Human rights in Zambia explained

Human rights in Zambia are addressed in Zambia's constitution. However, the Zambia 2012 Human Rights Report of the United States Department of State (one of the United States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices) noted that in general, the government's human rights record remained poor. The 2021 version of this report noted improvements in many areas.^[1]

Serious abuses

The Zambia 2012 Human Rights Report of the US State Department noted the following serious human rights abuses:^[2]

abuses by security forces, including unlawful killings, torture, and beatings;
life-threatening prison conditions;
restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly, and association; media freedom, noting levels of intolerance and harassment of journalists had increased in the year 2016 and suspensions of Itezhi-Tezhi radio station and MuviTV .^[3]
arbitrary arrest and prolonged pretrial detention;
arbitrary interference with privacy;
government corruption;
violence and discrimination against women, child abuse, and trafficking in persons;
discrimination against persons with disabilities and based on sexual orientation;
restrictions on labor rights, forced labor, and child labor; and
that the government generally did not take steps to prosecute or punish officials who committed abuses, allowing impunity to remain a problem;
unlawful arrests and application of wrong charges on wrong cases; eg. the treason case of Hakainde Hichilema in 2017;
public access to information: The law does not provide for public access to government information;
corruption and lack of transparency in government;
arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence.

Freedom in the World ratings

The following are Zambia's ratings since 1972 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House (1 is best, 7 is worst).^[4]

Year	Political Rights	Civil Liberties	Status	President
align=left	1972	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1973	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1974	5	4	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1975	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1976	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1977	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1978	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1979	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1980	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1981	5	6	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1982	5	6	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1983	5	6	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1984	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1985	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1986	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1987	5	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1988	6	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1989	6	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1990	6	5	Partly Free	Kenneth Kaunda
align=left	1991	2	3	Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	1992	2	3	Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	1993	3	4	Partly Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	1994	3	4	Partly Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	1995	3	4	Partly Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	1996	5	4	Partly Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	1997	5	4	Partly Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	1998	5	4	Partly Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	1999	5	4	Partly Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	2000	5	4	Partly Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	2001	5	4	Partly Free	Frederick Chiluba
align=left	2002	4	4	Partly Free	Levy Mwanawasa
align=left	2003	4	4	Partly Free	Levy Mwanawasa
align=left	2004	4	4	Partly Free	Levy Mwanawasa
align=left	2005	4	4	Partly Free	Levy Mwanawasa
align=left	2006	3	4	Partly Free	Levy Mwanawasa
align=left	2007	3	4	Partly Free	Levy Mwanawasa
align=left	2008	3	3	Partly Free	Rupiah Banda
align=left	2009	3	4	Partly Free	Rupiah Banda
align=left	2010	3	4	Partly Free	Rupiah Banda
align=left	2011	3	4	Partly Free	Michael Sata
align=left	2012^[5]	3	4	Partly Free	Michael Sata
align=left	2013	3	4	Partly Free	Michael Sata
align=left	2014	3	4	Partly Free	Guy Scott
align=left	2015	3	4	Partly Free	Edgar Lungu
align=left	2016	4	4	Partly Free	Edgar Lungu
align=left	2017	4	4	Partly Free	Edgar Lungu
align=left	2018	4	4	Partly Free	Edgar Lungu
align=left	2019	4	4	Partly Free	Edgar Lungu
align=left	2020	4	4	Partly Free	Edgar Lungu
align=left	2021	4	4	Partly Free	Hakainde Hichilema
align=left	2022	4	4	Partly Free	Hakainde Hichilema

Freedom of the press

See main article: Press freedom in Zambia.

Freedoms of expression and of the press are constitutionally guaranteed in Zambia, but the government frequently restricts these rights in practice.^[6] Although the ruling Patriotic Front has pledged to free state-owned media—consisting of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and the widely circulated Zambia Daily Mail and Times of Zambia—from government editorial control, these outlets have generally continued to report along pro-government lines. Many journalists reportedly practice self-censorship since most government newspapers do have prepublication review. The ZNBC dominates the broadcast media, though several private stations have the capacity to reach large portions of the population.

The rights group Freedom House, which publishes annual country reports on press freedom status, has ranked Zambia’s press as “Not Free” even in 2016.^[7]

Notes

1.As of January 1.

External links

Human Rights in the Republic of Zambia, Amnesty International.
Freedom in the World 2013 Booklet, Freedom House.

Notes and References

https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/zambia/
https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204181 "Zambia 2012 Human Rights Report"
Web site: muvi tv. muvi television.
Web site: Country ratings and status, Freedom in the World 1973-2012 . 22 August 2012 . . 2012 . XLS.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/zambia#.UuCHT14o6IE "Zambia"
Web site: Press Freedom survey on 186 countries. www.worldaudit.org. 2017-01-13.
Web site: Zambia Country report Freedom of the Press 2016. freedomhouse.org. 2017-01-14.