NPRCWATCH www.ntjwg.org.zw every Zimbabwean citizen has the right of access to any information held by the State or by any institution or agency of government at every level, in so far as the information is required in the interests of public accountability. Section 14 of the Act provides for the establishment of the Secretariat of the Commission 'in consultation' with the Minister and the Minister responsible for Finance. This is in conict with 234 of the Constitution which gives the NPRC power to recruit and regulate its own staff. It is also in violation of section 235 of the Constitution which upholds the independence of all Chapter 12 Commissions. The NTJWG Minimum Standards state that the NPRC must be allowed to develop its own recruitment policy for its Secretariat. The Act also creates a Commission with weak nancial autonomy. The United Nations Standards require that there be clear operational independence for independent Commissions. All provisions that refer to the need to consult or seek approval of the Minister are not good for the independence of the Commission. The Commission must be empowered to make independent budgetary decisions including seeking funding from non-state actors. The Question of Pardon / Amnesties The Act in section 21 (2) (e) gives the Commission power to make regulations that may provide for the procedure and conditions for the granting of pardon. In essence, the Act is opening a way for granting of amnesties (by any other name) for perpetrators without the involvement 37 of victims and survivors. This is in contradiction to the principle of victimcenteredness. Amnesties are prima facie in violation of international law and promote impunity and recidivism. Zimbabwe's past amnesties have been subject to international condemnation. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in the case Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum versus Zimbabwe (245/2002) noted that amnesties have a tendency of robbing victims of their access to remedy. On Gender The Act contains a separate section on gender which is a welcome. Section 9 (1) obliges the Commission to establish a Gender Unit, thus making gender a specic theme as well as a cross cutting issue in all its work. The Gender Unit is responsible for amongst other tasks: development of guidelines and rules on how the Commission will incorporate gender into its work; development of strategies to encourage the participation of women, girls and other marginalised groups into the work of the Commission; facilitate gender equity in the structure of the Commission; ensure the mainstreaming of gender imperatives into every aspect of the Commission's work; taking steps to ensure that all organs of the Commission shall consider and address the gender implications of their activities. See Section 9 of the Act. What else? The Act is silent on how the media and the public can access the information