V. Failure to Investigate Torture by State Agents The use of torture by state agents is endemic in Zimbabwe. In the aftermath of the 2008 general elections, Human Rights Watch reported that the army established bases across the country to torture people as a form of punishment for voting for the MDC.49 The police have also routinely arrested human rights activists and journalists and subjected them to torture, cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment. The torture and ill-treatment inflicted has included severe beatings on the back, buttocks and soles of the feet with blunt objects, forcing victims to seat or stand in uncomfortable positions for hours on end, as well as false executions and threats of death. The government has repeatedly refused to investigate allegations of torture by police and other state agents, despite court orders.50 The Zimbabwe constitution guarantees freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.51 Zimbabwe is party to several international agreements that prohibit the use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, including the I ICCPR,52 and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.53 As noted above, a state’s failure to investigate and bring perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment to justice can be a violation of the ICCPR.54 The African Union Guidelines and Measures for the Prohibition of Torture, Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Africa (also known as the Robben Island Guidelines) also state that there should be no immunity from prosecution for nationals suspected of torture and that those responsible for acts of torture or ill-treatment be subject to legal process. 55 49 Human Rights Watch, “Bullets for Each of You”: State Sponsored Violence since Zimbabwe’s March 29 Elections, June 2008, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/zimbabwe0608. 50 The international prohibition against torture includes the intentional infliction of severe mental or physical pain or suffering against an individual by or involving a public official for punishing or intimidating the individual or others. See Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, G.A. res. 3452 (XXX), annex, 30 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 34) at 91, U.N. Doc. A/10034 (1975); Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, G.A. res. 39/46, annex, 39 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 51) at 197, U.N. Doc. A/39/51 (1984), entered into force June 26, 1987. 51 Zimbabwe Constitution, article 15. 52 ICCPR, article 7. 53 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, article 5. 54 Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31, Nature of the General Legal Obligation Imposed on States under the Covenant, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13, May 26, 2004, articles 15 & 18. 55 Guidelines and Measures for the Prohibition of Torture, Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Africa, October, 2002, article 1 (b), http://www.achpr.org/english/declarations/declaration_robbenislands_en.html (accessed October 4, 2010), article 16 (b).. 31 Human Rights Watch | March 2011