This publication is a timely and careful response to some of the opportunities and challenges that Zimbabwe is currently facing. The contributions are an outflow from the conference held in March 2015 in Harare, entitled "Assessing Progress in the Implementation of Zimbabwe's New Constitution: National, Regional and Global Perspectives". Also by drawing from comparative perspectives, the contributors, who include policy-makers, members of the judiciary, and constitutional law experts, both Zimbabwean and international, reflect among others on the challenge of constitutional alignment, the role of the civil and security services in a constitutional democracy and the role of institutions such as independent commissions and related institutions in entrenching a democratic culture and the rule of law. This publication aims to foster an open intellectual and legal dialogue on Zimbabwe's new Constitution and what it means in daily practice for the people of Zimbabwe.

This book provides a hypothetical classification of constitutions through international law and human rights values used in any constitution, which draws connections between the inclusive standards of international law and human rights contained in the constitutions. Consequently, an evaluation method will be available for users to rank any constitution potentiality of analysis for grounds of any commitment and responsibility of the states concerning international law and human rights. "This important study uses novel quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the relationship between constitutional and international law. It is a significant contribution to the literature, and pushes us further toward rigorous analysis of transnational legal regimes." Tom Ginsburg Professor of Political Science, Chicago Law School.

This report finds that UK aid has helped deliver progress in Zimbabwe since the Government of National Unity was established a year ago, but governance, human rights and provision of basic services are still falling well below the needs of the people. The Department for International Development (DFID) allocated £60 million for humanitarian and development assistance in the country in 2009-10. This support has been effective in reaching poor and vulnerable people. UK aid should continue, given the scale of ongoing need - two million people are estimated to require food aid this year - and should be increased in the sectors where it is making the greatest impact. Aid should continue to be channelled through non-governmental organisations and multilateral agencies. Emergency aid is making a difference but it cannot be turned into sustained development support without a long-term political settlement. The report condemns the electoral manipulation, abuse of state power, land seizures, and violence against political opponents and civil society which President Mugabe's ZANU-PF have inflicted on the country for many years. Many skilled workers left the country, leaving the health and education systems in particular near collapse. The report concludes that the international community's longer-term focus should be on strengthening the capacity of the Government of National Unity so that it is better placed to determine its own development priorities and to deliver them.

As an instrument which addresses the circumstances which affect women's lives and enjoyment of rights in a diverse world, the CEDAW is slowly but surely making its mark on the development of international and national law. Using national case studies from South Asia, Southern Africa, Australia, Canada and Northern Europe, Women's Human Rights examines the potential and actual added value of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in comparison and interaction with other equality and anti-discrimination mechanisms. The studies demonstrate how state and non-state actors have invoked, adopted or resisted the CEDAW and related instruments in different legal, political, economic and socio-cultural contexts, and how the various international, regional and national regimes have drawn inspiration and learned from each other.

This book presents an important discussion on land tenure rights for the effective implementation of sustainable soil management provisions. It investigates a variety of aspects, such as the clash of modern and traditional tenure concepts, forms of illegal or illegitimate land acquisition, and the preconditions for legal and legitimate investments. In addition, the book analyses the challenges to ensuring secure land tenure rights in Africa and in Germany. Lastly, it provides information on the role of women in this context. This fifth volume of the International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy is divided into four parts, the first of which deals with various aspects of the theme “Land Tenure Rights and Sustainable Soil Management”. The second part covers recent international developments, the third part presents regional and national reports, and the fourth discusses overarching issues. Given the range of key topics covered, the book offers an indispensable tool for all academics, legislators and policymakers working in this field. The “International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy” series discusses central questions in law and politics with regard to the protection and sustainable management of soil and land – at the international, national, and regional level.

The last couple of decades has not only witnessed an increased convergence between human rights and development but also a significant shift towards rights-based approaches to development, including especially responsiveness to the fact that development in itself is a human right guaranteed to be enjoyed by all peoples. This edited volume of peer-reviewed papers constitutes the first product resulting from the annual international conference series on the right to development, organised by the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, and the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute at the University of South Africa. It explores the complex nature of the right to development from a diversified perspective, including from a conceptual, thematic, country and regional points of view. Conceived with the purpose to overshadow dominant economic growth approaches to development, the perspectives on the right to development articulated in this publication seek to locate the developmentalist discourse within the framework of accountability and people-centred development programming, necessitating appropriate policy formulation to ensure the constant improvement in human well-being. The book is written with the aim to reach out to researchers, academics, practitioners and policy makers who desire an in-depth understanding of the right to development as it applies universally.