy. The government of Zimbabwe recognized FODPZ as the “voice of the disability movement” in Zimbabwe.[13] Survivors and persons with disabilities are employed by Local Rehabilitation Workshop (LOREWO) and Jairos Jiri in the manufacture of wheelchairs and assistive devices.[14]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[15]

Emergency and continuing medical care

Emergency medical and surgical services are available at the national referral hospitals, which are not near the mine-affected regions. Survivors and others in need of services often must travel long distances to obtain necessary medical treatments, usually at cost to the individuals.[16] In case of an incident, HALO sends its staff to the Karanda Mission Hospital, a private facility about two hours’ drive from the minefields.[17] NPA uses the Mutare Provincial Hospital, one of the national referral hospitals, for this purpose.[18]

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

Physical rehabilitation and orthopedic services are limited to the major cities.[19] Jairos Jiri maintains a community-based rehabilitation program that covers several, but not all, provinces of Zimbabwe.[20] Jairos Jiri, with the support of Christian Blind Mission, continues to operate its orthopedic workshop in Harare to produce and repair wheelchairs and prosthetics, but output is limited due to a lack of raw materials.[21]

The Leonard Cheshire Trust purchased and provided mobility appliances and prosthetics to several children with disabilities as part of its physical rehabilitation program.[22]

HALO has contracted with commercial prosthetic company, Cassim’s Prosthetics in Bulawayo to provide fittings and orthopedic devices for survivors in HALO’s working area. Due to funding constraints, no survivors received prosthetics from HALO in 2016, though several were fitted for devices that were delivered in 2017.[23]

In 2016, the Zimbabwe National Army supported some 50 survivors with artificial limbs in its working areas along Zimbabwe’s southern borders.[24]

Economic inclusion

With only 15% of the population engaged in formal employment, few opportunities for meaningful work exist for Zimbabweans. LOREWO and the Jairos Jiri Prosthetic Workshop operate as sheltered workshops for persons with disabilities.

Psychological support and social inclusion

Few, if any, psychological services are available for survivors and persons with disabilities in Zimbabwe, and what services do exist are inadequate for the needs.[25] The government of Zimbabwe reported significant efforts to implement inclusive education programming. The subsidies for children with disabilities under the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), which provided US$600 per student per year have been restored with 10% of the BEAM allocation reserved for children with disabilities. An inclusive education manual has been developed and Disability Resource Centers were established at many institutions to provide educational and psychosocial support to learners with disabilities.[26]

Laws and policies

Zimbabwe has several national policies, including the Disabled Persons Act, the War Victims Compensation Act, the Social Welfare Assistance Act, and the State Service (Disabled Benefits) Act, related to victim assistance and disability. The Disabled Persons Act was hailed as a major milestone when it was passed in 1992, but has since been superseded in international policy by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution recognizes the rights of persons with disabilities and requires the government to provide mechanisms for the realization of those rights with an important and disastrous caveat: government action is contingent upon available resources.[27]

Several policy changes and programs are awaiting final approval by the government. The government of Zimbabwe and the Africa Disability Alliance have drafted a memorandum of understanding to develop a national disability mainstreaming plan but the memorandum of understanding has not been approved by the Cabinet. A draft National Disability Policy, which was drafted by and has the support of the disability community in Zimbabwe has yet to be validated by the Cabinet.[28]

Zimbabwe ratified the CRPD on 23 September 2013, but has yet to domesticate the law and revise existing legislation in accordance with the convention.[29]