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Zimbabwe to Outlaw Groups That
Promote Human RightsBy Michael Wines
New York Times
December 10, 2004Zimbabwe's Parliament approved legislation on Thursday that would effectively outlaw foreign or foreign-supported nongovernmental organizations, groups that have pressed for broader human-rights guarantees in President Robert G. Mugabe's authoritarian government.
This legislation and a sheaf of other proposals restricting domestic freedoms have been denounced by human-rights activists, who say the measures are part of a broader plan to suppress opposition political activity before elections in March. But Mr. Mugabe, who has railed against what he calls a Western plot to restore colonial rule, has accused foreign-backed civic groups of being "conduits of interference in our national efforts."
The Nongovernmental Organizations Bill, passed by a 48-to-28 vote, bars domestic civic groups and other organizations from accepting foreign money or other support to promote human rights or "issues of governance." Domestic groups are deemed to have foreign support if any member is a foreigner or a Zimbabwean living abroad.
The law also bans any foreign organization whose main purpose is to address issues of human rights and governance. Notably, it also covers all activities by churches. Zimbabwe's religious leaders have been among the most vocal critics of Mr. Mugabe. The law also grants the government sweeping new powers to require each nongovernmental group to disclose its financing, budgets and supporters, and permitting its dissolution should the state conclude that the group has misused money or violated any regulations.
Opposition legislators produced a report branding a dozen clauses of the legislation unconstitutional. The law's critics, human-rights workers and legislators from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, supplied journalists with a list of 15 organizations that they said the government planned to dissolve when the law becomes effective. The list includes most of the nation's leading civil- and human-rights organizations, advocates of election reform and a handful of foreign charities whose main goal is to promote democratic principles.
Government officials have denied that the law focuses on specific groups. Some have said that nonprofits and other organizations will be given six months to comply with the new regulations before the state acts against them. The law nevertheless promises to decimate the work of many civic groups whose survival rests on foreign contributions. At least one-quarter of Zimbabwe's 12 million citizens live outside the country.
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