‘No Act to guide us’

why the commission was dormant. Our Senior Reporter Daniel Nemukuyu (DN) caught up with the Commission’s chairman Professor Reginald Austin (RA) who explained the challenges the nine-member commission is facing chief among them the pending enactment of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Bill. He also explained the commission’s Constitutional mandat
DN: Professor, your commission has been in existence since March 2010 and you have been quiet. What is the problem?

RA: Yes I can say we have been inactive. This is because we do not have an Act guiding our operations. The Human Rights Bill has been sent to Parliament and we can only be very vibrant when the Bill sails through. We hope by then we will become more real.

DN: Are there any other challenges?

RA: Of course there is an issue of resources but it is linked to the issue of the pending Act. We do not have any budget and we did not even have a building to operate from until in early November when the Government handed over to us Fournos Building. We do not have transport, furniture and any other relevant resources. In the absence of the Act, we cannot employ or do any work related to the commission. Currently our commissioners are not getting any payment.

DN: Where are those commissioners and yourself operating from?

RA: My fellow commissioners are still working in their old jobs. As you know, some are academics based at the University of Zimbabwe, some lawyers and businesspersons. When the time comes, they will be full-time at the commission.

DN : So you are not doing anything while waiting for the Act?

RA: We are trying to prepare ourselves for the task. We got little funds that we used to train our commissioners while waiting for the time. Our commissioners have travelled to various African countries to learn and to have a better understanding of how other Human Rights Commissions are operating.
We have held training workshops with the United Nations and we had an opportunity to hear some commissioners from other countries sharing their own experiences in running the commission.

DN: Did you make an input to the Bill that is still pending and what do you expect?

RA: We have had a chance to advise the Minister of Justice on what we think the Act should cover. We suggested that the commission should be premised on the Paris Principles of Human Rights.
The commission should be independent, objective and properly funded by the State itself because it is a State institution. It is not a non-governmental organisation. We also expect the new constitution to explicitly grant us independence. The current Constitution does not state the need for the commission’s independence.
We believe it should be substantially independent and it should make its own decisions in accordance with the Constitution and the local and international human rights law. It should be responsible for its own budget, make own decisions on staffing. Above all the commission should be as independent as the courts of law.

DN: I know your functions are still being worked out through debates on the Bill, but can you briefly explain your mandate as the commission as enshrined in the Constitution.

RA: Our mandate is partly described in section 100 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. We are responsible for promoting awareness of human rights in society and developing human rights.
We are responsible for monitoring and assessing the observance of the human rights in Zimbabwe. Basically we serve as a watchdog. We investigate the conduct of any person who is alleged to have breached human rights.
We are also responsible for making recommendations to Parliament on ways to promote and protect human rights. We also prepare human rights reports that the Government has to present to the UN Commission of Human Rights.
We also have powers to visit places of detention like prisons and refugee camps to see if there is compliance with the human rights standards. The commission shall also have power to secure or provide appropriate redress for any human rights violations and injustices, which is a very broad mandate.

DN: Do you have arresting powers?

RA: I do not know how the Act will be like, but from my understanding of how other commissions operate, such powers are not vested in the commission.

DN: Human rights in Zimbabwe are mostly associated with politics. What is your understanding of the subject?

RA: Yes that is the problem that we have so far managed to identify. Human rights are not only about politics. There is need to consider the economic, social and cultural rights. We are very anxious to see people having proper housing, access to education, good health facilities, clean water and living in a clean environment.
You cannot live a dignified life when your children do not go to school, when you do not have access to clean water and good health facilities. Our Constitution does not pay much attention to the economic, social and cultural rights but we hope the new Constitution will cover that.

DN: Considering that human rights are linked to politics in Zimbabwe, are you not going to serve interests of certain political parties or external forces?

RA: To start with, the commission is a product of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. It was selected by Parliament based on qualifications and interviews were publicly conducted. The President finally appointed us after Parliament was satisfied. That shows we were not appointed by any political party. We are there to serve the interests of the nation and not political parties. We will operate independently without favour.

DN: Are you ready for the task?

RA: Yes we are more than ready. As soon as the Act is in place, we will start our operations consistent with our Constitutional mandate.

DN: Can you briefly comment on the prison conditions in Zimbabwe in the context of the human rights.

RA: I have heard about the bad conditions. The prison authorities have also confirmed that in media reports and I feel there is need for the commission to look at the prisons as soon as we start operations. We will obviously look at that.

DN: Where will you get your funding from?

RA: The commission is a State institution and it was created by the State. We will primarily get funding from the Government.