Law enforcement agencies must respect human rights Police officers and other law enforcement agents are obliged to abide by the law in carrying out their duties. Police officers have far-reaching powers, such as the power to arrest and detain criminal suspects, and these powers must be exercised within the confines of the law and must not be abused. Thus police officers may arrest and detain only those persons whom they know have committed crimes or whom they have reasonable grounds to suspect of having done so. Any arrest that is not based on just cause is unlawful both under criminal and civil law. A police officer may use reasonable force when it is necessary to overcome resistance to an arrest. But a police officer may not beat an arrested person who has submitted to the arrest and is not resisting. In fact, a police officer is not allowed to beat anyone unless he is using force that is strictly and reasonably necessary to effect a lawful arrest. The Constitution of Zimbabwe, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights all prohibit absolutely the use of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Torture is also prohibited in terms of international customary law where it has the highest status of jus cogens, meaning a peremptory norm that allows for no derogation. In the Pinochet case, Lord Browne-Wilkinson was of the opinion that the right against torture was 'jus cogens' (a peremptory norm) and so of even higher status than customary international law: in his words, "the 'jus cogens' nature of the international crime of torture justifies states in taking universal jurisdiction over torture wherever it is committed".7 It is unlawful under domestic Zimbabwean law for a police officer to torture or assault a prisoner in order to force that person to confess to a crime. Such conduct amounts to assault under Zimbabwean law but in international law it would constitute torture. The United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials also prohibits such conduct.8 It is unlawful for a police officer to torture or assault a person in order to punish him or to deter that person or others from engaging in similar conduct in the future. This is so even if the 7 See Ex Parte Pinochet (Respondent) (On Appeal from a Divisional Court of the Queen's Bench Division) (No. 3), Judgment of 24 March 1999 8 Principle 21 of this Code reads as follows: 1. It is prohibited to take advantage of the situation of a detained person for the purpose of compelling him to confess, to incriminate himself otherwise or to testify against any other person. 2. No detained person while being interrogated shall be subject to violence, threats or methods of interrogation which will impair his capacity of decision or judgment. Who guards the guards? Violations by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, 2000 to 2006