By Own Correspondent
A prominent human rights organisation has launched a court challenge against Zimbabwe’s new law regulating charities and civil society groups, arguing it criminalises legitimate development work.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) filed an application at the Harare High Court on 16 May, seeking to have key sections of the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Act declared unconstitutional.
The organisation, established in 1995 to defend victims of human rights abuses, argues the legislation threatens civic space and grants excessive powers to government ministers.
The act, which came into force in April, gives sweeping authority to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and the Registrar of PVOs to oversee charities and NGOs.
ZLHR said this opens the door to “excessive executive interference” in the work of independent organisations.
The legal challenge targets six sections of the act, which ZLHR says violate multiple constitutional rights.
These include freedom of association, freedom of expression, administrative justice, the right to a fair hearing, and property rights.
The human rights group argues the law is vaguely worded and gives authorities arbitrary power to deregister organisations on flimsy grounds.
This effectively allows the government to control or shut down groups it disagrees with, the organisation said.
ZLHR is asking the High Court to declare the contested provisions unconstitutional, with the ruling subject to confirmation by the Constitutional Court, Zimbabwe’s highest court on constitutional matters.
If successful, the declaration would be suspended for 12 months to give the government time to amend the legislation.
The legal challenge represents the most significant court action yet against the controversial law, which has drawn criticism from the United Nations, European Union and international human rights organisations.
Civil society groups in Zimbabwe say they are facing mounting pressure, with several organisations reporting increased scrutiny and restrictions on their operations since the act came into force.