Draft
Prepared by:
&
Free-Zim Youth Movement
GUIDED by the Constitution of
DIRECTED by the vision, hopes and aspirations of
the People of Zimbabwe,
ENCOURAGED by the basis of the resolution of the
Heads of State and government during the 1999 Algiers Summit for the
development of the Pan-African Charter,
UPHOLDING the values and ideals of the
Zimbabwean tradition and history as the foundation of a truly Zimbabwean
identity,
FULLY AWARE of the diversity of Zimbabwean
cultures and their bearing to our unity as a people,
CONVINCED that because of perpetuity, the youths of
REAFFIRMING the need to take appropriate measures to
promote and protect the rights and welfare of children as outlined in the
Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989) and through the African Charter on the Rights
and Welfare of the Child (1999),
NOTING with concern the situation of Zimbabwean
youths , many of whom are marginalized from mainstream society through
inequalities in income, wealth and power, unemployment and underemployment,
infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, living in situations of poverty
and hunger, experiencing illiteracy and poor quality educational systems,
restricted access to health services and to information, exposure to violence
including gender and political violence and experiencing various forms of
discrimination.
RECALLING the United Nations World Programme of
Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and beyond and the ten priority areas
identified for youth (education,
employment, hunger and poverty, health, environment, drug
abuse, juvenile
delinquency, leisure-time activities, girls and young women
and youth participating in decision-making), and the five additional areas
(HIV/AIDS, ICT, Inter-generational dialogue,..) adopted at the 2005 UN General
assembly,
VALUEING the role played by youths in the struggle
for independence
REITERATING that youths
are the vanguard of independence and democracy in
SALUTING the continual efforts
by the youths in protecting the integrity of
ENCOURAGED by the
endeavours by African states to come up with a comprehensive African Youth
Charter and noting the enshrinements in the African Youth Charter
ACKNOWLEDGING the increasing calls and the
enthusiasm of youth to actively participate at local, national, regional and
international levels to determine their own development and the advancement of
society at large,
ACKNOWLEDGING ALSO the call in
across Africa to empower youth by building their capacity,
leadership, responsibilities and provide access to information such that they
can take up their rightful place as active agents in decision-making and
governance,
CONSIDERING that the promotion and protection of the
rights of youth also implies the performance of duties by youth as by all other
actors in society,
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
DEFINITIONS
“Government”
shall mean the Government of Zimbabwe
“Charter”
shall mean the
Zimbabwe Youth Charter
“Diaspora”
shall mean people of Zimbabwean descent and heritage living
outside
the country.
“Minors”
shall mean young people
below the age of 14
“Youth”
For the purposes of this Charter, youth or young people shall
refer to every person between the ages of 14 and 35 years.
PART 1: RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Article 1: Obligation of The Government of
1.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall recognize the rights, freedoms and
duties enshrined in this Charter.
2.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall undertake the necessary steps, in
accordance with Constitution to adopt such legislative or other measures that
may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the Charter.
Article 2: Non-discrimination
1.
Every young person shall be entitled to the enjoyments of the rights and
freedoms recognized and guaranteed in this Charter irrespective of their race,
ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
fortune, birth or other status.
2.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall take appropriate measures to ensure
that youth are protected against all forms of discrimination on the basis of
status, activities, expressed opinions or beliefs.
3.
The Government of Zimbabwe recognize the rights of Young people from
ethnic, religious and linguistic marginalized groups to enjoy their own
culture, freely practice their own religion or to use their own language in
community with other members of their group.
Basis and background
It is enshrined in our history that we fought for majority rule. We fought against
The White Settler Factor-There was a time when European liberalism was regarded
as only hope for this country, but history have shown that European liberals
was only sugar-coated white supremacy. European liberals minority did not
subscribe to the doctrine of One man One vote. They then believed that minority
must rule the African, but they must do so justly!. They might as well say the
African must be oppressed justly! The settlers were determined, as we have
already stated ,to hold on to political power indefinitely. They did not have
the solution to then the problem since they champion the cause of minority
rule.
Article 3: Freedom of Movement
Every young person has the right to leave the country and to return to
safely into country.
Basis and background
African nationalist leaders were not
allowed by the white minority laws to enter any of the Reserves. Many of the
leaders who entered the Reserves were then fined, tortured or sentenced to imprisonment.
They where not to remain in the Reserves and they were not to remain in
European areas as this was in contravention of the Land Apportionment Act.
Article 4: Freedom of Expression
1.
Every young person shall be guaranteed the right to express his or her
ideas and opinions freely in all matters and to disseminate his or her ideas
and opinions subject to the restrictions as are prescribed by laws.
2.
Every young person shall have the freedom to seek, receive and
disseminate information and ideas of all kinds, either orally, in writing, in
print, in the form of art or through any media of the young person’s choice
subject to the restrictions as are prescribed by laws.
Basis and background
The Rhodesian
government banned the circulation of the Daily News in jail and in
detention so that the African prisoners and detainees would be completely cut
off from the outside world. They enacted repressive laws like Law and
Order Maintenance Act and the Broadcasting Act so restrict the voice
of the people. This was virtually a ban on all political
gathering sin then
Article 5: Freedom of Association
1.
Every young person shall have the right to free association and freedom
of peaceful assembly in conformity with the law.
2.
Young people shall not be compelled to belong to an association.
Basis and background
There were 4,000,000 Africans in
Article 6: Freedom of Thought, Conscience and
Religion
Every young person shall have the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion.
Article 7: Protection of Private Life
No young person shall be subject to the arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his/her privacy, residence or correspondence, or to attacks
upon his/her honour or reputation.
Article 8: Protection of the Family
1.
The family, as the most basic social institution, shall enjoy the full
protection and support of The Government of Zimbabwe for its establishment and
development.
2.
Young men and women of full age who enter into marriage shall do so
based on their free consent and shall enjoy equal rights and responsibilities.
Article 9: Property
1.
Every young person shall have the right to own and to inherit property.
2.
Young men and young women shall enjoy equal rights to own property.
3.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall ensure that youths are not arbitrarily
deprived of their property including inherited property.
Article 10: Development
1.
Every young person shall have the right to social,
economic, political and cultural development with due regard to their freedom
and identity and in equal enjoyment of the common heritage of mankind.
2.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall ensure that the
economic development of the country is equally reflected by the growth of the
youths, in this regard the government shall undertake to assist in the
empowerment of youths through provisions of grants, loans and other facilities
aimed at improving the lives of the youths.
3)
The Government of Zimbabwe shall provide access to
information and education and training for young people to learn their rights
and responsibilities, to be schooled in democratic processes, citizenship,
decision-making, governance and leadership such that they develop the technical
skills and confidence to participate in these processes
4)
The Government of Zimbabwe shall not adopt
extremist economic policies that compromise the development of youths
5)
Nationalisation of natural resources shall have
a fair share for the youth.
Article 11:Youth Participation
1.
Every young person shall have the right to participate in all spheres of
society.
2.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall take the following measures to promote
active youth participation in society:
In this respect it shall:
a)
Guarantee the participation of youth in parliament and other
decision-making bodies in accordance with the prescribed laws; more importantly
it shall ensure that:
i)
there is a parliamentary youth committee specifically dealing with
issues of that concern the youth of
ii)
The minister responsible for youth affairs be a youth below the age of
35 years by the date of appointment.
iii)
Every ministry have a youth office dealing specifically with youth issues
pertaining to the duties of such ministry.
b)
Facilitate the creation or strengthening of platforms for youth
participation in decision-making at local, national, regional, and continental
levels of governance;
c)
Ensure equal access to young men and young women to participate in
decision-making and in fulfilling civic duties;
d)
Provide access to information such that young people become aware of
their rights and of opportunities to participate in decision-making and civic
life;
e)
Provide technical and financial support to build the institutional
capacity of youth organisations;
f)
Institute policy and programmes of youth voluntarism at local, national,
regional and international levels as an important form of youth participation
and as a means of peer-to-peer training.
g)
Include representatives as part of delegations to ordinary sessions and
other relevant meetings to broaden channels of communication and enhance the
discussion of youth related issues.
Article 12: National Youth Policy
The Government of Zimbabwe shall develop a comprehensive and coherent
national youth policy.
a)
The policy shall be cross-sectoral in nature considering the
inter-relatedness of the challenges facing young people;
b)
The policy should identify challenges facing youths and should
articulate mechanism of addressing such.
c)
The policy shall advocate equal opportunities for young men and for
young women;
d)
The policy shall be adopted by parliament and enacted into law;
Article 13: Education and Skills Development
1.
Every young person shall have the right to education of good quality.
2.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall take all appropriate measures with a
view to achieving full realisation of this right and shall, in particular:
a)
Provide free and compulsory basic education and take steps to minimise
the indirect costs of education;
b)
Make all forms of secondary education more readily available and
accessible by all possible means including progressively free;
c)
Take steps to encourage regular school attendance and reduce drop-out
rates;
d)
Strengthen participation in and the quality of training in science and
technology;
e)
Revitalise vocational education and training relevant to current and
prospective employment opportunities and expand access by developing centres in
rural and remote areas;
f)
Make higher education equally accessible to all including establishing
distance learning centres of excellence;
g)
Avail multiple access points for education and skills development
including opportunities outside of mainstream educational institutions e.g.,
workplace skills development, distance learning, adult literacy and national
youth service programmes;
h)
Ensure, where applicable, that girls and young women who become pregnant
or married before completing their education shall have the opportunity to
continue their education;
i)
Allocate resources to upgrade the quality of education delivered and
ensure that it is relevant to the needs of contemporary society and engenders
critical thinking rather than rote learning;
j)
Adopt pedagogy that incorporates the benefits of and trains young people
in the use of modern information and communication technology such that youth
are better prepared for the world of work;
k)
Encourage youth participation in community work as part of education to
build a sense of civic duty;
l)
Introduce scholarship and bursary programmes to encourage entry into
post-primary school education and into higher education outstanding youth from
disadvantaged communities, especially young girls;
m)
Establish and encourage participation of all young men and young women
in sport, cultural and recreational activities as part of holistic development;
n)
Promote culturally appropriate, age specific sexuality and responsible
parenthood education
3.
The value of multiple forms of education, including formal, non-formal,
informal, distance learning and life-long learning, to meet the diverse
needs of
young people shall be embraced.
4.
The education of young people shall be directed to:
a)
The promotion and holistic development of the young person¢s cognitive
and creative and emotional abilities to their full potential;
b)
Fostering respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as set
out in the provisions of the various African human and people's rights
and international human rights declarations and conventions;
c)
Preparing young people for responsible lives in free societies that
promote peace, understanding, tolerance, dialogue, mutual respect and
friendship among all nations and across all groupings of people;
d)
The preservation and strengthening of positive African morals,
traditional values and cultures and the development of national and
African identity and pride;
e)
The development of respect for the environment and natural resources;
f)
The development of life skills to function effectively in society and
include issues such as HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, substance abuse
prevention and cultural practices that is harmful to the health of young
girls and women as part of the education curricula;
g)
The promotion of patriotism and cherishment of our history as said
orally, written or depicted in other forms.
Basis and background
After independence the Government of
Article 14: Sustainable Livelihoods and Youth
Employment
1.
Every young person shall have the right to gainful employment.
2.
Every young person shall have the right to be protected from economic
exploitation and from performing work that is likely to be hazardous to or
interfere with the young person's education, or to be harmful to the young
person's health or holistic development.
3.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall address and ensure the availability of
accurate data on youth employment, unemployment and underemployment so as to
facilitate the prioritisation of the issue in National development programmes
complemented by clear programmes to address unemployment;
4.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall take all appropriate measures with a
view to achieving full realisation of this right to gainful employment and
shall in particular:
a)
Ensure equal access to employment and equal pay for equal work or equal
value of work and offer protection against discrimination regardless of
ethnicity, race, gender, disability, religion, political, social, cultural or
economic background;
b)
Develop macroeconomic policies that focus on job creation particularly
for young and for young women;
c)
Develop measures to regulate the informal economy to prevent unfair
labour practices where the majority of youth work;
d)
Foster greater linkages between the labour market and the education and
training system to ensure that curricula are aligned to the needs of the labour
market and that youth are being trained in fields where employment
opportunities are available or are growing;
e)
Institute incentive schemes for employers to invest in the skills
development of employed and unemployed youth;
Article 15: Health
1.
Every young person shall have the right to enjoy the best attainable
state of physical, mental and spiritual health.
2.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall undertake to pursue the full
implementation of this right and in particular shall take measures to:
a)
Ensure free access to secondary health.
b)
Avail subsidised post-natal, infant and child health
care, in this respect it shall undertake to;
i)
Provide free immunisation to infants and children against
infectious diseases
ii)
Provide subsidised nourishment to all infants and children up to the age
of seven years.
c)
Make available equitable and ready access to medical assistance and
health care especially in rural and poor urban areas with an emphasis on the
development of primary health care;
d)
Secure the full involvement of youth in identifying their reproductive
and health needs and designing programmes that respond to these needs with
special attention to vulnerable and disadvantaged youth
e)
Provide access to youth friendly reproductive health services including
contraceptives, antenatal and post natal services;
f)
Institute programmes to address health pandemics in
g)
Institute comprehensive programmes to prevent the transmission of
sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS by providing education,
information, communication and awareness creation as well as making protective
measures and reproductive health services available;
h)
Expand the availability and encourage the uptake of voluntary
counselling and confidential testing for HIV/AIDS;
i)
Provide timely access to treatment for young people infected with
HIV/AIDS including prevention of mother to child transmission, post rape
prophylaxis, and anti-retroviral therapy and creation of health services
specific for young people;
j)
Provide food security for people living with HIV/AIDS;
k)
Institute comprehensive programmes including legislative steps to
prevent unsafe abortions;
l)
Raise awareness amongst youth on the dangers of drug abuse through
partnerships with youth, youth organisations and the community;
m)
Provide rehabilitation for young people abusing drugs such that they can
be re-integrated into social and economic life;
n)
Provide technical and financial support to build the institutional
capacity of youth organisations to address public health concerns including
issues concerning youth with disabilities and young people married at an early
age.
Article 16: Peace and Security
1.
In view of the important role of youth in promoting peace and
non-violence and the lasting physical and psychological scars that result from
involvement in violence, armed conflict and war, The Government of Zimbabwe
shall:
a)
Strengthen the capacity of young people and youth organisations in peace
building, conflict prevention and conflict resolution through the promotion of
intercultural learning, civic education, tolerance, human rights education and
democracy, mutual respect for cultural, ethnic and religious diversity, the
importance of dialogue and cooperation, responsibility, solidarity and international
cooperation;
b)
Institute mechanisms to promote a culture of peace and tolerance amongst
young people that discourages their participation in acts of violence,
terrorism, xenophobia, racial discrimination, gender-based discrimination,
foreign occupation and trafficking in arms and drugs;
c)
Institute education to promote a culture of peace and dialogue in all
schools and training centres at all levels;
d)
Condemn armed conflict and prevent the participation, involvement,
recruitment and sexual slavery of young people in armed conflict;
2.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall ensure the protection of the youth
against the ideology of genocide.
Article 17: Law Enforcement
1.
Every young person accused or found guilty of having infringed the penal
law shall have the right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the
inherent dignity of the human person.
2.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall in particular:
a)
Ensure that youth who are detained or imprisoned or in rehabilitation
centres are not subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment or
punishment;
b)
Ensure that accused minors shall be segregated from convicted persons
and shall be subject to separate treatment appropriate to their status;
c)
Build rehabilitation facilities for accused and imprisoned youth who are
still minors and house them separately from adults;
d)
Provide induction programmes for imprisoned youth that are based on
reformation, social rehabilitation and re-integration into family life;
e)
Make provisions for the continued education and skills development of
imprisoned young people as part of the restorative justice process.
f)
Ensure that accused and convicted young people are entitled to a lawyer.
Article 18: Sustainable Development and Protection of
the Environment
1.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall ensure the use of sustainable methods
to improve the lives of young people such that measures instituted do not
jeopardise opportunities for future generations.
2.
Encourage the media, youth organisations, in partnership with national
and international organisations, to produce, exchange and disseminate
information on environmental preservation and best practices to protect the
environment;
3.
Support youth organisations in instituting programmes that encourage
environmental preservation such as waste reduction, recycling and tree planting
programmes;
Article 19: Access to Land
1.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall ensure equal access to land for all
youth regardless race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political
or other opinion, fortune, birth or other status.
2.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall in particular;
a)
Set aside national lands which shall be made available for lease to
youths willing to undertake agricultural activities.
b)
Set up facilities to assist youth start agricultural projects, these may
include grants, loans or assistance in the form of materials or implements
c)
Ensure that for any farms acquired for resettlement, fifty percent of
the beneficiaries be youths
3)
With respect to the Land reform programme the government should
undertake to;
a)
Set up an audit of the Agrarian reform programme
b)
Gazette farms to be redistributed to the landless people
c)
Set up an Independent Agrarian Reform Board with a full youth voice to
oversee a well-managed redistribution
4)
The Government of Zimbabwe shall ensure that in the process of land
redistribution it does not jeopardise opportunities for future generations, in
particular it shall
a)
Set aside land for future use which may in the mean time be leased to
the current youths
b)
Give specific timeframes of lease to the current beneficiaries of the
land redistribution so that at the expiry of such, other people; particularly
the youths of the day may benefit also.
Article 20: Youth and Culture
1.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall take the following steps to promote and
protect the morals and traditional values recognised by the community:
a)
Eliminate all traditional practices that undermine the physical integrity
and dignity of women;
b)
Recognise and value beliefs and traditional practices that contribute to
development;
c)
Establish institutions and programmes for the development,
documentation, preservation and dissemination of culture;
d)
Work with educational institutions, youth organisations, the media and
other partners to raise awareness of and teach and inform young people about
youth culture, values and indigenous knowledge;
e)
Harness the creativity of youth to promote local cultural values and
traditions by representing them in a format acceptable to youth and in a
language and in forms to which youth are able to relate;
f)
Introduce and intensify teaching in Zimbabwean languages in all forms of
education as a means to accelerate economic, social, political and cultural
development;
g)
Promote inter-cultural awareness by organising exchange programmes
between young people and youth organisations within
Article 21: Youth in the Diaspora
The Government of Zimbabwe shall recognise the right of young people to
live anywhere in the world. In this regard, it shall;
a)
Promote and protect the rights of young people living in the Diaspora,
in particular
i) All Zimbabwean youths in the Diaspora above the age of 18 shall be granted
the suffrage right in any election to which they are duly registered.
b)
Establish structures that encourage and assist the youth in the Diaspora
to return to and fully re-integrate into the social and economic life in
c)
Promote and protect the rights of young people living in the Diaspora;
d)
Encourage young people in the Diaspora to engage themselves in
development activities in
e)
Government shall have development plan agreement with host nations to integrate
youth in Diaspora.
f)
Government
shall through its Embassies shall have an obligation to undertake educational
and cultural activities to remind the youth of there culture and African
history.
Article 22: Leisure, Recreation, Sportive and
Cultural Activities
1.
Young people shall have the right to rest and leisure and to engage in
play and recreational activities that are part of a health lifestyle as well as
to participate freely in sport, physical education drama, the arts, music and
other forms of cultural life. In this regard, The Government of Zimbabwe shall;
a)
Make provision for equal access for young men and young women to sport,
physical education, cultural, artistic, and recreational and leisure
activities;
b)
Put in place adequate infrastructure and services in rural and urban
areas for youth to participate in sport, physical education, cultural,
artistic, recreational and leisure activities.
Article 23: Girls and Young Women
The Government of Zimbabwe shall acknowledge the need to eliminate
discrimination against girls and young women according to obligations
stipulated in various international, regional and national human rights
conventions and instruments designed to protect and promote women’s rights. In
this regard, they shall:
a)
Introduce legislative measures that eliminate all forms of
discrimination against girls and young women and ensure their human rights and
fundamental freedoms;
b)
Ensure that girls and young women are able to participate actively, equally an