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5.3 ZLHR and its Strategic Partners
99 In 2014, ZLHR directly interacted with 1,152 strategic stakeholders
and partners
99 The organisation engaged all three arms of government – the
executive, legislature and judiciary
99 ZLHR engaged strategic national institutions and constitutional
commissions such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission
99 ZLHR continued to interact with other CSOs and CBOs on areas
of mutual interest
99 Strategic ZLHR membership consultative meetings were
conducted around the country
99 Members of the public were also involved in ZLHR activities
through public debates
ZLHR Annual Report 2014
ZLHR Executive Director,
Irene Petras, engages
Assistant Commissioner
Takawira Nzombe of
the Zimbabwe Republic
Police
ZLHR considers engagement with a range of state and non-state actors to
be crucial in advancing its strategic aims and objectives. The organisation
continued, as in previous years, to interact closely with a range of players,
from the community level (from where first-hand knowledge and information
can be obtained), through the regional (provincial) level using its Regional
Offices (to understand issues specifically affecting communities in various
provinces) to the national level, where policy, legislative and administrative
practices can be influenced and reformed. ZLHR also continued to play
an important role at the sub-regional and continental level through its
leadership of legal and human rights defender networks to address thematic
issues and challenges facing different countries, as well as the global level, in
attempts to promote compliance and respect for international human rights
and legal norms and standards.
Engagement with the Parliament of Zimbabwe
In 2014, ZLHR continued to strengthen its ties with the Parliament of
Zimbabwe in terms of its Memorandum of Understanding. The organisation
engaged parliamentary committees and other stakeholders who have a role to
play in the oversight of government policies, activities and work. High-level
breakfast meetings provided a platform for discussion on issues of transparency
and accountability in government entities and review of impending
legislation. The objectives of the breakfast meetings were to strengthen the
capacity of oversight bodies to work more efficiently and effectively together
in their investigative mechanisms and so improve their legislative and policy
implementation scrutiny roles. Another objective was to provide a platform
for Parliamentarians, Constitutional Commissions, the Auditor General’s
Office, Attorney General’s office, the National Prosecuting Authority, and
civil society to effectively interrogate government accountability, document
challenges, and develop possible areas of intervention to improve the efficiency
and effectiveness of Parliament in ensuring government accountability. The
stakeholders developed key strategic recommendations that would strengthen
their oversight role. One of the key recommendations was the urgent need
to harmonise laws with the Constitution to strengthen the powers of the
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