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Zimbabwe:
From impunity to accountability
Are reparations possible for victims of gross and systematic human rights
violations?
The Redress Trust
March 02, 2004
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Introduction
In August 2003 a three-day symposium entitled Civil Society and
Justice in Zimbabwe1 took place in
Johannesburg, South Africa, bringing together representatives of a large
number of Zimbabwe civil society groups with their South African colleagues
and other experts from abroad. The symposium sought to foster greater
participation by Zimbabwean civil society representatives in discussions
regarding the resolution of the present all-round Zimbabwe crisis, as
the two main political parties appeared to be on the verge of serious
negotiations. Numerous papers were delivered relating directly to the
situation in Zimbabwe as well as giving perspectives from other countries
that have moved towards more justice-based societies.
Open discussions and
debate took place, and despite the wide range of organisations and interests
that were represented, there was much agreement on the need to move beyond
the rhetoric of human rights and to find practical ways of dealing with
the reality of Zimbabwe: past, present and future. The right of victims
of human rights violations was central to the discussions. Indeed, the
primary purpose of the symposium was to highlight the serious concern
that the rights and needs of such victims would once again be side-lined,
as has happened in Zimbabwe before. Unless the well-documented culture
of impunity is resolutely challenged, the abuses are destined to be repeated.
The formal documents
agreed at the close of the symposium consisted of a Declaration
and a Summary of the basic issues needing attention. The latter
document contained an outline of the mechanisms requiring implementation
if justice in Zimbabwe is to become a reality. These two documents, together
with the papers presented and the resource materials due to be published,
were to be used in the ongoing campaign inside Zimbabwe to insist that
the needs of victims are fully met in transition and afterwards.
Visit the LRF fact sheet
1 Full details of
the symposium can be found at http://www.santsep.co.za/satc/zim2003.htm
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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