Research and Discussion Paper on a TJ Framework for Zimbabwe Impunity in Zimbabwe has a long ‘culture’ the Gukurahundi atrocities were just labelled a ‘moment of madness’ by the then Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe. As a cosmetic, two inquiry commissions were established and their reports never made official. The same disregard shows with all kinds of gross human rights violations. If impunity is not properly addressed in Zimbabwe there will not be any trust in the society let alone healing and reconciliation. The NPRC cannot address impunity. It can only make recommendations on what measures to take to address impunity. In 1982, the Zimbabwean government had established an ombudsman with the mandate to “… investigate action taken by any officer or authority … in the exercise of the administrative functions of that officer or authority in any case where it is alleged that a person has suffered injustice in consequence of that action and it does not appear that there is any remedy reasonably available by way of proceedings in a court or on appeal from a court.”39 However, further on in this Act, adhering to its impunity and selective application of the law, the state prescribes that the Defence Forces, the Police Force and the Prison Service are not to be investigated.40 In its 2017 Human rights report the forum has documented that, quantitatively, Zanu-PF and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) were the main perpetrators of human rights violations.41 In its first periodic report to the African Human Rights Commission the state noted that in 1985 dissidents committed murders and rapes and confirmed for itself that there was no report against the government for human rights violations. 42 This approach of the state, blaming ‘dissidents’ for the atrocities committed during its reign in an officially submitted report, should be an eye-opener for the NPRC and other stakeholders dealing with transitional justice issues in Zimbabwe. The state has denied any involvement and it can be fairly assumed that it will further deny any involvement in any gross and systematic violations of human rights. The right to justice is thus compromised. The right to reparation Victims of gross human rights violations have the right to reparation. As per the definition of the UN: “Victims are persons who individually or collectively suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that constitute gross violations of international human rights law, or serious violations of international humanitarian law.”43 According to the UN, “[r]eparation should be proportional to the gravity of the violations and the harm suffered ... a State shall provide reparation to victims for acts or omissions which can be 39 Ombudsman Act (chapter 10 :18); https://www.parlzim.gov.zw/acts-list/ombudsman-act-10-18 Section 8, ibid 41 Blessing Gorejena, Executive summary: The state of human rights report Zimbabwe I 2017; 42 Summary of the Zimbabwean first report to the African Human and Peoples Rights Commission; www.achpr.org/files/sessions/12th/state-reports/1st-1986-1991/staterep1_zimbabwe_1992_eng.pdf 43 General assembly resolution, A/RES/40/34 40 23 DRAFT