Human Rights and Rule of Law - Zimbabwe
With an annual contribution of EUR1.25 million from the Dutch Human Rights Fund, the Embassy supports initiatives by dedicated civil society organisations promoting human rights and preventing human rights violations – work that is vital to the development of the country in line with provisions in the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe.
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Confronting Gender Based Violence
The Netherlands is supporting a partnership of three organizations giving shelter and specialized services to women and girls, mainly survivors of sexual and gender based violence. These are Musasa Project (shelters and psychosocial services), Adult Rape Clinic (medico-legal services) and Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (access to justice). Through this project, one-stop centers were built in Masvingo and Mutare, and service provision at other shelters is maintained. Central to this long-term programme is increasing awareness of gender responsive laws and services; the provision of health care, psychosocial support and legal aid to survivors of GBV; eradicating child marriages; improving the knowledge and strengthening the capacity of key institutions such as traditional leaders, the police, the Judicial Services Commission and others to support gender equality; enhancing GBV prevention through community mobilization, and; supporting GBV referral and coordination mechanisms at district and community level
Women Empowered for Participation in Electoral Processes
The Netherlands, under the Team Europe Initiative, is supporting the Women Empowered for Participation in Electoral Processes Project (WEPEP). The project aims to increase the quality and quantity of women participating in electoral processes by coordinating women’s voices and calling for a level playing field for women. This includes litigation on the electoral framework to enable equal and effective participation of women as leaders and voters in line with section 17 of the Constitution.
Support for Human Rights Defenders
The Netherlands is supporting the provision of comprehensive medical and psychosocial support service to human rights defenders throughout Zimbabwe. The support is offered through a network of trained health practitioners and ancillary services via the Counselling Support Unit (CSU). Under this project, survivors of organized violence and torture (OVT) are rehabilitated with holistic support and empowered to fully participate and reintegrate into society.
The Netherlands is also supporting the provision of legal services to Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in all the ten provinces of Zimbabwe with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. This is achieved through strategic impact litigation to challenge unconstitutional laws and administrative practices affecting HRDs and communities that they reside in. Litigation is instituted to preserve key constitutional provisions e.g. the Bill of Rights to strengthen compliance to human rights standards and obligations as per the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Freedom of Expression
The Netherlands is supporting the Free2Express project by Magamba and WeLead, empowering youth with knowledge about their right to free expression and access to information as per Sections 61 and 62 of the Constitution. The project coordinates campaigns to challenge unjust information laws and creatively amplify the voices of young people in marginalized communities. It also promotes diverse and alternative sources of information that enable young people to participate in democratic decision making processes from an informed point of view
Human Rights Tulip
The Embassy awards the Dutch Human Rights Tulip to an outstanding organisation or individual who shows unwavering commitment to peacefully, innovatively, and bravely supporting human rights in Zimbabwe. The award celebrates and gives visibility to their important work, and comes with a USD10,000 grant to support their action on human rights.
Past winners of this award are:
- 2023: Darlington Marange
- 2021: Musasa Project and ZLHR (joint winners)