4 Human Rights violations and human rights tribunals During 2000, AMANI Trust and the 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 year in which was held a general election in Zimbabwe. The greatest majority of these cases came from the period February to June 2000. Many of thes cases were documented in a series of reports over the period of the 2000 General Election 4. During the pre-election period, it was evident to all members of the Forum that the violence would have a significant effect upon the outcome of the election, and this was endorsed by the reports of several of the observer missions covering this 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 6th October 2000. The recognition that victims of human rights violations suffer from a variety of medical and psychological consequences has come in the past two decades 5. In particular, it is now widely recognized that torture usually results in long-term psychological disturbance, often in the form of a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but not necessarily only this form of disorder 6. It is important to recognize that such disorders can crucially affect the victims in the manner in which they testify as well as in the content of their testimony. 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 operate in the clinical setting, which is usually interviewing in a supportive environment, but may 4 See ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM (2000), Who is responsible? A preliminary analysis of pre-election violence in Zimbabwe, , A Report compiled by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, 20 June 2000. 5 See BASOGLU,M. Torture and Its Consequences: Current Treatment Approaches, CAMBRIDGE: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1993. 6 See REELER,A.P.(1994), Is torture a post-traumatic stress disorder? TORTURE, 4, 59-65. Heroism in the Dock: Does testifying help victims of organised violence and torture? A pilot study from Zimbabwe.