Zimbabwe Issues - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Disputes - international

Zimbabwe-Mozambique: none identified

Zimbabwe-South Africa: South Africa has placed military units to assist police operations along the border of Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to control smuggling, poaching, and illegal migration

Zimbabwe-Zambia: in 2004, Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river; in May 2021, Botswana and Zambia agreed in principle to let Zimbabwe be a partner in the bridge project as it enters its lasts phase

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 11,756 (Democratic Republic of Congo) (refugees and asylum seekers), 9,907 (Mozambique) (2023)

Trafficking in persons

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Zimbabwe does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government investigated and prosecuted human trafficking cases and conducted training for law enforcement, immigration, and other key officials; however, Zimbabwe did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to increase anti-trafficking capacity; officials did not amend laws to criminalize all forms of trafficking, did not identify or provide care for any trafficking victims, nor convict any traffickers; therefore Zimbabwe remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2022)

trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Zimbabwe, as well as Zimbabweans abroad; internal trafficking is prevalent and underreported, with adults and children exploited in sex trafficking and forced labor in cattle herding, domestic service, and the mining sectors; most child labor occurs in the agricultural sector; Zimbabwean women and girls from towns bordering South Africa, Mozambique, and Zambia are subjected to forced labor, including domestic servitude, and sex trafficking catering to long-distance truck drivers; Zimbabwean men and children are exploited in illegal diamond and gold mining, and some children are exploited by sex traffickers in illegal mining areas; Zimbabwean women and men are lured into forced labor in neighboring countries, particularly South Africa and the Middle East; women are sex trafficked in South Africa by international criminal syndicates, while traffickers force others into domestic servitude, forced labor, and sex trafficking in Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, China, and Uganda, often under the guise of legitimate employment; Zimbabwe is a transit country for Somalis, Ethiopians, Malawians, and Zambians en route to South Africa, and is also a destination country for forced labor and sex trafficking (2022)

Illicit drugs

transit point for cannabis and South Asian heroin, methaqualone, and methamphetamines en route to South Africa

NOTE: The information regarding Zimbabwe on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Zimbabwe 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Zimbabwe 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.