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TITLE: ZAMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
ZAMBIA
Zambia is a republic governed by a president, a unicameral
national assembly, and a constitutionally independent
judiciary. Free and fair multiparty elections in October 1991
resulted in the victory of the Movement for Multiparty
Democracy (MMD) and the election of President Frederick J.T.
Chiluba. With one exception, the more than 30 opposition
parties generally operated without government interference in
1993.
On March 4, President Chiluba invoked his constitutional powers
to declare a state of emergency in response to a purported plot
by members of the former ruling party, the United National
Independence Party (UNIP), to destabilize the country. The
security forces detained without charge and interrogated 26
persons, most of them UNIP members. The Government revoked the
state of emergency on May 25 and charged eight detainees with
offenses ranging from treason to possession of seditious
documents. It released all other detainees without charge. By
late 1993, a Lusaka magistrate had convicted one of the eight
of possession of a seditious document and sentenced him to 9
months in prison. He remained free on bail pending the outcome
of an appeal to the High Court. The remaining detainees were
also free on bail as their cases were tried in the courts.
In May the Government established a Commission of Inquiry to
investigate human rights abuses under both the current and the
previous governments.
The Zambian police, divided into regular and paramilitary units
and operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs, have primary
responsibility for maintaining law and order. Police often
ignore procedural requirements and engage in abusive and brutal
behavior, including beating and at times killing criminal
suspects and detainees.
After steady declines in per capita gross domestic product,
Zambia in 1992 was redesignated a least developed country by
the United Nations. The Chiluba Government remained committed
to a free market economic reform program, but high inflation
had a serious impact on the poor, the middle class, and
business, eroding public support for the reform policies.
Beginning in August, the inflation rate dropped dramatically,
the first sign that tight monetary and fiscal policies were
beginning to have an effect. After the drought of 1992,
agricultural production rebounded with record harvests of many
crops, but the Government's tight cash budget policy limited
its capacity to purchase the crops. The key copper industry
maintained production levels, but depressed world prices kept
revenues at lower levels.
Zambia's major human rights problem, police brutality,
continued unchecked in 1993, resulting in extrajudicial
killings of persons in police custody and torture, as
exemplified by the torture of three detained UNIP leaders at
the hands of security forces. Other significant human rights
abuses occurred, including arbitrary detentions under the State
of Emergency and government efforts to curb press freedom with
a concomitant increase in self-censorship by the press. The
Government's commitment to constitutional and legal reform
remained unfulfilled, abysmal prison conditions continued to
threaten health and life of inmates, and women continued to
experience both de jure and de facto discrimination. Wife
beating and rape remained common.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no known political killings during the year, but
police brutality and use of excessive force continued to result
in extrajudicial killings. According to reports in the Zambian
press, the police killed at least 19 criminal suspects between
January 1 and September 15. So far as is known, the police
undertook no serious investigations to determine possible
police use of excessive force in attempting to apprehend the
suspects. In November a Chingola High Court judge convicted a
police officer of manslaughter and sentenced him to 3 years'
imprisonment for the accidental shooting death of a man during
a melee in a town market.
At least two criminal suspects died in police custody. In one
case in January, two police officers reportedly beat the victim
to death. In the other, police alleged that a young suspect in
apparent good health died suddenly of pneumonia. The
authorities investigated neither case to determine possible
police culpability. In another case, a police officer was
arrested in connection with the December 1992 death of a
suspect while in custody. No information on the disposition of
the case was made known during 1993. Responding to public
concern about police treatment of suspects, Home Affairs
Minister Newstead Zimba said in January that officers guilty of
abuses would be subject to legal action, but there were no
reports that offenders were prosecuted.
b. Disappearance
There were no known cases of government-inspired disappearance.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
The 1991 Constitution prohibits torture but members of the
police and security forces regularly used excessive force when
apprehending, interrogating, and holding criminal suspects or
illegal aliens. Beatings and other mistreatment by police were
in most instances not subject to serious investigation, and
offenders were rarely disciplined or prosecuted.
There were credible reports that during March and April police,
security service, and military interrogators severely
mistreated three of the persons detained under the State of
Emergency. In the course of interrogation between March 13 and
16, one detainee was repeatedly struck, required to perform
exhausting physical exercises, and forced to kneel on small
stones that caused pain and swelling. Interrogators also
reportedly pulled his hair and dunked his head in a dirty
toilet. Interrogators systematically abused a second detainee
during interrogation by forcing him to sit in a chair with his
hands tied behind him and his buttocks raised off the seat,
striking him when he tired and lowered his body to the seat of
the chair. This person became ill during interrogation, was
hospitalized, and then was returned to prison for further
interrogation. A third detainee was observed to have marks on
his back from beatings.
In response to the allegations of torture and to growing public
criticism, the Government stated that it opposed torture and
claimed that any mistreatment of the detainees was not the
result of policy but rather, of the actions of individuals.
The Government permitted delegations from the Foundation for
Democratic Process (FODEP) to visit 10 of the detainees at 2
separate prisons on April 5. None of the 10--who did not
include the 3 reported torture victims--alleged mistreatment.
On March 22, Legal Affairs Minister Chongwe said that law
enforcement officers found to have abused detainees should be
fired and prosecuted. There were no reports, however, of
disciplinary or legal action against any of the security force
personnel involved. The Government continued to sponsor a
series of human rights training seminars for police and other
officials, but there were no signs of an impact on actual
conditions.
In further response to the allegations of torture, the
Government on May 5 announced the establishment of a Commission
of Inquiry to investigate human rights abuse under both the
current Government and the previous one. The terms of
reference of the Commission, chaired by an eminent lawyer,
included recommending measures to the Government to prevent
human rights abuses by government personnel. For several
months the Commission toured the country taking witnesses'
testimony, most of which detailed abuses under the previous
Government, but which also produced allegations that torture
and "torture chambers" continued to exist under the MMD
Government. As the year ended, the Commission continued to
hold hearings. It was to submit its findings and
recommendations to the Government early in 1994.
Conditions in Zambian prisons continue to be harsh and life
threatening. Tuberculosis, anemia, dysentery, malaria, chest
infections, and other maladies are rampant due to low protein
diets, lack of clean water, severe overcrowding, and poor
sanitation and medical facilities. In June, for example, a
Zambia prison services official confirmed that a food shortage
at prisons had forced inmates to live on one meal per day.
Similar conditions are found in police holding cells.
According to the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), three
prisoners at Singogo Remand Prison in Ndola died within a
6-week period in July and August. Because of the poor
conditions in the prison, an Ndola magistrate subsequently
ordered the release on bail of many prisoners awaiting trial.
In January the LAZ petitioned the Home Affairs Minister to
permit access to prisons and police cells, but the Government
denied the request. However, the Human Rights Commission of
Inquiry toured provincial prisons and police cells, including
juvenile facilities, pursuant to its terms of reference. The
Government did not allocate nearly enough resources to
ameliorate the poor conditions in most prisons and police cells.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
On March 5, President Chiluba invoked powers granted to him
under the Constitution to declare a 90-day state of emergency
in response to the so-called Zero Option Plan involving members
of UNIP. The plan, which had circulated among UNIP leaders for
weeks, advocated fomenting widespread civil unrest in order to
make the country ungovernable, thereby paving the way for
UNIP's return to power. President Chiluba and his Government
were concerned that the plan represented an immediate threat to
national security. The National Assembly ratified the
President's declaration on March 12 by a vote of 114-23.
Imposition of the state of emergency automatically activated
the provisions of the 1960 Preservation of Public Security Act
(PSA), under which the President and law enforcement
authorities have wide powers to curtail civil liberties. In
particular, the PSA permits the Government to arrest persons
without a warrant and to detain them without charge. After
declaring the state of emergency, the Chiluba Government
amended some sections of the PSA to restrict its scope and
limit the potential for abuses. For example, the period for
which a detainee could initially be held without charge was
reduced from 28 to 7 days.
Authorities detained 26 UNIP members and supporters in March
under the provisions of the PSA. The President signed orders
authorizing the detentions after consultation with the Attorney
General and other legal advisers. Family members and attorneys
were usually given access to the detainees, except during
interrogation. When questioned about the right of detainees to
have attorneys present during interrogation, government
officials gave conflicting legal opinions, but in most cases
attorneys were not permitted to be present. Despite the 7-day
time limit on detentions specified in the amended PSA, the Zero
Option detainees were held without charge appreciably longer,
some for 77 days. The Government never convened the special
tribunal called for under the PSA to review and authorize
additional periods of detention of up to 6 months.
During March and April, most of the detainees were released
from custody without being charged. On May 21, the Government
revoked the presidential detention order against the remaining
eight detainees and charged them with offenses under the
criminal statutes ranging from treason to possession of
seditious documents. All eight were released on bail, and
their trials, which began in August, were continuing as the
year ended. The first verdict came in October, when a Lusaka
magistrate convicted UNIP leader Bwendo Mulengela of possession
of a seditious document and sentenced him to 9 months's
imprisonment. Mulengela appealed the judgment to the High
Court.
In March, 13 of the detainees petitioned the courts to review
the legality of their detentions. Hearings before two Lusaka
High Court judges began on April 6 and continued intermittently
until the state of emergency was revoked by the President on
May 25. The courts pursued the cases evenhandedly and took
steps to safeguard the detainees' rights. High Court Justice
James Mutale, for example, ordered the state to hold the
detainees in the Lusaka area during the hearings (previously
they had been held at various prisons around the country) and
demanded that all mistreatment be halted. Ultimately, the
detainees were released before the courts could rule on their
petitions.
In regular criminal cases, the law requires that a detainee be
charged and brought before a magistrate within 24 hours, but
there are delays at each step of the process, and deadlines are
frequently missed due to police inefficiency or lack of
transportation to bring a suspect before a magistrate.
According to the LAZ, many persons are held in police cells and
prisons for weeks and even months before being charged and
brought before a magistrate. No statistics on the number of
these detainees were available to the public. Foreigners,
principally from neighboring countries, are regularly
apprehended as illegal aliens and detained until they can be
deported. At times these detentions last months or years. In
February a high-ranking prison official told a Lusaka judge
that 51 "prohibited immigrants" were then detained in Lusaka
prisons, some of them since 1991. The official also admitted
that Lusaka prisons held many Zambians who had been detained
for long periods without trial. One of these, according to the
official, had been detained since 1987.
Katiza Cebekhulu, a South African national detained at Lusaka
Central Prison in 1991, was released from custody on December
15. At year's end he was residing at the Maheba refugee camp
near Solwezi.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The MMD Government respects the independence of the judiciary.
At the apex of the judicial system is a nine-member Supreme
Court headed by the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice and
members of the Court are nominated by the President and
confirmed by Parliament. The Supreme Court has appellate
jurisdiction for all legal and constitutional disputes. The
High Courts have authority to hear all criminal and civil cases
and appeals from lower courts. The 55 magistrate courts have
original jurisdiction in criminal and some civil cases, while
431 local, or customary courts handle most civil cases at the
local level. These local courts employ the principles of
customary law, which vary widely throughout the country.
Lawyers are barred from participating, and there are few formal
rules of procedure. Facilities are often rudimentary.
Presiding judges, who are usually prominent local citizens,
have great power to invoke customary law in rendering judgments
regarding weddings, divorces, inheritances, other civil
proceedings, and minor criminal matters. Judgments are often
not in accordance with the Legal Code; for example, they tend
to discriminate against women in matters of inheritance and
other issues (see Section 5).
In ordinary criminal cases, the law provides a number of
protections for defendants, including protection during
interrogations. Trials are public and defendants have the
opportunity to confront accusers and present witnesses.
Members of the legal community maintain that if a lawyer can be
obtained, defendants can expect to receive a fair trial.
However, many defendants are either too poor to retain a lawyer
or unaware of the few nongovernmental citizen advocacy groups
that might help them. The Government's Legal Aid Department is
severely understaffed, and Zambians entitled to legal aid often
find that it is unavailable.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Respect for privacy and the inviolability of the home is
provided for in the Constitution and is generally respected in
practice. During the state of emergency, however, the homes
and offices of dozens of UNIP member and supporters were
searched. All of these searches took place without a warrant,
under the provisions of the Public Security Act, and in some
cases authorities forcibly entered premises. Roundups of
suspected illegal aliens in the home or workplace continued
during 1993. According to the Government Commissioner for
Refugees, immigration officials are empowered under the law to
conduct these roundups without a warrant.
Section 2 Respect for Civil liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The broad public debate of issues that characterized the first
year of the MMD Government continued during 1993. Public
discussion regarding the state of emergency and other
controversial government actions was vigorous and constituted a
significant change from public reaction to similar events under
the previous government. However, the press and other media
continued to run afoul of legal restraints on freedom of
expression and suffered political reprisals for expressing
independent views.
The Constitution provides for freedom of expression and of the
press, but these rights can be circumscribed by laws deemed to
be in the interest of defense, public safety, public order,
public morality, or public health. In practice, the MMD
Government generally respected freedom of expression during
1993, but in a few cases individuals were either denied this
right or arrested for expressing views deemed to be contrary to
the law. The Penal Code lists various prohibited activities
that restrict freedom of expression and the press, including
defamation of the President, expressing or showing hatred or
ridicule, publication of false news with intent to cause fear
and alarm to the public, publishing a seditious document,
uttering words with intent to wound religious feelings, and
trafficking in obscene publications. In May authorities
prevented former Finance Minister Emmanuel Kasonde and others
from addressing a rally because the authorities believed
speakers would make defamatory comments about President Chiluba
(see Section 2.b.). In another instance, authorities arrested
and convicted a UNIP supporter for having "defamed" the
President, and in a separate case arrested a businessman for
allegedly making comments critical of Mrs. Chiluba.
The appearance of three additional nongovernment weekly
newspapers, the announcement of a process for licensing private
television and radio stations, and the publication of a set of
recommendations for media reform that endorse democratic free
press ideals, all marked appreciable if tentative progress
toward real freedom of the press during 1993. The Government
continued to refrain from enforcing the more draconian of the
press restrictions in the Legal Code, but made no perceptible
move to amend or repeal them. Such laws include the
President's power under the PSA, which came into force during
the state of emergency, to prohibit the publication, sale,
supply, distribution, and possession of information deemed
prejudicial to public security. In addition, under the State
Security Act, journalists are subject to prison terms of up to
20 years for receiving leaked government documents and
information. The Media Reform Committee made specific
recommendations to reform the Legal Code, but as the year ended
these recommendations had not been approved by the Cabinet or
enacted into law.
Despite indications of progress towards genuine press freedom,
government officials continued to distrust the press and often
attempted to control the dissemination of stories critical of
government policies or high-ranking officials. Reporters and
editors, especially in the government-owned media, reported
receiving calls from senior officials threatening their
livelihood over critical stories they had run or that were
being written. Police briefly detained the managing editor of
The Weekly Post, the most prominent independent newspaper,
following publication of a story linking a Cabinet minister
with drug trafficking. Also, the President sued The Weekly
Post for libel as a result of its reprint of a story,
originally appearing in the South African press, that alleged
that Chiluba had benefitted financially from an arrangement to
allow South African conservationists to conduct studies in
Zambia. The Government's dismissal of the much-respected
Director General of the Zambia National Broadcasting
Corporation--ostensibly for irregularities in his hiring, but
in reality for exercising independence in programming--
demonstrated the limits of press freedom in 1993. The firing
left its mark on reporters, editors, and managers of all
government-owned media, who became less willing to investigate,
write, or publish stories critical of the Government.
The Government took no action to restrain academic freedom
during the year.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of peaceful assembly and
association, but on occasion the Government ignored these
provisions. Under the Public Order Act of 1955, persons or
organizations wishing to hold an assembly, public meeting, or
procession must first apply for a permit. In almost all cases
during 1993, authorities routinely issued such permits.
Normally, grounds for denial of a permit involve concerns over
a threat to public order and security, which is provided for
both in the Public Order Act and the 1991 Constitution. On May
24, however, Northern Province Deputy Minister Daniel Kapapa
ordered police to revoke a permit for a political rally
organized by two former cabinet ministers, because, Kapapa told
the press, the ministers had not paid a courtesy call on him
and because they were likely to make insulting remarks about
the President.
On August 18, the Home Affairs Minister ordered police not to
issue permits to MMD Members of Parliament who had resigned to
form the National Party (NP). He warned that the former MMD
members would be arrested if they attempted to address public
gatherings in their constituencies. Three days later Vice
President Mwanawasa announced that the Government had reversed
the Minister's decision. During several parliamentary election
campaigns late in the year, the NP experienced no significant
difficulties in holding campaign rallies and other public
meetings.
All organizations must apply formally for registration to the
Registrar of Societies. In most cases these applications are
routinely approved. For example, there are now more than 30
registered political parties. The National Party, led by
prominent breakaway MMD leaders, was registered within days of
having filed its application in early September. In April,
however, the Government refused to register an Islamic party
formed by the youth and student wing of the Islamic Council of
Zambia. When the Registrar of Societies rejected the
application, the group appealed to Home Affairs Minister Zimba
to intercede. The Minister responded that the Registrar had
made the correct decision, as the Constitution did not allow
for the formation of religious parties. However, Article 21 of
the Constitution provides that "no person shall be hindered in
the enjoyment of his freedom of assembly and association... and
in particular to form or belong to any political party....."
The same Article provides for the registration of political
parties but says that only "reasonable conditions" may be
established for the registration of parties and that it is
unconstitutional to impose conditions "shown not to be
reasonably justifiable in a democratic society." During the
state of emergency, the Government took no action to curtail
the rights of political parties, including UNIP and other
groups, to hold public meetings and assemblies.
c. Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion is provided for in the Constitution and is
respected in practice. Although President Chiluba has declared
Zambia to be a Christian nation, other religions are practiced
without interference.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution guarantees citizens the right to move freely
throughout Zambia, to reside in any part of the country, and to
depart from and return to the country without restriction. The
authorities generally respected these rights during 1993, but
police roadblocks to control criminal activity continued and
police often extorted money and goods from motorists.
According to UNIP, the Government seized the passports of 39
party leaders in connection with the state of emergency and the
subsequent investigation. By year's end all of these passports
had been returned to their holders.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
estimated that there were approximately 142,000 refugees in
Zambia in 1993, up slightly from 1992. The majority were
Angolans, with significant numbers of Mozambicans, Zairians,
Somalis, and South Africans. The repatriation of the
approximately 15,000 Mozambicans proceeded slowly, while
repatriation of approximately 125,000 Angolans stalled due to
the renewed fighting in that country. In July approximately
1,500 minority Kasai from Shaba Province in Zaire fled into
Zambia and requested refugee status. They were fleeing both
attempts by the Shaba Government to remove them forcibly from
the province and restrictions that made it impossible for them
to earn a living there. After some hesitation, the Zambian
Government agreed to let the Zairians proceed to a UNHCR
refugee settlement in the northwest. A steady trickle of
Zairians continued to cross into Zambia during the year. The
alleged criminal activities of many Zairians in the border
region was of considerable concern to the Government, and
roundups, arrests, and deportations of Zairians and other
illegal aliens continued throughout the year. With respect to
illegal aliens, these actions are lawful. However, Zairians
and others who have been accorded refugee status by the UNHCR
are sometimes picked up and held for varying lengths of time
before being released.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Zambian citizens exercised the right to change their government
in free and fair multiparty elections in 1991 following years
of one-party rule by the UNIP. However, under the 1991
Constitution the President wields broad authority. Although
Parliament ratifies major appointments and has other powers, in
practice it is an ineffectual check on executive authority.
While President Chiluba kept his promise to limit the scope and
duration of the state of emergency, coming so soon after the
advent of multiparty democracy, it constituted an ominous
precedent. Constitutional reform to increase the power of
Parliament, a prominent plank in the MMD election platform,
continued to proceed at an extremely slow pace, although in
September the Government announced the formation of a
constitutional commission to draft a new constitution. The
24-member commission represents a broad spectrum of Zambian
society. It is expected to complete its work in 1994.
The ruling MMD controls the executive branch and the
Parliament. With one exception, noted in Section 2.b., the MMD
Government allowed opposition parties to operate freely.
Several parliamentary byelections were hotly contested. These
elections, using the secret ballot, were generally free and
fair. In many constituencies turnout was low, continuing the
pattern of 1992, but in others a considerable percentage of
registered voters participated. Though adult suffrage is
universal, an outdated voter register requires revision in
order to enfranchise new voters. In August prominent MMD
members, including former cabinet ministers, resigned from the
party to form the National Party (NP). After a brief delay,
the Government permitted these politicians to operate freely
and approved the registration of the new party
The number of influential women in politics and government is
increasing; it includes cabinet ministers, deputy ministers,
Members of Parliament, the Interim Chairman of the opposition
National Party, ministerial permanent secretaries, and numerous
elected local government officials.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
A number of human rights and civic organizations operate
without hindrance. These include the LAZ and FODEP. The
latter, along with the Young Women's Christian Association
(YWCA), the Nongovernmental Organization Coordinating Committee
(NGOCC), and other groups was active in promoting women's civil
and political rights. In general, the Government continued to
be receptive to criticism from such organizations, but
individual ministers sometimes became confrontational. In
September, for example, the Home Affairs Minister said that
human rights advocates critical of government policies should
"shut their mouths." In September the Inspector General of
Police complained that the actions of human rights monitors led
to an increase in crime.
The Government was receptive to inquiries or visits by
international human rights organizations.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
The population of about 8 million comprises more than 70
Bantu-speaking tribal groupings. Economic and social needs are
met on a generally nondiscriminatory basis. The Constitution
prohibits discrimination based on race, tribe, sex, place of
origin, marital status, political opinion, color, or creed.
Members of the Asian community, which includes many shopowners,
continued to complain in 1993 of hostility from other Zambians.
Women
Under civil and constitutional law, women are entitled to full
equality with men in most areas. In practice, Zambian women
are severely disadvantaged compared to men in formal employment
and education. Married women who are employed often suffer
from discriminatory conditions of service; allowances for
housing and children and tax rebates to which they as employees
are entitled often accrue to their husbands. Similarly, women
have little independent access to credit facilities; in most
cases, they remain dependent on husbands, who are required to
sign for loans. As a result, few women own their own homes.
Under the citizenship laws, a Zambian man who marries a
non-Zambian woman can transfer "resident rights" to his wife,
but a Zambian woman who marries a non-Zambian man has no right
to have her husband reside in Zambia.
Customary law and practice also place women in subordinate
status with respect to property, inheritance, and marriage,
despite various constitutional and legislated provisions. In
some areas, women are not allowed to hold land under customary
tenure, and what they produce on land can be appropriated by
the "rightful" holder, usually a male relative. Under
traditional customs, all rights to inherit property rested with
the deceased man's family. The Intestate Succession Act,
passed in 1989, guarantees widows a 20-percent share and
children a 50-percent share in the inheritance of a deceased
man's property. Despite increasing efforts by nongovernmental
organizations during 1993 to publicize the law, it remained
generally ineffectual because of ignorance, apathy, fear, and
lax enforcement by the police and the courts. According to the
YWCA, however, there were indications that increasing numbers
of widows in urban areas were aware of their rights under the
law and sought assistance and protection from NGO's or legal
authorities.
Violence against women remained a serious problem. Wife
beating and rape were commonplace, although there were no
statistics available to document the precise extent of these
abuses. Domestic assault is a criminal offense, but in
practice police are often reluctant to pursue reports of wife
beating or other forms of abuse. The Government mounted a
publicity campaign to discourage wife beating, but there was no
information about the campaign's effectiveness. Authorities
evinced serious concern in an apparent increase in rape, and
offenders have been arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to jail
terms.
Children
There was no pattern of discrimination or societal abuse
against children, but scarce government resources and
ineffective implementation of social programs adversely
affected the welfare of children and adults alike.
People with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities face significant societal
discrimination in employment and education. The basic law
covering the disabled is the Handicapped Persons Act (HPA). It
established the Zambia Council for the Handicapped, a
government organization, which provides rehabilitative and
social service to the disabled. There are no legal provisions
prohibiting discrimination or mandating accessibility for the
disabled. In 1993 the Minister of Community Development and
Social Services named a task force to study the problems of the
disabled with a view to drafting a new law to replace the HPA
and better safeguard the rights of the disabled.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution guarantees the right of citizens to form trade
unions, and Zambia has a history of strong labor union
organizations dating from the establishment of the copper mines
in the 1930's. Approximately 60 percent of the 300,000 formal
sector workers are unionized. The country's 19 large national
unions are organized by industry or profession. All are
affiliated with the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).
The ZCTU is democratically organized; it regularly conducts
open elections to select its leadership. Like its constituent
unions, it is independent of any political party and the
Government. The ZCTU and other unions operated freely
throughout the year and frequently criticized the MMD
Government on such issues as economic policy, wages, and
conditions of service. The ZCTU is a member of the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
On April 26, Parliament passed a new Industrial and Labor
Relations Act (ILRA), which superseded the controversial
Industrial Relations Act of 1991. With the broad backing of
labor, business, and government leaders, the new Act
reestablished the principle of "one industry, one union" that
had been abolished under the 1991 ILRA. While acknowledging
that the one industry, one union rule restricts the right of
individuals to freely associate, union leaders successfully
argued that a proliferation of unions would weaken organized
labor. Under the 1993 ILRA, therefore, a new union may be
registered only if the Government determines that it represents
a specific trade, profession, or category of employees who are
qualified to form a union. A group representing a trade,
profession, or category of employees already represented by an
existing trade union will not be registered. Under the 1991
Act, a number of new unions sought registration, including
those purporting to represent bankers, miners, secondary school
teachers, technical college staff, and civil servants.
Depending on the Government's interpretation of the new law,
some of these new unions may be recognized as legal entities.
The 1993 ILRA also abolished the provision in the 1991 law
disaffiliating unions from the ZCTU. The new law automatically
reaffiliated the unions with the ZCTU but also allows unions to
leave the ZCTU through a simple majority vote of their members.
All workers have the right to strike except those engaged in
essential services, the Zambia Defense Force, judicial service,
police force, prison service, and security intelligence
service. Essential services are defined in the 1993 ILRA as
power, medical, water, sewerage, firefighting, and certain
mining occupations essential to safety. Strikes and work
stoppages were commonplace throughout the year as workers'
salaries and conditions of service were undercut by harsh
economic conditions and, until the last half of the year, sharp
increases in the cost of living. Strikes are permitted only
after all other legal recourse has been exhausted, and in
practice all work stoppages during the year were illegal. At
various times from May through August, many teachers and civil
servants went on strike to protest the slow pace of
negotiations with the Government on a new contract. After a
series of meetings between Government and union negotiators,
the unions agreed in August to accept the Government's offer of
a 50 percent salary increase. The ZCTU and individual unions
may affiliate with a trade union or organization outside Zambia
by a simple majority vote of the membership. Labor leaders
travel without restriction to international conferences and to
visit counterparts abroad.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The 1993 ILRA prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers
against union members and organizers. An employee who believes
he has been penalized for union activities may, after
exhausting any existing administrative channels for relief,
file a complaint with the Industrial Relations Court. This
court has the power to order appropriate redress for the
aggrieved worker. The complainant may appeal a judgment of the
Industrial Relations Court to the Supreme Court. The
Industrial Relations Court has the power to order employers to
reinstate a worker fired for union activity.
Employers and unions in each industry negotiate collective
bargaining agreements through joint councils in which there is
no government involvement. Collective disputes are first
referred to a conciliator or a board of conciliation. If
conciliation fails to resolve the dispute the parties may refer
the case to the Industrial Relations Court or, in the case of
employees, vote to strike. In practice, the industry joint
councils function effectively as collective bargaining
mechanisms.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited by the
Constitution. Forced labor is prohibited, except in the
conduct of communal or civic obligations.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
By legislation, the minimum age for employment of children is
16. The Labor Commissioner effectively enforces this law in
the industrial sector, where, because of adult unemployment,
there are almost no jobs available to children under the age of
16. However, the law is not enforced for the vast majority of
Zambians who work in the subsistence agricultural, domestic
service, and informal sectors, where persons under age 16 are
often employed. In urban areas children commonly engage in
street trading.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
In 1991 the Government established a minimum monthly wage rate
for all employees, except professionals, plus housing and
transportation allowances. As of December 1993, according to
the Labor Commissioner, this rate was approximately $7.50 or
4,500 Zambian kwacha. However, each industry may through
collective bargaining set its own minimum wage rates above the
legal floor, and in practice most formal sector workers receive
salaries considerably higher than the minimum wage. As of
March 1993, for example, miners generally received a monthly
salary of at least $50 (30,000 kwacha), and construction and
engineering workers received between $20 and $75 (13,000 and
45,000 kwacha), depending on position and seniority. In
nonunionized industries and trades, however, the minimum wage
is applied. This would include such positions as delivery
assistants, general workers, and office orderlies. The minimum
wage is insufficient to provide an adequate standard of living,
and most minimum wage earners must supplement their incomes
through second jobs, subsistence farming, or reliance on the
extended family.
The legal maximum workweek for nonunionized workers is 48
hours. Maximum limits for unionized workers vary. For
example, the legal maximum for unionized guards is 72 hours per
week. The minimum workweek for full-time employment is 40
hours and is, in practice, the normal workweek. Two days of
annual leave per month of service are required by law.
Zambian law regulates minimum health and safety standards in
any industrial undertaking. Enforcement of industrial safety
in the mines is the responsibility of the Department of Mines.
Factory safety is handled by the Inspector of Factories under
the Minister of Labor, but staffing problems chronically limit
enforcement effectiveness.
[end of document]
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