Zimbabwe: Detrimental Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill enacted

Under this act, all types of non governmental organisations and groups will now have to comply with burdensome registration requirements, which will negatively impact community-based groups in particular. The registration process will be closely monitored by the Office of the Registrar of PVOs, which is under the control of the executive branch, and which will be provided with wide and discretionary powers to interfere in civil society organisations’ governance and activities. The PVO Amendment Act also criminalises human rights work, as punitive provisions impose criminal liability for civil society leaders who violate the law and prohibits human rights groups from receiving funds from vaguely defined “illegitimate sources”.

The Observatory recalls that the project of amending the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Act, which regulates civil society organisations in the country, was first discussed on 5 November 2021, when the Government of Zimbabwe gazettedthe PVO Amendment Bill (PVO Bill 1), exposing its intention to provide itself with legal tools to control and ultimately silence civil society. The bill was aimed at providing the government with wide powers to interfere in civil society organisations’ governance and activities. Following widespread outcry, including from four UN Special Rapporteurs, and public consultations marred by violence, President Emmerson Mnangagwa refused to sign the bill into law and sent it back to the Parliament for reconsideration in September 2023.

In March 2024, a revised version of the PVO Bill (PVO Bill 2) was gazetted, allegedly taking into account the issues raised by the different stakeholders. These changes were deemed insufficient by civil society organisations to bring the law into line with Zimbabwe's international and constitutional obligations. Once again, the public hearings meant to solicit public views on the Bill were marred with violence, descending into chaos and leading Parliamentarians to desert the venues fearing for their safety. Nevertheless, in October 2024, the Parliament passed the Bill and President Emmerson Mnangagwa ultimately signed it into law in April 2025.

The Observatory deplores the enactment of the PVO Amendment Bill, which gravely restricts civic space and criminalises legitimate human rights activities carried out by civil society organisations.

The Observatory calls on the authorities in Zimbabwe to immediately repeal the PVO Amendment Act in order to guarantee the right to freedom of association in the country, as protected by the Zimbabwean Constitution, particularly Article 58, as well as by international human rights instruments to which Zimbabwe is a party, especially Article 10 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Observatory further urges the government of Zimbabwe to engage in a constructive dialogue with civil society actors and promote an enabling environment for them.

****

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.