VI. Lack of Accountability for Human Rights Violations In accordance with GPA provisions to promote equality, national healing, cohesion, and unity, the new government of Zimbabwe set up the Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation, and Integration, comprising three ministers of state, one from each of the three main political parties.61 On July 15, 2009, President Mugabe declared a three-day period, to run from July 24 to 26, 2009, “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.” The notice called upon all political parties in Zimbabwe and all Zimbabweans to renounce violence in all its forms, in particular violence designed to achieve political ends, and to promote values and practices of tolerance, respect, non-violence, and dialogue as sustainable means of resolving political differences.62 However, as noted by the examples above, the language of healing has not been matched by the government’s actions. Impunity remains the major problem in Zimbabwe. The powersharing government has not taken any steps to investigate allegations of human rights violations by the police, army, other state agents, or ZANU-PF and its allies—either before the formation of the new government or since—or to bring abusers to justice. Without justice or accountability for past abuses, Zimbabwe’s long-standing problem of impunity will persist and national healing in the long run will remain elusive. Zimbabwe’s civil society set up the Civil Society Monitoring Mechanism (CISOMM) to independently monitor the performance of the power-sharing government. Early on, it noted that any attempt at national healing, reconciliation, and integration will not achieve the stated goal of holistic and sustainable peace and development in the current context of ongoing state-sponsored politically motivated violence, continued human rights abuses, political prosecutions, and biased and closed state-controlled media.63 Human Rights Watch believes that, as currently constituted, any national healing process that does not address issues of justice, accountability for past abuses, impunity, and 61 Global Political Agreement, art. 7. 62 Declaration by President Robert Mugabe, Government of Zimbabwe Gazette Extraordinary, General Notice 92 of 2009, issued on July 15, 2009. 63 Civil Society Monitoring Mechanism (CISOMM), Statement by cluster on national healing regarding the planned national dedication ceremony, July 23, 2009, emailed to Human Rights Watch. 17 Human Rights Watch | August 2009