intimidation and violence from rural areas prior to the outreach process, mainly accused the army, police, war veterans and ZANU-PF youth groups. These have not as yet received training on human rights and international law as was agreed to in the GPA. NON-COMPLIANCE The Inclusive Government has, on several occasions, failed to comply with national and international laws and treaties. Unfortunately this relates to the established culture of impunity, whereby no meaningful censure is ever incurred for misdemeanour. Domestically, the parties compromise to let laws slide. SADC, the African Union and international bodies such as the diamond reviewing mechanisms need to take a much firmer approach in dealing with a government that is so contemptuous of legitimate regulation, at the expense of its people. First of all, there is the government’s failure to comply with its obligations under the SADC Treaty and honour the rulings of the SADC Tribunal. The Minister of Justice rejected the Tribunal’s jurisdiction and dismissed its rulings as “null and void”. Justice Patel followed suit by declining to register the Tribunal’s judgement in domestic courts. A finding of contempt against Zimbabwe was made in June 2009, and reiterated on 16 July 2010, and referred to the SADC Summit for ‘appropriate action’. The shady dealing of diamonds from Chiadzwa has been another persistent area of concern, involving the government’s rejection of international diamond watchdog recommendations, Parliamentary contempt, human rights violations and displacement of residents, and the illegal and unwarranted detention of a human rights activist working in the field. In early March, the Kimberley Process Monitor to Zimbabwe, Mr Abbey Chikane observed “too many government agencies are involved in monitoring and handling rough diamonds. This poses the danger of diamonds being swapped or stolen in the process”. The Ministry of Mines repeatedly blocked access to the Chiadzwa site by the Portfolio Committee for Mines and Energy who were investigating discrepancies - in spite of the clearance that they had received from the Minsters of Home Affairs. In addition, it was at the instigation of the Minister of Mines, Obert Mpofu, that the various companies involved, Mbada and Canadile, resisted interrogation by the Portfolio Committee. The diamond fields remain largely under the control of the army, with partnerships springing up covertly and millions of dollars in diamond revenue escaping the country unaccounted for. However, in the 2010 Mid-year Fiscal Policy Review, Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti, outlined a new approach to Zimbabwe’s diamonds which would return the revenue to the national coffers, ensure that operations are conducted within the parameters of the law and allow greater transparency. The proposed Diamond Act should be expeditiously drafted and set strong measures against the corruption and exploitation that has preceded it. Locally, there have been several other instances of non-compliance with the law by the parties, including for example, Minister of Local Government and Urban Development Ignatius Chombo, who was reported for abuse of office in the illegal acquisition of prime urban council land and then tried to have the investigators arrested. There is also the issue that, in the period under review, vacant constituency seats rose to 16. No by-elections have been held as yet to fill the vacant seats, which is in breach of the Constitution and the Electoral Act.45 This latter case is just one example that  Veritas,  Bill Watch  30/2010,  31  July  2010. 45 CIVIL SOCIETY MONITORING MECHANISM (CISOMM) SIX MONTH SHADOW REPORT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE INCLUSIVE OF ZIMBABWE 45