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Civil society is critical in human rights monitoring - Commissioner Ndabeni-Ncube
Bulawayo Agenda
June 04, 2012

Zimbabwe Human Rights Commissioner Japhet Ndabeni Ncube has urged civil society to continue exposing human rights abuse in Zimbabwe.

Speaking at a Transitional Justice Public Lecture Series jointly organised by Bulawayo Agenda and Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Ndabeni Ncube said civil society is a critical player in human rights monitoring as they are in touch with the people.

"Civil society is a critical source of human rights abuse information and it is critical that you remain doing and providing the Commission with such information", said Ndabeni Ncube.

Although the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission is still a white elephant, three years since its formation as the enabling act is still to be enacted, Ndabeni-Ncube said the institution remains a critical part of democracy, urging the government to take it seriously.

"The commission is a vital institution for democracy as its key mandate is to protect and promote human rights in our country and therefore it should get to the 'nitty gritties' of human rights abuse in any human rights situation", said Ndabeni-Ncube, pointing out that human rights education is critical as the country prepares for future elections.

Speaking at the same meeting, Shastry Njeru, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Transitional Justice Unit Manager said Transitional Justice is the step towards addressing the historical violence so as to achieve peace in Zimbabwe.

Njeru raised the need for truth telling on the historical atrocities for there to be peace and reconciliation pointing out that the culture of impunity must come to an end.

Concurring with Njeru, Bulawayo Agenda Director Thabani Nyoni pointed out the importance of Transitional Justice in addressing historical challenges such as Gukurahundi.

"Transitional Justice is critical in Zimbabwe as it will address unfortunate events such as Gukurahundi which are not yet a closed chapter as they have not been dealt with all along", said Nyoni.

Participants castigated failure by government to address human rights abuse cases saying most evidence is getting lost as the victims of cases like Gukurahundi were aging and dying.

There were wide calls for inclusion of human rights issues in the school curriculum currently under review so that children get to understand human rights at a tender age.

However, human rights abuses have continued in Zimbabwe despite the Inclusive Government which has failed to fully implement the Global Political Agreement which includes Media and Security Sector reforms.

There has also been an increase in politically motivated violence around the country ever since ZANU PF called for elections with the latest being the murder of an MDC-T activist, Cephas Magura in Mudzi District, rousing fears of another bloody election like the June, 2008 one.

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