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Perpetual fear: Impunity and cycles of violence in Zimbabwe
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
March 08, 2011

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http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2011/03/08/perpetual-fear-0

Summary

Two years since the formation of a power-sharing government that was expected to end human rights abuses and restore the rule of law, politically motivated violence and the lack of accountability for abuses remain a serious problem in Zimbabwe. Members of the security forces, the former ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), and groups allied to ZANU-PF continue to commit human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests and abductions, beatings, torture, and killings of members and supporters of the former opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and those critical of the ZANU-PF and its officials.

There has been little or no accountability for these crimes. Cases of political violence that have been filed by victims or their relatives have been largely ignored by the police, or have stalled in the courts. The government has failed to respond to calls by local nongovernmental organizations for the government to investigate these abuses. Ending impunity for past and ongoing abuses is essential if Zimbabwe is to end violence and firmly establish the rule of law.

The power-sharing government comprised of ZANU-PF and the two factions of the MDC, claimed a commitment to human rights reform, but has shown no political will to address longstanding impunity for human rights abuses. With a referendum and elections planned for this year, the lack of accountability and justice for past abuses raises the specter of further violence, and poses a significant obstacle to the holding of free, fair, and credible elections.

For more than a decade, elections in Zimbabwe have been marked by widespread human rights violations committed by the security forces and supporters and allies of ZANU-PF, such as "youth militia" and war veterans. Thousands of MDC supporters, officials, and human rights activists have been targets of abuses with little or no accountability, encouraging further attacks.

This report highlights the impunity that prevails in Zimbabwe. It provides an update on illustrative cases of political killings, torture, and abductions that took place during the presidential election run-off in 2008 and in the aftermath of the elections. Human Rights Watch's June 2008 report on the violence, "Bullets for Each of You:" State- Sponsored Violence since Zimbabwe's March 29 Elections, documented how the ZANU-PF-led government, at the highest levels, was responsible for widespread and systematic abuses that led to the killing of up to 200 people, the beating and torture of 5,000 more, and the displacement of about 36,000 people. Instead of pursuing accountability for the crimes committed by the security forces and other ZANU-PF sympathizers, since the release of that report, the government has not made any genuine effort to investigate, much less discipline or prosecute any of the individuals responsible.

The power-sharing government has also failed to hold to account security agents who abducted and tortured over 40 MDC officials and human rights activists in November and December 2008, despite court rulings that acts of torture were committed, and the activists having identified some of the agents responsible.

The top leadership of Zimbabwe's security forces, including the armed forces, police, prison service, and Central Intelligence Organization, remain partisan and aligned to President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF. The leaders of the security forces who previously publicly declared their support for ZANU-PF and who were implicated in serious human rights violations associated with electoral violence in 2008 have not been disciplined, removed from their posts, or charged with criminal offenses.

Local human rights groups have reported that those who committed serious crimes during the 2008 elections often continue to live in the same communities in which they committed the crimes, sometimes next door to their victims. In some cases security agents and ZANU-PF supporters who tortured and beat people during the 2008 election run-off have threatened victims with further violence, ahead of a proposed referendum and new elections scheduled for 2011.

The victims of human rights abuses continue to be denied their right to justice and an effective remedy, as required under international human rights law. At the same time, perpetrators of abuses enjoy de facto immunity from prosecution by virtue of their association with ZANU-PF. President Mugabe has also politicized use of the powers under the constitution to grant pardons, amnesty, or clemency to those implicated in or convicted of serious human rights violations. A compromised judiciary and a highly partisan police force, whose members have also been implicated in abuses, leave little hope of justice for victims of abuses.

The failure of the power-sharing government to end impunity - the difficulties involved notwithstanding - has further complicated the prospects of restoring the rule of law in Zimbabwe. Unless the power-sharing government finds the political will to impartially investigate, prosecute, and ensure appropriate punishment and reparations, human rights violations will continue.

Human Rights Watch calls on the power-sharing government to immediately embark on credible, impartial and transparent investigations into serious human rights abuses and discipline or prosecute those responsible, regardless of their position or rank. The government should put transitional justice mechanisms in place while reforming the criminal justice system to ensure that it meets international legal standards.

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