CIVICUS discusses restrictions on civil society with Glanis Changachirere, founding director of the Institute for Young Women Development, a Zimbabwean civil society organisation (CSO) working for women's rights and against structural inequalities.
On 11 April, the government of Zimbabwe enacted the 2025 Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Act, granting authorities sweeping powers to suspend or deregister civil society organisations on vaguely defined security and public interest grounds. The new law forms part of the government's ongoing campaign to restrict civic space and silence dissent. Civil society leaders particularly warn about provisions targeting human rights advocates, transparency watchdogs and accountability campaigners.
What changes does this law introduce?
This law is a political weapon rather than a genuine legal framework to uphold constitutional rights or comply with international standards. It serves primarily to restrict civic space and suppress human rights work, creating numerous challenges for organisations like ours. It was passed through a flawed and opaque process, with inconsistencies in draft bills and violent disruptions of public hearings that silenced public input.
The law's biggest impact will be on civil society operations because, while ostensibly harmonising the registration and regulation of all CSOs under a single law, it limits organisations' autonomy. Many of its provisions contradict the constitution and breach Zimbabwe's regional and international obligations.
For instance, the law empowers the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to appoint, remove and replace CSOs' board members and deny or revoke CSOs' registration without clear appeal mechanisms or published procedures. This violates the right to freedom of association and contravenes the constitutional article that states that every person has the right to 'administrative conduct that is lawful, prompt, efficient, reasonable, proportionate, impartial and both substantively and procedurally fair'.
The law also imposes unrealistic compliance demands without clear guidelines and criminalises work deemed political, exposing individual staff members to prosecution. Its deliberately vague language means it allows for selective interpretation, creating opportunities for state abuse.
In addition, the law defines CSOs in blanket terms, not accounting for the different types of CSOs in Zimbabwe, and imposes structural and systematic regulations that are not sensitive to the funding and resourcing realities of CSOs. It disproportionately targets civil and political rights work, including on democracy, governance and human rights, as well as efforts to support women's political participation.
What new obligations does the law impose on CSOs?
The law orders all CSOs, including those previously registered as trusts or under other statutes, to apply for registration within 90 days of its entry into effect or30 days from the start of their operations in Zimbabwe, whichever is later. The law came into effect on 11 April, and just one month later, the government announced a 90-day deadline for organisations to reregister.
The swift timeline is posing significant challenges for many organisations, particularly given the complexity of the new requirements and the limited capacity of the state to process applications promptly.
Additionally, the government has yet to publish the relevant regulations, procedures and fees, which means CSOs don't yet have adequate information or guidance. Faced with this uncertainty, many have shifted to survival mode as their top priority. Some are attempting to comply with the reregistration process as a short-term strategy, while others are focusing on putting pressure on the government to publish the necessary operational guidelines and clarify procedures and timelines.
How did civil society organise against the bill?
Organised opposition began immediately after the bill was made public in November 2021. Community-based organisations launched awareness campaigns about its dangers and mobilised to attend public hearings. Simultaneously, at the national level, CSOs engaged with the Ministry of Justice, parliamentary committees and parliamentarians, and other institutions.
This coordinated approach culminated in a meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa in March 2023 in which civil society presented a joint position asking for changes to align the bill with the constitution and international human rights standards or withdraw it entirely.
Civil society highlighted six critical concerns that must be addressed to prevent the stifling of CSO operations: the insufficient transitional period, vague registration processes, the problematic interference with board compositions, excessive powers granted to the registrar and minister, limited appeal mechanisms and the criminalisation of legitimate civil society work. Despite presidential assurances of working with the Attorney General's Office, these changes were never made.
With the bill now law, resistance continues through different channels. Some groups have prepared litigation strategies to challenge it in court and mitigate its effects, while others are focused on influencing its implementation.
How can the international community provide meaningful support?
We call on all democracy supporters across Africa and the world to stand together. Current global fragmentation and inward-looking behaviour serve to embolden repressive governments, which believe no one is watching or listening to the cries for democracy in Zimbabwe.
We need regional and international civil society, the United Nations and other global community members to keep speaking out against repressive laws in Zimbabwe and elsewhere. A united global voice amplifies local struggles and can disrupt authoritarian agendas.
We urge the international community to pay close attention to systemic issues in Zimbabwe and engage the government to uphold its regional and international commitments to protect human rights and uphold its constitution. Most importantly, we seek to cocreate with pro-democracy allies and partners alternative forms of partnership, solidarity and support.
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