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Interparty Political Agreement - Declaration Authorising the Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration to Embark on the National Dedication Programme
Source: Veritas Peace Watch July 20, 2009

Gazetted: 15th July 2009

HIS EXCELLENCY THE HONOURABLE ROBERT GABRIEL MUGABE, G.C.Z.M., President of Zimbabwe and Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces of Zimbabwe.

WHEREAS it is provided by section 31D of the Constitution of Zimbabwe that the President shall appoint Ministers and may assign functions to such Ministers, including the administration of any Act of Parliament or of any Ministry or Department:

WHEREAS in the exercise of powers conferred on him by the said section 31D of the Constitution, as read with Schedule 8 to the Constitution relating to the Framework for a New Government, His Excellency the President appointed three Ministers of State to establish and execute the work of the Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration, pursuant to Article VII of the Interparty Political Agreement enshrined in the said Schedule 8 to the Constitution of Zimbabwe;

WHEREAS the said Schedule 8 to the Constitution enshrines the principle of working together in an inclusive government, with great sensitivity, flexibility and willingness to compromise, in order to uphold respect for the deeply-felt and immediate aspirations of the millions of the people of Zimbabwe to carry out sustained work to create conditions for returning our country to stability and prosperity;

WHEREAS His Excellency The President, consistent with Article VII and Article XVIII of the Interparty Political Agreement referred to in Schedule 8 to the Constitution, charged the Organ to promote equality of treatment of all regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or origin; put in place practicable measures to achieve national healing, cohesion and unity in respect of victims of pre-and post-Independence political conflicts; create an environment of tolerance and respect among Zimbabweans from the Diaspora; as well as assure personal security of all persons and prevent the resort to violence for purposes of settling any disagreements or differences;

WHEREAS Article 7.1 (c) of the Interparty Political Agreement provides that the all-Inclusive Government shall: "Give due consid­eration to the setting up of a mechanism to properly advise on what measures might be necessary and practicable to achieve the National Healing, Cohesion and Unity in respect of victims of pre-and post-Independence conflict," the Organ being thereby, brought into being;

AND WHEREAS indigenous Zimbabweans living in the pre-Independence colonial era were systematically deprived of basic human rights, subjected to oppression, suppression, racial discrimi­nation and inequitable access to the enjoyment of the resources of the land; including unfair exclusion from political processes within the country; thereby precluding fair representation of the indigenous population in the governance structures of the country; leading to an armed liberation war for national emancipation and self-determination in which thousands of combatants and non-combatants lost their lives, dignity and property; and

NOTING the tendency to easy resort to violence by political parties, State actors, Non-State actors and others in attempting to gain the upper hand in competition for power and position, or in order to settle political differences and achieve various political ends; and

CONCERNED by the displacement of scores of people due to politically motivated violence;

RECOGNISING that-

• violence in any form has the effect of dehumanising people and generating deep feelings of hatred and polarization within our country;
• violence abuses both the victim and the perpetrator, thus undermining our collective independence and our capability as a people to exercise our free will in making political choices;
• the practice of settling disputes by violence has its firm roots in pre- and post-Independence behaviour right up to present times, thereby spawning an unacceptable and amoral culture.

FURTHER NOTING that the perpetration of violence in any form is an affront to the Bill of Rights enshrined in Chapter III of the Constitution of Zimbabwe:

NOW, THEREFORE, in the spirit of the Interparty Political Agreement, I do hereby-

(a) declare, set out and dedicate the 24th, 25th and 26th July, 2009, as a period during which the Nation may dedicate the Inclusive Government, our newfound peace, our freedom, our new spirit of nation-building, National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration to inspire the nation going forward; and

(b) declare, set out and dedicate the 24th, 25th and 26th July 2009, as the appointed days upon which, consistent with the deeply-felt desire for freedom, peace, stability and prosperity by the millions of Zimbabweans at home and abroad, all the political parties, formations and factions within and without Zimbabwe, and espousing a Zimbabwean interest howsoever defined, publicly and honestly commit themselves, as indeed it is their constitutional and legal duty-

(i) to renounce violence in all its forms, and in particular violence designed to achieve political ends;

(ii) to move among the people, in particular their supporters internal and external, for purposes of promoting the values and practices of tolerance, respect, non-violence and dialogue as sustainable means of resolving political differences;

(iii) to reject all forms of political violence;

(iv) to report all forms of political violence;

(v) to renounce the promotion and use of violence, under whatever name called, as a means of attaining politi­cal ends;

(vi) to work together to ensure the security of all persons and property;

(vii) to refrain from inciting hostility, political intolerance and ethnic hatred; and

(viii) to take all measures necessary to ensure that the structures, agents and institutions that they control or liaise with within and without Zimbabwe, do not engage or support engagement in perpetration of vio­lence or any other activities harmful to Zimbabwe.

AND ON THIS DAY, THE 10th DAY OF JULY, 2009, I IMPLORE AND ENJOIN

THE GOVERNMENT of the Republic of Zimbabwe

(a) in total inclusiveness, to apply the laws of the country fully and impartially;

(b) to ensure the safe return of all Zimbabweans desirous of returning from the Diaspora;

(c) to ensure the safety of all and any internally displaced persons;

(d) to direct all State actors to operate within the framework of the Interparty Political Agreement and of the laws of the country in executing their duties.

ALL CIVIL SOCIETY organizations of whatever description, whether affiliated to a political party or not, not to promote or advocate or use violence or any other form of intimidation or coercion to canvass or mobilize for or oppose any political party to achieve any political end.

AND I FURTHER RESPECTFULLY REQUEST AND ENJOIN ALL TRADITIONAL LEADERS AND ALL FAITH-BASED INSTITUTIONS TO-

NOTE the existence of the culture of violence that has afflicted the country, its nationals, regions, religions, tribes, clans, families and individuals;

NOTE the compounding of the violent culture by foreign institutions and influences that seized the country and dominated it; spawning oppression, suppression, racial discrimination and dispossession of the property of the indigenous people;

RECOGNISE the conflict and bloodshedding that accompanied the liberation process in Zimbabwe over a period of a century as indigenous people fought to redeem the cradle and source of their identity, namely The Land;

CONCERN themselves with the shameful post-independence disturbances, conflicts, violence and losses of life and property visited upon the country by political parties, faith-based institutions and others; and

CALL UPON the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe, political parties, traditional leaders, faith-based leaders, civic bodies and their leaders, patriarchs and matriarchs, mediums and all charged with providing guidance and sustenance to the population of Zimba­bwe; to redeem the nation from the spell of conflict and bloodshed embedded in its history and practices; and in particular correct the failure to assuage psycho-social traumas visited upon individuals, families and communities by the conflict visited upon them in the pre- and post-Independence period;

AND I FURTHER ENJOIN ALL THE COUNTRY'S TRADITIONAL AND FAITH-BASED LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS-

TO ASSUME their age-old responsibility to make devotions to the Creator with solemn ceremonies;

TO SEEK the cleansing of our land, Zimbabwe, from the curse of conflict and bloodshed;

TO MAKE supplication for forgiveness and prosperity; and

TO SEEK EVERLASTING GUIDANCE for the Nation of Zimbabwe from generation to generation;

AND ALL THESE WITH STRICT ADHERENCE TO THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SEASONS, PERIODS AND TIME-TABLES – AND APPROPRIATE MEDIUMS – BY WHICH SUCH PROCESSES ARE TO BE OBSERVED.

Given under my hand and the Public Seal of Zimbabwe at Harare this 24th day of July [Note this is an error but it was in the gazetted notice] in the year of our Lord, two thousand and nine.

R. G. MUGABE, President
By Command of the President.

NOTE
I remain keenly conscious that post-conflict peace-building is not an event, let alone a simple process. Drawing together opposing energies is a managed process, requiring rare expertise in various fields, as well as purposeful consultations within clearly-defined parameters; to achieve peace, prosperity, stability and healing for individual Zimbabweans of all ages, their families, organisations, communities and the country as a whole. The process has to be grassroots-driven, for it to be a truly Zimbabwean process.

To this end the Organ was established, to provide guidance and direction to all groups, as we all turn this epoch in our history into an Epoch of Rebuilding; with purposeful focus towards the rehabilitation of Zimbabwean politics.

Indeed, we must move from a culture of historically imposed violence, undertake an examination of the past and present traumatic stress disorders afflicting the greater part of our population, military and non-military and uniformed or civilian; to build a new culture of inclusiveness born of a healed national environment.

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