Disability rights and the post-new constitution phase in Zimbabwe: where do we go from now?: a paper presented during the ‘Disability Awareness and Mainstreaming Workshop’ at the Faculty of Education, University of Zimbabwe, 30 & 31 January 2014

Abstract

This presentation comes at a time when two major events which changed the colour and taste of disability activism took place in Zimbabwe. The events are the adoption of a new Constitution in 2013 and the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by Zimbabwe on 23 September 2013. The new Constitution effectuates a paradigm shift in the context of disability by expressly recognising the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) for the first time in the constitutional history of Zimbabwe. Section 83 of the Constitution shows a constitutional commitment to advance the rights of PWDs who have endured severe marginalisation for a long time in Zimbabwe. By becoming a ratifying party to the CRPD, Zimbabwe has assumed an obligation to fulfil the text of the Convention.