UN Special Rapporteur on cultural rights Alexandra Xanthaki has stated that Zimbabwe's wealth of cultural heritage should be accompanied by expanded opportunities for its people to participate in decisions that govern their lives and to express their perspectives freely. Concluding her official visit, Xanthaki put forward a set of recommendations covering the easing of constraints on creative freedom, the widening of avenues for public engagement, and the strengthening of safeguards for communities bearing the pressures of tourism and development.
Sixteen languages hold constitutional recognition in Zimbabwe, a country that also maintains active efforts to document and safeguard a broad array of heritage sites alongside traditional cultural practices. Xanthaki noted that the country's diversity carries untapped creative and transformative possibilities, while also stating that, contrary to what some officials maintain, many people in Zimbabwe still face barriers to freely expressing their identities, beliefs, and perspectives.
Regulatory requirements and administrative overhead can place uneven constraints on the space practitioners have to pursue and express creative work. Xanthaki called on Zimbabwe to ease regulatory constraints and remove the barriers standing in the way of creative expression.
Celebrating cultural events and exhibitions matters, Xanthaki indicated, yet she stated that genuine respect for diversity requires enforceable protections against discrimination alongside pathways through which communities can actively influence the decisions and development processes that shape their lives. A framework built around customary representatives gives communities and groups across Zimbabwe a formal avenue for participation. Xanthaki's position holds that the arrangement falls short of ensuring every voice carries genuine weight in the decision-making process.
Those who hold views at odds with prevailing orthodoxy often find their voices blocked before reaching decision-makers, with apprehension driving a portion of them to stay quiet rather than speak out. Formal structures for representation matter, yet Xanthaki argued that what sustains them is whether people believe their voices will be taken seriously and that their contributions can actually drive decisions. She argued that a renewed dynamic between governing institutions and the wider public was needed to enable that participation.
Visitor activity centred on Zimbabwe's World Heritage Sites, along with other infrastructure and economic initiatives, holds the potential to raise living standards and advance rights protections, though analysts note that outcomes depend heavily on whether revenues and opportunities flow directly to Zimbabwean communities. Announcing plans to affected communities, Xanthaki argued, falls short of what genuine engagement demands. She stated that community voices should drive what gets built, and that a clear accounting of where revenues flow would reveal who stands to gain.
Where natural resources underpin both community ways of life and cultural identity — particularly in areas where ecosystems and heritage are closely bound together — Xanthaki argued that guardrails against unchecked extraction and outside commercial pressure remain a practical necessity. She pointed to the expansion of tourism infrastructure near Victoria Falls as a matter of concern, calling on the state to act on the repeated advisories issued by the World Heritage Committee.
Residents living near the Gwayi Shangani project and other planned developments, she argued, deserve timely disclosure of what those initiatives may mean for their lives, along with a genuine say in how related decisions are made. Xanthaki is scheduled to present a report on her visit to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2027.
