3.0 Conference Proceedings Day One-23 July 2015 3.1 Opening Session The Stakeholders Conference opened at 0830 hours with an opening prayer from Rev. Dr. Motsi. Mr. Alec Muchadehama, cochairing with Rev. Motsi asked delegates to do self-introductions. 63 delegates represented forty-eight (48) organisations. In his capacity as the Chairperson of the National Transitional Justice Working Group (NTJWG), Mr. Muchadehama welcomed delegates to the conference. He acknowledged the presence of representatives from the Human Rights Commission, Law Society of Zimbabwe, Churches, civil society leadership, victim groups, women's groups, and development partners. He went on to outline the mission of NTJWG and the objectives of the conference. His welcome remarks combined with a presentation on 'Laying the Foundations for Transitional Justice Processes' in which he outlined the role of NTJWG, its strategy, the conceptual framework for Zimbabwe, the NTJWG Approach to transitional justice processes and why Zimbabwe needs transitional justice principles. The highlight of this presentation was its emphasis on the importance of developing the principles for Zimbabwe. He said developing and adopting guiding principles helps transitional justice actors to build synergies and synchronise their efforts in the construction of a more just society. He said it also provides minimum benchmarks upon which the Zimbabwean society can measure its progress or regression. It also provides the government with a credible reference point for all transitional justice processes on such issues as the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC). He also emphasised that transitional justice processes must involve both victims and perpetrators at the centre. He further said that all transitional justice processes that seek to ensure non-recurrence cannot avoid working with offenders to achieve conict 17