ZLHR has expanded its public interest litigation to include cases that test the state’s compliance or non compliance with its obligations as enshrined in the international instruments which it has signed and ratified such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, The Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women, The Convention on The Rights of The Child and The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination. The general objectives and expected outcomes are similar to the ones outlined in the Public Interest Litigation Project. The international litigation selects cases where domestic remedies have been exhausted or are inaccessible and thereafter pursues justice in regional and/or international fora. This process should help to make international lobbying and advocacy work much easier as the cases provide evidence of violations and also minimise the impact of governmental propaganda which has made international human rights commissions largely ineffectual in the past.
The need for international litigation is exemplified by the Zimbabwean citizenship cases where the Registrar General has disregarded court orders relating to the issuance of passports and also acted to render persons stateless, in contravention of the Constitution and international norms. There are also a number of policing districts where incidents of police refusal to enforce or comply with court orders have been reported, thereby frustrating local remedies. Further, in instances, the Supreme Court has failed to be a full custodian of constitutional and universal rights and fundamental freedoms. A ready example is the case involving Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe and The Media Commission and The Minister of Information, where the court interpreted the law in a manner that undermined the right to freedom of expression and the right to the protection of the law. Such a ruling, which is effectively final, had a severely negative impact on human rights defenders and available democratic space in the country. It is vital that such cases be taken to international tribunals for remedial action. There is no better institution to do so than ZLHR because of its technical expertise and well-trained membership.
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