A Guide to Understanding the NATIONAL PEACE & RECONCILIATION COMMISSION IN ZIMBABWE 8.3 Witnesses Under clause 9(12) of the Bill, the NPRC must guarantee the safety and protection of witnesses before, during and after its hearings. The NPRC Bill if passed into law under its current form, does not say how the NPRC is to honour these guarantees nor does it give the Commission any means of doing so. We hope the regulations will give further guidance on how witness protection is guaranteed. 8.4 Perpetrators/ violators The Constitution says the NPRC must bring about “national reconciliation by encouraging people to tell the truth about the past and facilitating the making of amends and provision of justice.” The Constitution does not mention how the NPRC will encourage alleged perpetrators to come forward. Generally, other commissions encourage people to come and talk by offering them amnesty or if they are not willing to do so by using threats of punishment. This can take the form of encouraging them to come and speak what happened for instance; what they did to whom and who sent them in exchange of forgiveness. Where a person is expected to give evidence before the Commission, a law may make provision for the Commission to compel the person to appear and give such evidence. Summary box l l l l l 34 The NPRC must reach out to as many people as possible. NPRC ofces must be accessible and located in a friendly place that does not frighten people from giving their testimonies. There is no law yet in place on how victims can approach the NPRC. The NPRC Act and the NPRC must guarantee the safety and protection of witnesses before, during and after its hearings. The Constitution say the NPRC must encourage people to tell the truth about the past and facilitating the making of amends and provision of justice.