SUSTAINING THE CONVERSATION ON TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE IN ZIMBABWE The world over, societies are talking. Top of those conversations is the question: how do we make our society more peaceful. Since its establishment in 2014, NTJWG has been bringing stakeholders together on different platforms to keep the conversation on transitional justice on the radar. This has helped demystify transitional justice in the eyes of many. This year, NTJWG continued the conversation through a number of policy dialogues and community meetings. Masvingo “How can State Institutions Work For the Promotion of Peace in Zimbabwe.” A Public meeting was held at Charles Austin Theatre in Masvingo on 21 October 2016 The topic of the discussion was: “How can State Institutions Work For the Promotion of Peace in Zimbabwe.” The presenters were Dr. T. Zhou, Hon. D. Shumba, Hon. Chitando and Ms. Hilda Sibanda. 345 people who included civil society activists, the academia, students, church leaders and legislators. Dr. T. Zhou, who gave the main lecture noted that attempting to build peace without strong non-partisan institutions is like building a house on sand – it will not stand. It was noted that Zimbabwe has a long history of institutions that implicated in the violation of human rights. Reform of such institutions can only come with holding past perpetrators to account and vetting out all those implicated in the violations. Further, it was noted that State institutions have a constitutional obligation to work for the peace, stability and development of the country therefore, reforming institutions that currently serve partisan interest was critical to ensure they serve justice and peace. 16 ANNUAL REPORT 2017