The chairperson of the National Transitional Justice Working Group (NTJWG), Paul Temba Nyathi has underlined the crucial role of young people in driving social, political, and institutional change.
Speaking at the recent Peace Essay Writing Competition and Musical Album Launch held in Harare recently, Nyathi highlighted the historical significance of youth involvement in advocating for peace and expressed concern over their exclusion from discussions surrounding the past.
“Historically, young people have played a significant role in driving social, political, and institutional change. However, despite the many instances in which young people were actively involved in advocating for peace, young people are often excluded from debates on how to deal with the past.
“Whereas many of the young people in Zimbabwe may not have directly experienced the results of human rights violations, past crimes have a rippling effect on how families deal with conflict and how the larger society comes to terms with its history,” said Nyathi.
Singling out the Gukurahundi massacres, Nyathi pointed out the challenges faced by young citizens as a result of past human rights violations and their implications.
“A significant number of young citizens are facing the challenges of past human rights violations. These stem from different causes. For instance, some may have had close family members murdered or enforceably disappeared during epochs of widespread violence, such as the Gukurahundi massacres. These events leave a psychological and socioeconomic scar on the victimised families and have prevented indirect victims from accessing national documents such as birth and death certificates, which trumps their access to employment and medical care,” he said
Nyathi commended the inaugural youth peace writing competition held in September 2022, noting the overwhelming response received from all provinces of the country.
He highlighted the positive feedback from stakeholders, who expressed their support for the event and encouraged the NTJWG to maintain it as a platform for Zimbabwean youths to voice their concerns.
