A/HRC/50/9 89. The State of Palestine made recommendations. 90. Sweden expressed concern about impunity, recurring human rights violations against representatives of civil society, members of opposition political parties and media workers, and the lack of an independent judiciary. 91. Switzerland welcomed the repeated declarations by the President of Zimbabwe to abolish the death penalty and the openness to address past violence, among other things. 92. The Syrian Arab Republic appreciated the efforts that had been made to realize the collective aspirations of Zimbabweans, including by adopting the National Development Strategy I (2021–2025). 93. Thailand welcomed the progress made since the previous review, including in the area of women’s rights, but noted that the prevalence of HIV remained high. 94. Timor-Leste appreciated the inclusion of a gender component in the national climate change policy. 95. Togo welcomed the efforts made to implement the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 96. Tunisia appreciated the efforts that had been made to promote human rights and the harmonization of legislation with the Constitution. 97. Turkey recognized efforts made in the areas of education, the economic empowerment of women and the administration of justice. 98. Ukraine expressed regret that not enough had been done to ensure the free exercise of the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association. 99. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland expressed concern about restrictions on the freedom of assembly, about the harassment of journalists, members of the opposition and civil society actors and about constitutional amendments that risked reducing judicial independence. 100. The United Republic of Tanzania urged Zimbabwe to ensure that persons in vulnerable situations had access to food and to enhance measures to combat malnutrition among children. 101. The United States of America expressed concern that COVID-19 regulations had been used to justify restrictions on citizens’ right to vote and their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. 102. Uruguay welcomed the efforts made since the previous review in the area of human rights, including to improve birth registration. 103. On promoting freedom of the media, the delegation of Zimbabwe stated that, in 2020 and 2021, 14 broadcasting licences had been issued. There were a multiplicity of independent newspapers and a plethora of independent publications available online, including on social media platforms. No journalist had been arrested for practicing journalism. 104. Zimbabwe was committed to ratifying the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and was working with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration on ascertaining the extent to which statelessness was an issue in the country. 105. Capacity for issuing birth certificates had been significantly reduced by a decrease in staff in the registry department owing to the COVID-19 containment measures that were in place but would be reinforced once the measures were relaxed. The issuing of birth certificates would be upscaled, including by having staff undertake mobile registration efforts across the country. 106. The right to vote and the right to freedom of assembly had been restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result of implementing the recommendations of the World Health Organization and of Zimbabwean health experts. The Government was now being criticized for restricting entry to public buildings to persons who had been vaccinated. 8