Ministerial Approvals The new Bill creates a Commission which lacks administrative and financial autonomy. All provisions that interfere with the financial autonomy of the Commission need to be revised so that they are in line with United Nations Standards which call for clear operational independence for independent Commissions. All provisions that refer to the need to consult or seek approval of the Minister must be changed to at most giving prior notice to the Minister in such cases were administratively the Commission will need executive support. The same must apply to regulations of hiring of staff. The Commission must also be empowered to make independent budgetary decisions including seeking funding from foreign entities What does the new Bill Say About Amnesties? The new NPRC Bill in section 19 (1) (e) gives the Commission power to make regulations that may provide for the procedure and conditions for the granting of pardon. This section is hidden under Miscellaneous Provisions whereas the old Bill had this provision in Section 3 (2) (c) giving the Commission power to recommend amnesty. In essence, the new Bill is trying here to smuggle in the issue of amnesties tarnishing it under ‘pardon’. Why is Amnesty/Pardon Undesirable? Amnesties are prima facie in violation of international law and promote impunity and recidivism. Zimbabwe’s past amnesties have been subject to international condemnation. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the case Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum versus Zimbabwe (245/2002) noted that amnesties have a tendency of robbing victims of their access to remedy. It is therefore recommended that the NPRC Bill must never give unchecked power to grant amnesty to anyone. What are the better ways of handling amnesties? All sections that make explicit or implied reference to general or unqualified amnesty must be removed. However, if any amnesty is entertained, it must not be hidden under any terms and it must be made explicit and qualified. It is known the world over that there are trade-ins in any transitional justice processes and amnesties can play a positive role in bringing about truth and healing. Where this is done, the powers to grant amnesty must be given to the Commission itself and must be worded to ensure that the amnesty provisions prioritise the needs of the victims and are not used to promote impunity or reward perpetrators. If the provision on pardon / amnesty is to be maintained in the new NPRC Bill, the Commission must be given power to set up an Amnesty Committee which shall develop rules and principles upon which amnesty may be granted provided, the rules are not in contradiction with the following principles: the rules and principles must be developed in consultation with victim groups, no amnesty must be granted for crimes against humanity, war crimes, sexual crimes, crimes that involve the abuse of children, murder and genocide; past amnesties must be revoked where beneficiaries committed further crimes after benefitting from past amnesties, affected victims must have a say in decisions regarding the granting of amnesties, no blanket amnesties, amnesties can only be decided on a case by case basis. What does the new Bill say about gender? The new Bill is deafeningly silent on gender just like its previous versions. The NTJWG Minimum Standards make several recommendations on how to ensure that the NPRC effectively mainstreams gender in its work. These include taking deliberate steps to ensure that the NPRC treats gender as both a specific theme as well as a cross cutting issue. How Can the new Bill Address the Issue of Gender? It is therefore recommended that separate section must be inserted on gender. This section must set up a Gender Unit or any similar mechanism of choice, which will do among others the following: develop specific guidelines and rules on how the Commission will incorporate gender into its work; develop strategies to encourage the participation of women, girls and other marginalised groups into the work of the NTJWG Fact Sheet on the NPRC Bill, H.B.2. 2017 Page 3