A Culture of Impunity In Zimbabwe: A Report on Access to Justice for Survivors of Organized Violence and Torture (OVT) In Zimbabwe

The report is based on incidents of human rights violations recorded by the Forum during the period January- June 2012. Most of the incidents of human rights violations reported during this period related to acts of politically motivated violence arising from the 2008 election period. The clients who were interviewed during the period January-June 2012 had not hitherto had any opportunity to report incidents of human rights violations dating as far back as 2002. This underlines the endemic culture of impunity which currently subsists in Zimbabwe. The pervasive culture of impunity has seen perpetrators of human rights abuses remaining unaccountable for their misdemeanors and the survivors of organized violence and torture (OVT) having no access to justice or redress.
The report will also explore some of the legislation currently in place which aid and abet the perpetuation of the culture of impunity and the concealment of most of the past acts of OVT. The report will also depict how the past human rights violations have continued in the form of threats, intimidation, harassment and discrimination of the survivors of OVT.
In its conclusion, this report will suggest ways of combating the culture of impunity in Zimbabwe, by employing various mechanisms to ensure that, the plight of the survivors of OVT does not go unnoticed but instead redress and justice is made accessible to all.