The definition of a “human rights defender ” used by the mission delegates stems from the 1998 United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms – also known as the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders: A person who, individually or in association with others, promote or strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels   . 5. Obstacles Despite the mission’s attempts, it appeared almost impossible to obtain the views of Government officials. If the mission met with Mr. Jacob Mafume, a legal adviser within the Prime Minister’s office, it could not meet the Prime Minister himself nor obtain a meeting with the office of the President. II. Pre-electoral periods in Zimbabwe: increased risks for public freedoms 1. The political deadlock hinders the implementation of reforms and the establishment of a favourable environment for free and fair elections The mission observed that the degree of human rights violations in the country follows a recurring pattern that usually culminates during electoral periods. The country was facing a political deadlock where the leading parties, especially ZANU-PF, were unlikely to reach any agreement likely to improve the political environment, since the MDC considered the implementation of the reforms foreseen by the GPA as a pre-condition for the organisation of elections, while ZANU-PF called for elections as a means to put an end to the prevailing deadlock. The mission delegates concluded that it was unlikely that any meaningful and genuine reforms could emerge from the political stalemate, and that in the run-up to the new elections called by ZANU-PF, there were strong reasons to believe that the environment in which human rights defenders operated was alarming and would further deteriorate. At the end of her first mission to Zimbabwe, held from May 20 to 25, 2012, Ms. Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that “concern is [...] rising both inside and outside the country that, unless the parties agree quickly on some key major reforms and there is a distinct shift in attitude, the next election which is due sometime in the coming year could turn into a repeat of the 2008 elections which resulted in rampant politically motivated human rights abuses, including killings, torture, rapes, beatings, arbitrary detention, displacements and other violations”2. At the time of the mission, many outstanding areas of reform continued to prevent the achievement of a situation favourable to electoral fairness and justice, in particular: – the constitutional reform process was taking place in the particular context of Zimbabwe where people have never been given a chance to participate effectively in the production of their own constitution, in a political, party-driven manner and effective people participation was excluded; – no reforms had been implemented in the security sector, and the security forces were considered at worst as an appendage of ZANU PF, and at best as biased in favour of the ZANU-PF by the latter; – the institutions that were expected to offer protection (e.g. courts, police, prosecution authorities, etc.) were still weak and unable to guarantee a genuine separation of powers and to fight corruption that has reached endemic levels; – ZANU-PF was keeping stranglehold over the security and coercive structures of the State e.g. the army, the police, the intelligence services whom they deploy to harass the opposition and human rights defenders; – perpetrators of violence and of serious human rights abuses in the framework of the 2008 elections were still free, and a climate of impunity continued to prevail. 2. SADC endorsement and implementation of reforms: the pre-conditions for the organisation of the elections remain unmet Formally speaking, SADC was the guarantor of the GPA. Accordingly, any decision to hold elections could not be taken without the endorsement of SADC and cannot result from the decision of a single political party represented within the GNU. 2. UN Statement, UN Human Rights Chief ends first ever mission to Zimbabwe, May 29, 2012. 6 The Observatory ZIMBABWE: Ongoing risks for human rights defenders in the context of political deadlock and pre-electoral period The Observatory ZIMBABWE: Ongoing risks for human rights defenders in the context of political deadlock and pre-electoral period 7