Sekai Masikana Holland
collaboration with ONHRI has been found quite effective in implementing peacebuilding activities across the country.
Going back to the instructive part of the ONHRI’s mandate mentioned above,
it will be recalled that reference is made to ‘achieve National Healing, Cohesion
and Unity in respect of victims of pre- and post-independence conflict’. This is
an admission that in our pre- and post-independence, as well as contemporary
periods of Zimbabwe’s history, the country experienced cyclical episodes of
violent conflict, resulting in physical and emotional hurts among its people.
Regrettably, political violence has continued to rear its ugly head during
Zimbabwe’s post-independence era and became a serious indictment on
Zimbabwe’s political terrain during the 2008 electoral process. This prompted
the main political actors – ZANU(PF), the MDC-T and the MDC – to agree to
work together through the Inclusive Government born out of the GPA, which, in
itself, is a peace instrument, though not perfect.
Despite challenges, which continue to confront the Inclusive Government
of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the GPA has to be credited for bringing some
semblance of unity of purpose and stability to the country. National unity or
coalition governments in most countries – and, as of now, there are many – have
not found the going easy, especially given ideological differences that have to be
managed.
It is important that peace and reconciliation processes be ingrained in and
internalized by the Zimbabwean people. Hence, family units, communities,
traditional leadership, FBOs, CSOs, the school system, the media, and others,
are expected to communicate messages of peace and reconciliation that should
further buttress the national healing, reconciliation and integration processes.
The ONHRI has engaged in consultative processes that have resulted in the
progressive establishment of an infrastructure of peace and reconciliation to
entrench peace-building processes in Zimbabwe. Some of the outputs achieved
in this regard include:
• The Zimbabwe National Framework for Peace and Reconciliation, which,
among other issues, seeks to create a National Peace and Reconciliation
Council (NPRC) with structures spanning national, provincial, district,
ward and village levels. The broad policy objective is to institute an
enabling environment to facilitate dialogue and peace-building among
all Zimbabweans through programmes and/or projects that would lead
to peace through conflict resolution, reconciliation and transformative
engagements. The Policy Framework, therefore, proposes the establishment
4
International Conference on Transitional Justice, Zimbabwe
Select target paragraph3
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