III. Methodology
This report is based on two research missions to Zimbabwe in February 2009. Human Rights
Watch researchers visited Harare, Mutare, and the Marange diamond fields to document
human rights violations associated with the mining of diamonds in the Chiadzwa area of
Marange district. Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 100 people, including
eyewitnesses, local miners, local government officials, court officials, local community
leaders, victims and relatives, lawyers, medical staff, soldiers, police, traditional leaders,
and local human rights activists.
Additional interviews were also conducted with representatives of organizations such as
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Centre for
Research and Development, Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, and Mutare Legal
Practitioners Association, as well as with Western diplomats based in Harare. Also
interviewed were officials from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation, and African Consolidated Resources. Human Rights Watch
conducted all interviews one-on-one.
Human Rights Watch researchers supplemented their field research with telephone
interviews with representatives of international organizations working in the area of
extractive industries and human rights and reviewed legislation and policy documents, court
documents, newspaper articles, and reports on the Marange diamond fields and associated
human rights violations.
For security reasons, many people spoke to Human Rights Watch on the condition of
confidentiality, requesting that the report not mention their names or other identifying
information. Details about individuals and locations of interviews when information could
place a person at risk have been withheld.
Diamonds in the Rough
10