Story by Peter Chivhima
ZIMBABWE is set to present a compelling case for the immediate and unconditional removal of illegal sanctions imposed on the country by the West, at a High-Level Conference on Sanctions at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, starting this Thursday.
Zimbabwe has been grappling with crippling economic sanctions for over two decades, primarily imposed by the United States through the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) and its allies.
The so-called targeted sanctions have become a calculated tool for economic suffocation, eroding the nation’s ability to grow and prosper, depriving citizens of access to essential services such as healthcare, education and infrastructure, thereby affecting the full realisation of human rights.
In an effort to address these challenges, a Zimbabwean delegation led by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Honourable Ziyambi Ziyambi is in Geneva, Switzerland, to call for the unconditional and immediate removal of sanctions.
“It is impactful for the unilateral basic measures in terms of the enjoyment of human rights in terms of business and development. We could not access lines of credit and people suffered because of the sanctions that were imposed on Zimbabwe. Even though they try to portray them as targeted, they have had a huge impact on the enjoyment of rights, for the generality of our people. They have had a huge impact on the business community in our country and we have made several losses. In our agricultural sector, for instance, we could not advance in a manner that we would have loved because we could not mechanise due to the lack of lines of credit.
“Even our industry suffered and once our industry and agriculture suffered, it will extend to the ordinary people. Therefore, we are going to share with the rest of the world that while the sanctions are being perceived to be targeted, they have affected the poorest of our people and they have affected our business people and we call for the removal of those sanctions,” he said.
The two-day international Conference on Sanctions, Business, and Human Rights, co-organised by the Special Rapporteur on the Negative Impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures on the Enjoyment of Human Rights, Professor Alena Douhan, and Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations, aims to unite diverse stakeholders in addressing the complexities surrounding unilateral sanctions.
The Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the United Nations, Mr Nesbert Samasuwo said, “We are hoping that as a nation, we are going to get support for our clarion call from several nations. We are working together with the United Nations to call for the US to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe.”
The platform will also offer an opportunity to address the most important aspects of the interaction of states and businesses in sanctions environments, the obligations of public and private actors under international law, as well as avenues to minimise over-compliance and to promote and protect human rights.
