Commissions Watch 1/2016 Taking the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to the People 17 April COMMISSIONS WATCH 1/2016 [17th April 2016] Taking the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to the People Coming Up This Week The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission will be meeting the people at roadshows in Masvingo on Wednesday 20th and Chiredzi on Friday 22nd April. Details of venue and time below. Please spread this news to ensure good public attendance. This bulletin introduces the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission’s APRILJULY OUTREACH PROGRAMME that will take the Commission to the people of Zimbabwe all-round the country. We hope that recipients will do their best to ensure that as many people as possible hear about the programme and are encouraged to attend. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission [ZHRC or Commission] is one of the five independent commissions established by Chapter 12 of the Constitution [“Independent Commissions Supporting Democracy”]. Its broad constitutional mandate is to support and entrench human rights and democracy, promote constitutionalism and ensure that injustices are remedied, among other things. The functions of the Commission are outlined in section 243 of the Constitution and include— • to promote awareness of and respect for human rights and freedoms at all levels of society • to monitor, assess and ensure observance of human rights and freedoms • to receive and consider complaints from the public and to take such action in regard to the complaints as it considers appropriate • to protect the public against abuse of power and maladministration by State and public institutions and by officers of those institutions • to secure appropriate redress, including recommending the prosecution of offenders, where human rights or freedoms have been violated Background to and Purpose of the Outreach Project The Baseline Survey on Perception, Attitudes and Understanding on Human Rights in Zimbabwe conducted by the Commission (2013 – 2014) revealed low levels of awareness about the existence of the Commission. It is against this background that the Commission has decided to scale up awareness-raising to ensure increased visibility of the Commission so that more people are able to engage with it. The Commission has partnered with three Civil Society Organisations in a project aimed at “taking the

Select target paragraph3