ZIMBABWE: FROM IMPUNITY TO ACCOUNTABILITY 1960 period. time-scale. Matters like these will be clearly relevant to any For these reasons, and no doubt others, civil society needs to examine what it believes will be an optimum timeframe during which a TJRC should operate, so that it can position itself to effectively advocate for such a timeframe. Paradoxically perhaps, and although civil society is at the moment so involved in the dayto-day crisis that it may feel it cannot concern itself with such issues, the period before the establishment of a TJRC is imminent could be the best time to do just that. The distance that there still is from the reality of any TJRC gives those concerned an opportunity to draw creatively others, especially victims themselves, into the debate, not in an abstract way, but for the purpose of coming up with answers to these real practical questions. Conversely, if this is not tackled now there will be little time to think things through later, and instead party politics will be more likely to predominate and hasty decisions implemented - to the detriment and prejudice of human rights victims. Finally on this aspect, experience from other truth commissions has shown that a considerable time is initially spent in actually setting up the body in question, before it can even begin its work. If this period, which may run to several months, is included in the legislative life span of a TJRC, it will not only severely cut into the time thereafter available for the real work to be done, but it is likely to confuse and demoralize victims and others concerned with the whole process. The obvious way to avoid these problems is to exclude the set-up time from the operational time, and the shorter the operational time the more important it will be to ensure that 29 this arrangement is clearly legislated. 29 An important book, examining many of the issues and problems with which any country in transition is going to have to grapple, is Priscilla B. Hayner’s Unspeakable Truths – Facing the Challenge of Truth Commissions (Routlege: New York and London, 2001). Use has been made of her findings in this paper, which REDRESS acknowledges. The organisation for which Ms Hayner works is the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), which can be accessed at http://www.ictj.org 16