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Security sector reform in Zimbabwe: What, why and how?
Cheryl Hendricks and Lauren Hutton, Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
June 30, 2009

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Introduction

On the 15th of September 2008, a power-sharing agreement was brokered between the major political parties in Zimbabwe, namely, the Tsvangirai-led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T), the Mutambara-led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-M) and the then ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). This Global Political Agreement (GPA) paved the way for the establishment of a Government of National Unity and the reconstruction of the society at large.

The formation of the new inclusive government provides an opportunity for considering fundamental reforms in the provision of security and justice services to the people of Zimbabwe. Over the past ten years, the Zimbabwean security sector has increasingly come into the spotlight as unduly politicised, non-partisan, and as infringing on the human rights of the citizens. This policy brief considers the need for security sector reform (SSR) in Zimbabwe and highlights possible short-term and long-term priorities in this regard.

Considering security sector reform

SSR has evolved from an application of the post-cold war development agenda, with its emphasis on good governance and democratisation, to that of the state security structures. SSR refers to reform interventions undertaken within the security sector to address policy, legislation, structural and behavioural matters within the context of democratic ideals, rule of law and respect for human rights. In other words, it concerns the alignment of policies, legislation, structures and behaviours to a human rights-respecting culture; to the adherence of the principles of accountability, transparency, participation, good governance; and the primacy of the rule of law.

The local context is the primary determinant of the range and content of reforms in any SSR intervention. Therefore, SSR in Zimbabwe will be significantly different from SSR in other countries. First, the tenuousness of the current agreement and concomitant fragility of the government of national unity is going to shape both the political impetus for reform and potential extent of reforms. Second, unlike in other post-conflict contexts on the continent, the Zimbabwe public service, inclusive of its security sector, is largely functioning, albeit under precarious circumstances. It is not a question of rebuilding the security institutions from scratch, but rather a transformation of the manner in which they function. Third, the rush of donor funding that accompanied the transition in some other post-conflicts contexts will most likely not be as forthcoming in the immediate future.

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