HARARE — Zimbabwe has accepted 161 of 264 recommendations under its latest United Nations human rights review, Cabinet said, as the government prepares to submit its fourth-cycle report to the UN Human Rights Council.
Cabinet approved Zimbabwe’s Universal Periodic Review Fourth Cycle Report, presented by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, according to Tuesday’s post-Cabinet briefing.
“The Nation is informed that to date, Zimbabwe has undertaken three Universal Periodic Report cycles in 2011, 2016 and 2022,” Cabinet said.
“The current 4th Cycle comprises 161 out of 264 recommendations which were accepted by Zimbabwe.”
The statement did not specify the status of the remaining 103 recommendations or detail which recommendations Zimbabwe had not accepted.
The Universal Periodic Review is a UN Human Rights Council mechanism under which member states periodically report on measures taken to meet their human rights obligations and respond to recommendations arising from previous reviews.
Zimbabwe approved a National Plan of Action in 2024 to facilitate implementation and monitoring of recommendations it had accepted, Cabinet said.
“In that regard, the 4th Cycle Report provides a comprehensive account of Zimbabwe’s human rights developments, legislative and policy measures, implementation of accepted recommendations, emerging issues and challenges encountered during the period under review,” Cabinet said.
Among developments highlighted by the government were the abolition of the death penalty, electoral amendments and changes to functions shared between the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Civil Registry Department.
Cabinet also cited the issuance of 1,741,258 national identity documents and the adoption of the Integrated Electronic Case Management System.
It said the electronic court system had “improved access to justice and reduced backlog by 20%.”
Other measures highlighted included the forthcoming National Anti-Corruption Strategy II covering 2026 to 2030, progress in the government’s arrears clearance and debt resolution process and adoption of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
Cabinet also reported improvements in access to safe drinking water, saying coverage had increased “from 71% to 81% in rural areas, and from 94% to 96% in urban areas,” supported by 4,939 boreholes and 1,060 solarised boreholes.
The government further cited the expansion of Pfumvudza/Intwasa climate-proofed agriculture from 1.8 million to 3.5 million farmers, which it said produced 2.29 million tonnes of cereal.
