A/HRC/50/9 21. Illegal unilateral coercive measures imposed by some western countries continued to threaten the enjoyment of socioeconomic rights by the people of Zimbabwe. The Government remained hopeful that the report that would be issued by the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights on her visit to Zimbabwe would initiate reflection by those Western countries on whether to continue with the imposition of punitive measures. Zimbabwe remained indebted to the Southern African Development Community for its landmark decision to declare 25 October a day on which its member States would collectively call for the lifting of sanctions. 22. In response to questions submitted in advance, the delegation stated that judicial independence was respected and safeguarded. The Constitution provided for a clear separation of powers between the three arms of the State. It also provided for an independent Judicial Service Commission. The recruitment and appointment of judges was based on merit and done through public interviews conducted by the Commission. There was no basis for suggesting that the Government had exerted influence over the courts in order to weaken opposition political parties by allowing the recall of their elected members of Parliament and councillors. The process of recalling members of Parliament and councillors had been initiated by the opposition parties when they had approached the courts for a ruling on their internal disputes. 23. The police continued to provide fortnightly reports on the continuing investigation into the disappearance of Itai Dzamara, in compliance with a 2018 High Court order. The police were also investigating the disappearances of Patrick Nabanyama and Paul Chizuze. 24. The proposed amendments to the Private Voluntary Organisations Act sought to address deficiencies in the mechanisms for countering money-laundering and the financing of terrorism that had been identified in the 2016 mutual evaluation report on Zimbabwe, which had resulted in Zimbabwe being greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force. The proposed amendments merely sought to ensure greater transparency and consistency in the registration and regulation of private voluntary organizations and were the product of extensive research and multistakeholder consultations. 25. The demonstrations in August 2018 and January 2019 had been extremely violent and the antithesis of peaceful acts of public protest. Allegations of human rights violations committed by members of the security forces that had resulted in the deaths of civilians were being investigated. In addition, the President had appointed a seven-member international commission of inquiry, chaired by former President of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe, to look into the events of August 2018. That commission had submitted a report containing a raft of recommendations, most of which had either been implemented or were in the process of being implemented. 26. Other investigations too were yet to be finalized because of their complexity. One such investigation related to the case of the pre-election attempted assassination of the President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa. 27. Zimbabwe had observed a de facto moratorium on the death penalty during the previous 16 years and the abolition of death penalty was undergoing internal consultative processes. The policy and legislative frameworks continued to be strengthened to combat gender-based violence. The delay in holding by-elections was attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the imposition of illegal sanctions. 28. Successive years of widespread drought and the lingering and costly aftermath of Cyclone Idai, exacerbated by the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, had exerted unprecedented pressure on the national budget, which was already under severe strain from the lack of access to affordable international concessionary funding owing to the imposition of sanctions. The limited resources had led the Government to prioritize food security and the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Food security had improved thanks to a bumper harvest in 2021 and an anticipated repeat performance in 2022. Reasonable progress had also been made to contain the virus responsible for COVID-19. Consequently, by-elections for all vacant constituencies would be held on 26 March 2022. 29. Measures had been introduced to ensure that arrested persons were released unless there were compelling reasons not to. Delays in finalizing court cases that had initially been 4