should give a clear outline of procedures and essentials for executing
public consultations.
2.5 Provision of Psycho Social Support
Public outreach meetings can be very difficult especially for persons
affected by violence. It matters not that sometime the subject is about the
past event, victims and survivors often find themselves having to express
themselves and this may lead to re-victimisation. The NPRC should make
provision for psycho-social support during its outreach meetings and at
their offices. Best practice requires that the NPRC recruits a competent and
well qualified Welfare Officer/ Resident Counselor who works with the
Commission to attend to persons that need such support as they come into
the office or as the Commission carries out its outreach missions. This
enhances the principle that the commission must be a safe space for
victims. Where the Commission is going to travel to other regions, their
team must have the resident counselor but in addition, they need to work
with victim welfare organisations in different regions which already have
the trust of the victims. When conducting public hearings or consultations,
a victims’ welfare desk must be clearly visible and accessible for anyone
requiring their services
2.6 Capacity Building
During the public consultations for the NPRC Bill in 2016, NTJWG
reported that the process was rushed and Parliamentarians were poorly
prepared to deal with the situation on the ground. In Mutare, at a meeting
held on 13 April 2016, some participants claiming to be war veterans asked
the meeting to adjourn and came into confrontation with victims who at
the end rescued the situation and asked the so - called war veterans to
leave the place. In Chinhoyi, a few days earlier, violence erupted leading to
destruction of property and the meeting was abandoned. It could be worse
for the NPRC.
Before embarking on its programme, the NPRC should ensure that itself, its
secretariat and partners across the country, are adequately prepared to
reach out and face the nation. This preparation includes making sure that
enough environmental scanning has been done, sufficient information has
reached the participants, key facilitators have been identified and training
4
THE CODE OF INCLUSION
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