Zimbabwe

13 million people

660 USD GNI (PPP)

Internet:

Partly Free

Press:

Not Free

Population and GNI data source

News & Updates
Research & Reports
Programs

News & Updates

Freedom Alert

Freedom House Condemns Arrest of Zimbabwean Civil Society Leader

Jan 15 2013 - 10:17am

Freedom House strongly condemns the recent arrest of prominent Zimbabwean civil society leader, Okay Machisa. The arrest reflects a troubling trend of increased harassment by state security forces against civil society working in the country and further calls into question the country’s ability to hold free, fair, and peaceful elections in the coming year.

Issues:

Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom of Association, Human Rights Defense

Regions:

Sub-Saharan Africa

Freedom Alert

African Human Rights Organizations Look to Court to Save SADC Tribunal

Nov 26 2012 - 5:38pm

Following a recent decision to eliminate its ability to adjudicate human rights cases, the survival of southern Africa’s most important regional court could rest in the hands of Africa’s highest human rights court. Freedom House supports the efforts of Southern African civil society organizations to challenge the legality of the suspension of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal at the African Commission on Human and People's Rights. A positive opinion from the Court would send a strong signal to southern Africa's leaders and increase the chances for citizens in the region to once again be able to access an impartial supranational court with a human rights purview.

Issues:

Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Human Rights Defense, Intergovernmental Bodies, Rule of Law

Regions:

Sub-Saharan Africa

News update

Zimbabwe's Draft Constitution Addresses Fundamental Rights and Reform

Oct 19 2012 - 5:12pm

While Zimbabwe’s new draft constitution has its shortcomings, it is a vast improvement over the old constitution in its attempt to reduce presidential authority, separate political powers and reform electoral processes. It also includes a strong bill of rights. Freedom House and civil society experts noted, however, that the constitution is only as strong as the will of the politicians to uphold it, and institutional reforms are needed to strengthen democratic processes.

Read our analysis on the new draft constitution.

Issues:

Civil Society, Democratic Governance

Regions:

Sub-Saharan Africa

Testimonies

Human Rights Situation in Zimbabwe

Oct 18 2012 - 3:49pm

Vukasin Petrovic's testimony before the Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe.

Issues:

Human Rights Defense, U.S. Foreign Policy

Regions:

Sub-Saharan Africa

Experts

Daniel Calingaert

Executive Vice President

Issues:

Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Internet Freedom, U.S. Foreign Policy

Regions:

Middle East and North Africa

Vukasin Petrovic

Director of Africa Programs

Vukasin Petrovic is director of programs in sub-Saharan Africa, the largest and most wide-ranging regional portfolio at Freedom House.

Issues:

Civil Society, Elections, Human Rights Defense

Regions:

Sub-Saharan Africa

Signature Reports

Freedom in the World

Freedom on the Net

Freedom of the Press

Countries at the Crossroads

Special Reports

Thematic Analysis of Zimbabwe’s Proposed Draft Constitution

Analysis from Justice Mavedzenge, Senior Program Officer for Freedom House in Zimbabwe, on Zimbabwe's proposed draft constitution.

Issues:

Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Human Rights Defense

Regions:

Sub-Saharan Africa

Change and ‘New’ Politics in Zimbabwe

Zimbabweans are showing the evidence of having been torn in all directions in the transitional period, according to a new poll sponsored by Freedom House and conducted by South African political analyst Susan Booysen and the Mass Public Opinion Institute in Harare.

Issues:

Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections

Regions:

Sub-Saharan Africa

Worst of the Worst 2007

Sudan, North Korea and Uzbekistan are prominent among the most repressive regimes in the world, according to a report released by Freedom House. The study, “The Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2007,” named seventeen countries with the worst records for political rights and civil liberties, and pointed to thirteen countries which have been on the list for five years or more.

Issues:

Democratic Governance, Human Rights Defense, Rule of Law

Regions:

Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa

Freedom in Sub-Saharan Africa 2007

Freedom House released an analysis of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa showing that the region has experienced notable increases in freedom over the past generation, although more setbacks than gains were seen in 2006.

Issues:

Democratic Governance

Regions:

Sub-Saharan Africa

Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2006

A special report detailing the world's most repressive societies, drawn from Freedom in the World 2006, Freedom House's annual global survey on political rights and civil liberties.

Issues:

Democratic Governance, Human Rights Defense

Regions:

Americas, Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa

Programs

Since 2006, Freedom House has worked with upwards of 60 civil society organizations in Zimbabwe, providing a broad range of support from trainings in strategic planning and organizational security, to programs that effectively mobilize popular civic engagement.

Issues:

Elections, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense

Regions:

Sub-Saharan Africa