INTERVENTIONS BY CSOs DURING COVID 19 IN ZIMBABWE BACKGROUND HUMAN RIGHTS CSOs The COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe called for civil society organisations to strategise and rethink the implementation of their programmes and prioritise issues that had to be attended to during this time. In that regard, CSOs implemented several interventions to address both the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic itself and the impact of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these interventions were done in collaboration with the government, while others were aimed at promoting transparency and accountability. Civil society organisations were critical in monitoring the protection, promotion, and respect for human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic and more so during the national lockdown. This included interventions by organisations like Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association and Zimbabwe NGO Forum among others. Such interventions included: • MEDIA CSOs Civil society organisations representing the interests of the media sector in Zimbabwe like Media Institute of Southern Africa and Media Alliance of Zimbabwe were critical in promoting media freedom and advocating for the welfare of journalists during this time. Some of the key interventions included: • • • • litigation towards provision of timely, accurate and substantive access to information through all mediums and in all 16 official languages litigation against the harassment of journalists undertaking their professional duties during the national lockdown Advocacy for the explicit inclusion of journalists as providers of essential services Legal support to journalists arrested and detained • Documenting human rights abuses such as assaults, torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment and/or punishment, unlawful arrests and detention. Providing legal support to victims of human rights violations CSOs IN THE HEALTH SECTOR Civil society organisations like the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights undertook several interventions to protect the welfare of frontline workers. Key interventions included: • • • demanding PPE for frontline healthcare workers litigation demanding the government to deploy sufficient testing kits at all designated public hospitals, airports and ports of entry The ZADHR together with the Counselling Services Unit (CSU) also assisted victims of military and police brutality with medical assistance and psycho-social support