CSOs petition Parly on access to civil documents

TWO civil society groups, Habakkuk Trust and Christian Legal Society, appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on Monday, to present evidence on their petition on lack of access to civil documentation.

The petition was lodged in the wake of numerous reports that people in areas affected by the 1980s Gukurahundi atrocities were struggling to access birth certificates and identity particulars.

Habakkuk Trust, in a report, said they received technical support from the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST), to petition Parliament last year after realising that a huge number of people did not have birth certificates and national identity cards in most parts of Matabeleland region.

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