Roselyn Hanzi

Trustee

Roselyn Hanzi is the Executive Director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Trust (ZLHR). She has a Bachelor of Laws Honours Degree (LLB) and a Masters of Law – specialising in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa. In 2007, Rose interned with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda as a Legal Researcher attached to Trial Chamber III. Roselyn also holds a certificate in Legislative Drafting for University of London Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and a diploma in Transitional Justice from the International Centre for Transitional Justice and Institute for Justice and Reconciliation.

Roselyn has written a number of publications (books and papers) on behalf of ZLHR, focusing on various topics including but not limited to elections (2008 and 2013), women human rights defenders, Zimbabwe’s compliance with human rights treaty obligations. Other research areas include research and position papers on transitional justice with a bias on institutional reforms (particularly justice sector-related), human rights defenders and human rights more generally, among other research areas. Roselyn was part of the civil society advisory panel that initiated and contributed to the drafting of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy. She has proactively worked with Zimbabwean, regional and international organisations with an interest in protecting civic space and human rights defenders.

Roselyn has extensive experience managing the protection of human rights defenders and coordinating human rights and constitutional litigation and advocacy interventions at ZLHR. She has continued to provide leadership to ZLHR in their litigation work, which has benefited tens of thousands of victims of human rights violations and human rights defenders.

In December 2021, Roselyn was awarded the Vera Chirwa Award by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria for her contributions to advancing human rights in Zimbabwe. This award is given to the alumni of the Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa Program once every year, to recognise their contribution to advancing the objectives of the program.