Page 2
The Commission Newsletter, August 31, 2017
ZHRC’s ability to
go ‘where the
angels fear to tread’
impresses Speaker
The Commission has
come a long way
From Page 1
Commission
deserved the ‘A’
status and urged the
organisation to
jealously guard it.
Hon Mudenda was
particularly
impressed
by
Z H R C ’ s
fearlessness
in
tackling human
rights issues. He
noted that the
Commission goes
‘where angels fear to
tread’, to investigate
human
rights
abuses.
“To date, the
Commission has
excelled in its
mandate despite
constrained
financial resources
and limited human
capital. That is why
the ZHRC deserves
the ‘A’ status which
it must guard
jealously,”
he
remarked.
The
former
Chairperson
commended the
Commission for
producing the 2016
Annual
Report
which ‘fully
complies with the
Constitution in as
far as outlining
its activities and
operations carried
out in 2016’.
He,
however,
reminded the ZHRC
that follow-ups on all
cases must be made.
This
includes
suspected cases of
human rights abuses
referred to the
Commissioner
General of Police and
any other relevant
institution in terms of
section 243 of the
Constitution. On the
other hand, the
Commissioner
General of Police
must comply with
any directive given to
him
by
the
Commission.
The conference,
which was held under
the theme, “An
effective National
Human
Rights
Institution (NHRI):
What does it entail?”
was attended by
various stakeholders,
among
them
Development
Partners,
Civil
S o c i e t y
Organisations as well
as representatives of
Government
Ministries.
ZHRC’s first Chairperson, Prof Reg Austin (left) stresses a point
during the interview.
T
he inaugural
Chairperson
of the
Zimbabwe Human
Rights Commission
(ZHRC), Professor
Reginald Austin has
let the cat out of the
bag, revealing why
he
quit
the
Commission in 2012
after more than
three years in office.
Speaking in an
interview with ZHRC
recently, Prof Austin
said the Commission
encountered many
challenges arising
from the legal
framework,
in
particular, section 12
of the ZHRC Act
which curtailed the
independence of the
Commission.
Prof Austin reiterated
his 26 December
2012 resignation
statement:
“The
word
‘independence’ was
included in the final
draft (of the ZHRC
Act). However, this
‘independence’ was
significantly
curtailed by Section
12 (6) and (7) of the
Act. This effectively
grants the Executive
(the Minister) a wide
discretion, today and
in the future, to
silence
the
Commission ‘on the
grounds that’ (its
investigation of a
complaint) ‘may
prejudice
the
defense, external
relations, internal
security or economic
interests of the State’.
“It
is
this
discretionary power;
to gag the ZHRC, to
take away the
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Chairperson: Karukai Ratsauka
Compiler/Design & Layout: Shadrick William
Members: Misheck Bulo, Linet Sithole, Sarudzai Paungano
‘whistle’ of an
institution whose
effectiveness and
credibility rests
upon
its
transparency and
‘whistle-blowing’
role, which I found
unacceptable. As a
member of the
Commission
I
would be obliged to
obey and implement
this law. I can
imagine human
rights scenarios in
which I would find
it impossible to obey
such an order, and
thus it was proper
for me to resign.”
Although
Prof
Austin left, he is not
shy of commending
his peers at the
Commission for
taking the human
rights body this
far.