disappearances of a very high magnitude. It is again worth noting the frequent occurrence of "pungwes". Torture and extra-judicial killings were frequent occurrences at these "pungwes", clearly used as instruments of mass psychological torture. The very high number of disappearances and mass graves remain a considerable cause for concern to the local communities7. A recent epidemiological study indicates that 5 in 10 adults are suffering from clinically significant psychological disorders, following this low intensity war8. The gross human rights violations of the 1980s were also covered by states of impunity, both during the emergency and with a formal amnesty at the end. 2.3 Food Riots of 1998 The period from 1987 to 1998 was one of relative peace, and few gross human rights violations were identified. This relatively secure period was overturned in January 1998 with massive human rights violations occurring during the Food Riots. These human rights violations were welldocumented at the time by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, and have been reported in several publications9.Extra-judicial killings, physical torture, psychological torture, and mass terror were all described. More than 40 cases have been the subject of civil litigation for compensation for gross human rights violations, and 10 cases have been settled in the complainants’ favour. The event was also discussed before the United Nations Human Rights Committee. In its observations and recommendations10 to the Government of Zimbabwe, the UN body urged that all cases of alleged excessive use of force committed by members of the police or the army be investigated by an independent and impartial body. The UN Human Rights Committee also urged that action be taken against those officers found to have committed abuses and that compensation be paid to the victims. To date, the Zimbabwe government has not followed the recommendation, nor has there been any serious comment upon the findings of the report. 2.4 Torture in 1998 and 1999 Since 1998 there has been a continuous deterioration in the human rights climate of Zimbabwe, reflected in several human rights reports11. These general reports have been supplemented by a recent report from the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum focusing on organised violence and torture in Zimbabwe12. The most notorious case involved the kidnapping and torture of the two Zimbabwe Standard journalists, Mark Chavunduka and Ray Choto. This case has been widely reported and all the facts are known (see above-mentioned reports). The Amani Trust and the Human Rights Forum had instituted an urgent appeal for support to international partners. The IRCT and Amnesty International strongly supported this urgent action case. 7 See AMANI (1999) "A "Report on the Exhumation and Reburial Exercise Overseen by the AMANI Trust in Gwanda District, 25 July t o 3 September 1999" BULAWAYO: AMANI; EPPEL, Shari: "Drying the Tears of the Dead: A Way to Heal the Living": conference paper pre sented at the Traumatic Stress in South Africa conference, Johannesburg, January 1999. 8 See AMANI [1998](c), Survivors of Organised Violence in Matabeleland: Facilitating an Agenda for Development, Report of the Workshop, BULAWAYO: AMANI. 9 See ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM (1998), Human Rights in Troubled Times: An Initial Report on Human Rights Abuses During and After Food Riots in January 1998; ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM (1999), A Consolidated Report on the Food Riots, 19th to 23rd January 1999, HARARE: ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM. 10 Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee: Zimbabwe. UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE, Sixty-second session. 4 August 1998, CCPR/C/79/Add.89 11 See CHEATER A (1999) Human rights developments July - December 1999 ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS BULLETIN 2 2-65; CHEATER A (1999) Human rights developments January-June 1999 ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS BULLETIN 1 3-47; FELTOE G (1999) Zero tolerance for torturers ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS BULLETIN 1 109-132. 12 See ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM(2000), Organised Violence and Torture in Zimbabwe in 1999, HARARE: ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM 6