Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Zimbabwe.

The UK regularly engages with the Government of Zimbabwe to raise serious concerns about the political, economic and human rights situation in Zimbabwe. I delivered these messages when I last spoke to Foreign Minister Moyo on 8 June, and in a letter I wrote to him on 12 August. Our Ambassador in Harare reinforced these messages when she met representatives of the Government of Zimbabwe on 24 November. In particular, she raised our deep concerns on human rights, lack of progress on political reform and chronic economic mismanagement. Most recently, I tweeted on 17 November about the prosecution of MDC activists, Joana Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecilia Chimbiri. I also tweeted on 13 November to express my concerns regarding continued prosecutions of journalist Hopewell Chin'ono, reiterating that the UK is committed to defending media freedom and human rights. We will continue to speak out, both privately and in public, where we have concerns and will work alongside the international community to support a better future for all Zimbabweans.