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Great expectations for Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission but vigilance required
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
October 15, 2012

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) welcomes the eventual gazetting of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) Act after inordinate delays that have prevented this body from carrying out its critical mandate since Commissioners were appointed in 2009.

The signing of the Bill into law allows the ZHRC to finally commence its operations amid great expectations from Zimbabweans who have patiently waited for years to realise this long overdue genesis.

At last Zimbabwe has a constitutional body that is mandated to promote fundamental rights and freedoms, and to protect the public against abuse of power and maladministration by the State.

Although ZLHR maintains that the powers of the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs remain too wide, discretionary, and may have the effect of blocking key investigations and adversely affecting transparency, accountability and independence of the Commission, the importance of having an operational Commission to deal with protection of human rights cannot be over-emphasised, particularly in a society where violations of fundamental rights and freedoms remain prevalent. Civil society and the general public must ensure that they continue to scrutinise the conduct of the Minister so as to ensure his powers are not abused to the detriment of effective investigation and redress of alleged abuses.

ZLHR is also of the view that the protective mandate of the ZHRC is still not strong enough and the body's independence is not properly safeguarded. However, we remain hopeful that the integrity of the Commissioners will assist in ensuring that they play their part in guaranteeing that effective action is taken to enforce this protective mandate without fear or favour in order to build a strong and effective institution.

With a constitutional referendum and elections on the horizon, and having reference to historical trends, the existence of a functional mechanism to investigate and deal with politically-motivated rights violations is extremely important, especially where such violations tend to worsen in the run-up to, and following, such national processes. Although the Act does not specifically address the role of the ZHRC in electoral processes, despite our submissions to Parliament in this regard, we will continue to advocate for the inclusion of this critical institution in national conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms.

ZLHR encourages the ZHRC to immediately commence its operations and ensure that a strong, professional secretariat is established to assist in the implementation of its strategic plan and the fulfillment of its constitutional mandate. It must ensure visibility throughout the country, particularly within local communities, down to the ward and district levels. Its activities and swift professional action will allow observers and users of its services to assess the institution's commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights in Zimbabwe, especially where such concepts have been anathema to many state and non state actors who have embraced a culture of impunity over the past three decades.

ZLHR remains mindful of the emotive issue of outstanding redress for past human rights excesses prior to the timeline provided to the ZHRC for investigation of human rights abuses. ZLHR therefore reiterates its call to the coalition government to urgently establish an independent and credible mechanism to deal with issues relating to past human rights violations and atrocities. This independent mechanism must be mandated to deal with all past human rights violations that have occurred in Zimbabwe, including the pre-Independence era, as well as the post-Independence atrocities of Gukurahundi, Operation Murambatsvina, and electoral-related crimes, amongst others.

Furthermore, ZLHR reiterates that all crimes committed in the past remain crimes, whether or not a national human rights institution or other mechanism exists to deal with past human rights violations. Government, political players and other perpetrators of violations must disabuse themselves of the notion that the creation of such mechanisms removes responsibility and punishment for such crimes. It would be foolish to assume that the despicable crimes committed and documented on a daily basis for the past three decades can be met with impunity.

The police, the prosecutorial authorities and the judiciary must at all times bear in mind that they have a constitutional and legal obligation to respectively investigate and arrest, prosecute, and punish convicted perpetrators. ZLHR expects these constitutional duties to be carried out without fear or favour, and we will continue to exercise our watchdog role in this regard and beyond as we answer to our calling of fostering a culture of human rights in Zimbabwe.

As the vanguard for human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, we keenly await meaningful interactions with the ZHRC and will support its endeavours without seeking to compromise its independence, impartiality and effectiveness. We urge all Zimbabweans to do the same, whilst always remaining vigilant in order to ensure that the ZHRC develops quickly into a strong, effective and trusted institution that caters for the needs of all victims, survivors and their families.

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