VI. Zimbabwe's Obligations under Regional and International Law

Under international human rights law, every person has the rights to food, to the highest attainable standard of health, to life, to seek, receive and impart information, to nondiscrimination and equal protection of the law, and to be protected from violence, among other rights. International human rights law also requires states to address persistent violations of human rights and take measures to prevent their occurrence.

These rights are guaranteed by important international and regional treaties to which Zimbabwe is a party. These include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR).

Right to Food

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights guarantee the right to food. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, couches the right within the broader context of an adequate standard of living that includes health, food, medical care, social services, and economic security.[93]

As a party to the ICESCR, which Zimbabwe ratified in 1991, Zimbabwe recognizes the right of everyone to adequate food. It agrees to "take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right," including working cooperatively with the international community to alleviate hunger within its borders.[94]

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the international expert body that monitors state compliance with the ICESCR, stressed in its General Comment No. 12, the need for accountability and transparency in implementing national strategies for the right to food:

The formulation and implementation of national strategies for the right to food requires full compliance with the principles of accountability, transparency, people's participation … Appropriate institutional mechanisms should be devised to secure a representative process towards the formulation of a strategy, drawing on all available domestic expertise relevant to food and nutrition.[95]

The ICESCR prohibits discrimination by states with respect to the right to food on several grounds, including on the basis of political or other opinion.[96] General Comment No. 12 specifies that it is a violation of the ICESCR to discriminate with respect to "access to food, as well as to means and entitlements for its procurement."[97] National strategies for the right to food should give particular attention to the need to prevent discrimination in access to food or resources for food.[98] And even when a state faces severe resource constraints, it should undertake measures to ensure that the right to adequate food is met for vulnerable population groups and individuals.[99] 

According to General Comment No. 12, a state violates the ICECSR when it fails to ensure the satisfaction of at least the minimum essential level required to be free from hunger. A state that contends that resource constraints make it impossible to provide access to food for those who are unable by themselves to secure such access, needs to demonstrate that "every effort has been made to use all the resources at its disposal in an effort to satisfy, as a matter of priority, those minimum obligations." If it claims that it cannot carry out its obligation for reasons beyond its control, the state has the burden of proving that it has unsuccessfully sought to obtain international support to ensure the availability and accessibility of the necessary food.[100]

Finally, according to General Comment No. 12, a state violates the right to food through "denial of access to food to particular individuals or groups, whether the discrimination is based on legislation or is pro-active; the prevention of access to humanitarian food aid in internal conflicts or other emergency situations….and failure to regulate activities of individuals or groups so as to prevent them from violating the right of food of others."[101]

As the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food stated in his 2008 report to the Human Rights Council, "Governments are bound to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food without discrimination, which also means that they should be held accountable to their populations if they violate those obligations."[102]

Right to Health

All individuals have the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health, a right which has been enshrined in international and regional treaties. The right to health is guaranteed by the ICESCR, CEDAW, and the ACHPR. This right imposes an obligation on states to take necessary steps for the prevention, treatment and control of epidemics and other diseases.

The ICESCR guarantees the right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of health, and requires states parties to take steps individually and through international cooperation to progressively realize this right via the prevention, treatment, and control of epidemic diseases and the creation of conditions to assure medical service and attention to all.[103]  "Progressive realization" demands of states parties a "specific and continuing obligation to move as expeditiously and effectively as possible towards the full realization of [the right]."[104] According to the WHO, "[w]hen considering the level of implementation of this right in a particular State, the availability of resources at that time and the development context are taken into account. Nonetheless, no State can justify a failure to respect its obligations because of a lack of resources. States must guarantee the right to health to the maximum of their available resources, even if these are tight."[105] The concept of available resources is intended to include available assistance from the international community.[106]

The right to health is further guaranteed by a number of other international human rights treaties and commitments. The Convention on the Rights of the Child binds states to "recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health."[107]  The right to health is also protected under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, CEDAW, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[108] 

States committed in the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS to "promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health"[109] and "in an urgent manner make every effort to: provide progressively and in a sustainable manner, the highest attainable standard of treatment for HIV/AIDS, including the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections, and effective use of quality-controlled antiretroviral therapy in a careful and monitored manner to improve adherence and effectiveness and reduce the risk of developing resistance."[110]

Regional treaties also speak to the right to health.  The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights ensures the right to health and binds states parties to "take the necessary measures to protect the health of their people and to ensure that they receive medical attention when they are sick."[111]  Furthermore, the African Charter on the Rights of the Child provides for the right of every child to the best attainable health, and binds states parties to move toward implementing this right, including the provision of "necessary medical assistance and health care to all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care."[112]