7 2. The Victim Support Programme The AMANI Trust, and other members of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum – the “Human Rights Forum” - provided support to over 1,000 persons who complained of gross human rights violations during the general election in Zimbabwe. It was evident to all members of the Forum that the pre-election violence would have a significant effect upon the outcome of the election. It was also felt that, in common with all previous periods of epidemic political violence, there would probably be little attempt by the Government to provide a proper legal accounting for the violence. This in fact transpired with the promulgation of a general amnesty on 6 th October 2000. It was recognised early on that testifying in courts, especially in an adversarial system, would be difficult for many victims. Victims of gross human rights violations as witnesses have problems unlike many other kinds of witnesses, but very similar to victims of other personal crimes such as rape. Torture survivors may have difficulty recounting the specific details of the torture for several important reasons, including: 1. 2. 3. 4. Factors during torture itself such as blindfolding, drugging, lapses of consciousness, etc.; Fear of placing oneself or others at risk; Lack of trust in the interviewer and/or interpreter; Psychological impact of torture and trauma such as high emotional arousal, and impaired memory secondary to trauma-related mental illnesses such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder; 5. Neuro-psychiatric memory impairment from beatings to the head, suffocation, near drowning, and starvation; 6. Protective coping mechanisms such as denial and avoidance; and 7. Culturally prescribed sanctions that allow traumatic experiences to be revealed only in highly confidential settings. Inconsistencies in a person's story may arise from any or all of these factors. These factors frequently operate in the clinical setting, which is usually interviewing in a supportive environment, but may be greatly exacerbated in more hostile settings such as cross-examination in the courtroom. The victim-as-witness can have considerable problems in giving a good account of his or her experience in a hostile environment, and this can clearly prejudice the outcome of any hearing in which the victim’s testimony is important to that outcome. This has been recognized in contemporary human rights tribunals and both the hearings around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and the International Criminal Tribunal on the Balkans at the Hague set up special systems to deal with this issue. In both systems the following were applied: • • • • • • Witnesses were brought to a central venue prior and during the hearing; Witnesses were provided with access to a special team prior to testifying; Witnesses were provided with briefings about the court proceedings; Witnesses were given psychological counselling pre- and post-testimony; Witnesses were provided with support personnel during their testimony; Courts were provided with information relating to the special needs of victims. These systems ensured as far as possible that there was no further traumatisation of victims, and ensured that the victims gave the most favourable account of their experiences. Most of these issues are covered in a comprehensive document that is now accepted as the standard manual by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rightsxi. A system for Zimbabwe was set in place that used a similar system to that described briefly above. As regards the witnesses, they were brought immediately prior to the trial to a central location in Harare. At this central location, the following occurred: AMANI Trust: Organised Violence and Torture in the June 2000 General Election in Zimbabwe