vT  o conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, Article 11 which reads that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to the lawful exercise of his or her occupation or profession” and Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”; v To asses the domestic legislation and bring it into conformity with international and regional human rights standards, in order to ensure the full enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms. In particular, to review the POSA, the AIPPA and the Criminal Law (Law Reform and Codification) Act; v To identify all State agents who have been implicated in the violations of the rights of human rights defenders, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law; v To bear equal responsibility for human rights violations committed by non-State actors especially when the State fails to apply due diligence to prevent, punish, investigate, or redress the harm caused by non-State actors who seem to operate with the acquiescence of the State; v To restore a professional police service to ensure that it maintains law and order in full compliance with the Constitution and in a totally depoliticized way, and is accountable to the law; Therefore, to disband the Law and Order unit that operates under political instructions and without accountability, as previously recommended by the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in 2004; v With regard to the administration of Justice: to refrain from undermining the independence and integrity of the judiciary, to sanction every act of torture and ill-treatment and make sure that offenders are brought to justice, to take all necessary measures to ban incommunicado detention and to comply with minimum guarantees in pre-trial detention. In particular, the Observatory calls on the authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure that those responsible for the alleged human rights violations perpetrated in the run-off, during and after the 2008 general elections be brought to justice and duly sanctioned according to law; v To fully comply with the Resolutions and Recommendations adopted by regional and international bodies on the situation in Zimbabwe, in particular ACHPR Resolutions 128, 132 and 138 urging the authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure that Zimbabweans exercise their right to vote in a peaceful environment free of intimidation and violence, to implement the GPA without any further delay and to guarantee the protection of the rights of human rights defenders during the election process; the ACHPR Resolutions 69, 119 and 196 on the situation of human rights defenders calling on States to adopt specific legislation on the protection of human rights defenders, to put an end to judicial harassment and other acts of intimidation against human rights defenders, or to initiate independent investigations on cases of violations of the rights of human rights defenders so as to prosecute the perpetrators; the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) with regard to the respect and protection of the rights of human rights defenders; v To implement its commitment taken during the United Nations Universal Periodical Review (UPR) in October 2011 to provide the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission with adequate financial, technical and material capacity and take all necessary measures to guarantee its effective independence, transparency and impartiality to ensure its conformity with the Paris Principle, and seek accreditation with the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC); v To issue a standing invitation to the Special Rapporteurs of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations, in particular their respective Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders and the ACHPR and UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture, and to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers; 28 The Observatory ZIMBABWE: Ongoing risks for human rights defenders in the context of political deadlock and pre-electoral period v To reply positively to the country visit requests addressed to Zimbabwe by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Freedom of Association in September 2011 and by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2011; v To implement its commitment taken during the UPR to submit regularly reports to the UN treaty bodies, especially by submitting a report to the Human Rights Committee (due since 2002) and a report to the Committee on Economical, Social and Cultural Rights (due since 2003); v To ratify and implement other major human rights instruments including the African Charter on Elections, Democracy and Governance, the Protocol to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (and make the declaration under article 34.6 of the Protocol recognising direct access to the Court for individuals and NGOs), the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; To the Judiciary v To improve its efficiency in pre-trial justice by ensuring effective oversight of all forms of detentions; v To design and implement with technical support from other institutions a systematic and sustained continuous legal education and training programme for members of the judiciary; v To fully implement the code of conduct for members of the judiciary in order to improve the efficiency and integrity of the judiciary; v To implement the Judicial Service Commission strategic plan and seek technical assistance as necessary at any stage of its implementation11; v To guarantee in all circumstances the implementation of fair trial standards; v To ensure greater collaboration and ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders in the justice area, such as the Law Society of Zimbabwe, the Police, and the Prisons. To the African Union and the Southern African Development Community v To call for the full implementation of the GPA including the constitutional making process before the next elections are held in Zimbabwe; v To guarantee the presence and deployment of local and international observers during the next elections in Zimbabwe; v To make every effort to ensure that the military and security sector are not involved in the organisation and management of the next elections in Zimbabwe. To the United Nations v To the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders: to send a reminder to Zimbabwe regarding her pending request for a visit; v To the UN Special Rapporteur on Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Gathering and Freedom of Association: to send a reminder to Zimbabwe regarding his pending request for a visit; v To the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers: to send a new request for a visit to Zimbabwe; v To the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, following her May 2012 visit: to follow up with the authorities on her request to repeal laws that are adverse to human rights and have been abused to persecute human rights defenders and journalists, and curtail the freedom of the press. 11. The Judicial Service Commission is created by section 90 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. One of its functions is to tender advice to the President on appointments to certain posts specified in the Constitution, including the appointment of judges. Its other equally important function is to employ all persons within the Judicial Service as defined in Section 3 of the Judicial Service Act [Chapter 7.18]. The Observatory ZIMBABWE: Ongoing risks for human rights defenders in the context of political deadlock and pre-electoral period 29