Zimbabwe

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, for instigating this debate and for his continuing insights, determination and commitment to fighting against injustice wherever and whenever it occurs. I also congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Dannatt, on his excellent maiden speech.

There has been a great deal of discussion today around all the issues of concern. I contend that the best way forward for us would be to exert our influence and raise our concerns through stronger collaboration with fellow member states of the European Union. As Members of the House have said, we have seen a serious escalation of violence in recent weeks and it should alert us to the need for insisting on a radical improvement in human rights before any election can be contemplated or take place. We need clarity in order to oppose Mugabe’s manoeuvring to ensure that the election takes place as early as possible for him.

The EU would want to assist with the preparation for and organisation of an election, but of course the circumstances and the context—which includes freedom of speech and freedom of assembly as well as other issues—need to be right before any election observation would be worthwhile or appropriate. Of course neither the European Union nor the Carter Center nor anyone else will go to such an election unless they receive an invitation, which they would also require. I think it highly unlikely that the European Union or any international observers will receive an invitation from Mugabe, were he to have total responsibility for it. As in 2008, we could see a very complex situation in which only those who have no neutrality or independent thoughts on this matter are “observing” the election.

As other noble Lords said, the security situation is likely to continue to be deeply concerning. We have seen serious disturbances which have been proven to have been instigated by pro-Mugabe militias trucked in for that purpose. In addition, the police force remains partisan, and the MDC will take the brunt of the violence that occurs. Politically motivated violence and the lack of accountability for abuses remain serious problems. All that we see and hear poses questions about the likelihood that anything like a credible election will occur.

Under Article 96 of the Cotonou partnership agreement, which was agreed between 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the European Union, appropriate measures have been applied to Zimbabwe to prohibit any government-to-government co-operation. I am sure that noble Lords will agree that any such co-operation would be totally inappropriate at this time. Zimbabwe is also subject to other measures, including an arms embargo, a visa ban and asset-freezing for targeted individuals and institutions.

Despite what Mugabe says, the EU remains one of the biggest donors, and the measures in place do not affect humanitarian aid. All programmes and projects to support public health, education, micro-projects, decentralised co-operation, democratisation, support for human rights and the promotion of the rule of law are still in place and funded by the European Union. A package of €635 million is in place to assist the people of Zimbabwe. The sum of €130 million has been allocated under the EU’s development envelope, but funds from this envelope will be available only if progress is made on the political dialogue instigated in 2009.

As noble Lords will be aware, the EU has removed 36 names from the visa ban list. In the current circumstances, I trust that no further concessions will be considered. Although there is some scepticism about sanctions, it would seem an endorsement of Mugabe’s position to do anything else at this stage. We should not be seen to be bending to the blackmail on sanctions which he is endeavouring to exert on the European Union. There has to be measurable progress on justice, human rights, violence and corruption, and very serious efforts to address the issues of accountability and impunity.

Mugabe and ZANU-PF are pushing and pressing for elections before reforms because Mugabe knows that reforms will improve the MDC’s election prospects. He does not want reform because he knows that that election outcome would be a direct effect of reform implementation. As other noble Lords said, we can assume that it is unlikely that South Africa and SADC, the key arbiters of the GPA, will endorse early polls. I certainly hope that that is the case.

Although there are huge tensions within the power-sharing Government, these tensions have not received much mention this afternoon, and they are increasing. Tendai Biti has made progress in stabilising the economy but the economy remains fragile. This progress will not be enough without the necessary constitutional reform and a credible election process. Twenty-four items of dispute have been identified between the two parties, and these items remain largely unresolved. An electoral commission and human rights commission have been appointed but they lack adequate financing and continue to argue about their respective remits. Critically, there is little confidence that bodies aligned with ZANU-PF, notably the security forces, will in any case respect anything that those commissions do. I trust that the EU will monitor the constitutional reform process and make it clear that such a process must be in place before any election is contemplated.

Just last week, I think, Finance Minister Tendai Biti predicted that Zimbabwe risks experiencing a repeat of the 2008 election, in which 253 people were killed. He said:

“So yes to an election”—

not a boycott—

“but no to a bloodbath ... It’s an African challenge. What has happened in Ivory Coast, what has happened in Kenya … is unacceptable”.

He knows that more than 80,000 militia, war veterans and soldiers are already being deployed across Zimbabwe in order to ensure victory for President Mugabe. This week, we have seen the response to the peaceful International Women’s Day demonstrations. In both Bulawayo and Harare, women were arrested, imprisoned and report being tortured. Efforts to intimidate and silence political opponents and stifle open debate are evidenced everywhere you look at this time—efforts which are consistently backed by politically motivated violence. Women have memories of terrible sexual violence in the last election and actually fear another election taking place because of how vulnerable they will be.

Meanwhile, as reports of instability and violence continue, I was surprised to read that at the African Union summit in Addis in January, Zimbabwe did not feature in the discussions on crisis countries. The focus was entirely on Côte d’Ivoire, Somalia and Tunisia. Incredibly, the AU’s commissioner responsible for democracy and human rights said that the view was that the situation in Zimbabwe had improved and therefore Zimbabwe was not on the AU radar at this time. Has anyone told the African Union about the widespread state-sponsored violence that exists in that country? Two years after the power-sharing agreements meant to end human rights violations and restore the rule of law in Zimbabwe, we see, sadly and tragically, that the terrible suffering and misery goes on.