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Audit
of the Recommendations of the Fact-Finding Mission of the ACHPR
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
November
2005
http://www.hrforumzim.com/frames/inside_frame_special.htm
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Introduction
The
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) of the African
Union (AU) undertook a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe from 24
to 28 June 2002. Authorisation for this mission was given at the
29th Ordinary Session of the African Commission, held in Libya,
Tripoli, following what the mission report describes as widespread
reports of human rights violations in Zimbabwe.
The mission
was led by the Vice Chairperson of the African Commission Commissioner
Jainaba Johm. She was accompanied by Commissioner N. Barney Pityana,
the Commissioner with responsibility for Zimbabwe, and Mrs Fiona
Adolu, a legal officer with the Secretariat of the African Commission.
The mission
was received by the President of Zimbabwe, the Government and relevant
ministries and held meetings with a wide range of people, including
the Chief Justice, the Speaker of Parliament, lawyers, farmers,
trade unionists, political parties, churches, academics, the press
and several NGOs, including womens’ organisations.
Although the
mission’s visit was confined to Harare, mission members were satisfied
that they were able to meet the full spectrum of the social and
political players in the country. The team concluded that there
was enough evidence placed before us to suggest that, at the very
least during the period under review (viz. from 2000), human
rights violations occurred in Zimbabwe and that Government cannot
wash its hands from responsibility for all these happenings.
From its conclusions
and findings, the mission produced recommendations under the following
headings:
- National
Dialogue and Reconciliation
- Creating
an Environment Conducive to Democracy and Human Rights
- Independent
National Institutions
- he Independence
of the Judiciary
- A Professional
Police Service
- The Media
- Reporting
Obligations to the African Commission
The report
of the Fact-Finding Mission was adopted by the African Union at
its Summit on 31 January 2005. Following this, the Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum (the Forum), a coalition of 16 human rights non-governmental
organisations working for the elimination of organised violence
and torture in Zimbabwe, undertook an audit of the recommendations
of the mission to monitor the compliance or otherwise of the state
with the recommendations.
This report
is the outcome of that process. The Forum would like to express
its sincere appreciation to the contributors who have produced a
frank analysis of the status of the important recommendations of
the Fact-finding Mission. They are the Media Monitoring Project
of Zimbabwe (MMPZ), the National Association of Non-Government Organisations
(NANGO), the Human Rights Trust of Southern Africa (SAHRIT) and
the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). Thanks also to Chaz
Maviyane-Davies for the cover image design.
While the mission
did not record a recommendation on civil society, it referred to
the dynamic and diverse civil society formations in Zimbabwe and
to their essential role in upholding of a responsible society
and for holding Government accountable. We have therefore included
a chapter on the work of NGOs in Zimbabwe, in the context of the
recommendations of the mission.
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Human Rights NGO Forum fact
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