A/HRC/50/9 attributed to courts being unable to sit owing to successive COVID-19-related containment periods, had eventually been remedied through the holding of court proceedings online. 30. In relation to the alleged disappearance of three women who were members of opposition political parties, the delegation, responding to a question submitted in advance, stated those were not cases of alleged enforced disappearance but of alleged abduction. The police had reported that the allegations were false and that the abductions had been staged in a bid to tarnish the image of the Government. The women had been charged and released from custody. They had employed dilatory tactics to evade trial. One of them had absconded to Europe and a warrant for her arrest had been issued. 31. In the 2022 national budget, the allocations for the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission had increased by 326 per cent and 273 per cent, respectively, over the previous year. 32. The bill amending the Trafficking in Persons Act was awaiting parliamentary processes. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 33. During the interactive dialogue, 95 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 34. Egypt noted the launch of Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy I (2021–2025), which provided a foundation for economic development and the protection of human rights. 35. Eswatini noted the efforts to promote the rights of persons with disabilities and to ensure that children received an education during the COVID-19 pandemic. 36. Ethiopia noted the efforts taken to adopt policies to raise the standard of living. 37. Fiji noted the efforts made to strengthen policies and institutional frameworks to combat gender-based violence. 38. Finland encouraged Zimbabwe to continue to increase female representation in key positions in the government. 39. France stated that the human rights situation in Zimbabwe remained worrying. It welcomed the measures taken to strengthen equality between women and men. 40. Gabon welcomed the amendment to the Education Act and applauded the provision of sanitary items to female students to meet menstrual hygiene needs. 41. Georgia took positive note of the increased allocation from the national budget for public health and the efforts to achieve gender equality. 42. Germany expressed concern about arbitrary arrests and the prosecution of members of opposition political parties and civil society activists. 43. Ghana noted the adoption of the five-year national anti-corruption strategy, the National Health Strategy for Zimbabwe (2016–2020) and a robust strategy for responding to HIV. 44. Iceland welcomed the presentation by Zimbabwe of its national report. 45. India noted the implementation of Vision 2030, the National Development Strategy I (2021–2025), the National Health Strategy for Zimbabwe (2016–2020) and measures for the protection of children online. 46. Indonesia noted that Zimbabwe had guaranteed education as a human right through its amendment of the Education Act. 47. The Islamic Republic of Iran expressed concern that the unilateral economic sanctions against Zimbabwe remained in place, which had had a negative impact on the enjoyment of socioeconomic rights, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. 5

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