Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Zimbabwean government concerning the banning of opposition party rallies.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Minister for Development and Africa said to President Mnangagwa on 5 May, it is important that Zimbabwe's upcoming elections are peaceful and credible. The UK regularly calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to ensure that political opposition and civil society are able to operate freely. On 3 May, the UK's Ambassador to Zimbabwe publicly underlined that the fundamental rights of assembly and expression are enshrined in Zimbabwe's constitution.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the election in Zimbabwe in August will be free and fair.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Minister for Development and Africa said to President Mnangagwa during their meeting on 5 May, it is important that the people of Zimbabwe can choose their government through peaceful and credible elections. Independent observation by international and domestic missions, including Southern African Development Community (SADC), the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), will play an important role in assessing electoral conduct against regional and international standards. The UK welcomes Zimbabwe's announcement that invitations have been sent to observer missions.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Zimbabwean government concerning the physical attack on Obey Shava at his Shava Law Chambers on 5 July.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is aware of an attack on human rights lawyer, Obey Shava, on 5 July. We note the ongoing police investigation into the attack. As the Minister for Development and Africa said to President Mnangagwa on 5 May, the UK would like to see the Government of Zimbabwe meet its international and domestic obligations by safeguarding human rights and allowing space for political opposition and civil society organisations to operate, particularly in the run up to elections on 23 August.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case of Joana Mamombe MP and other political activists recently detained in Zimbabwe; whether they have made representations to the government of that country in respect of those detentions in the context of the forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe; and what plans they have to press for an increase in the number of international observers of those elections.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has observed a trend of lengthy pre-trial detention of government critics in Zimbabwe. The Minister for Development and Africa raised this issue with Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa when they met in the margins of His Majesty the King's Coronation. As I, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, stated in the House last week, 'we have raised our concerns with the Government [of Zimbabwe] and have publicly called for full investigation into the allegations', of abduction and abuse of opposition members Joana Mamombe MP, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova. The UK welcomes Zimbabwe's announcement that invitations have been sent to a broad range of international observer missions for elections on 23 August.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has discussed the African Climate Action Summit with the Government of Zimbabwe.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
African countries are amongst the least responsible for causing climate change, yet it is having a devastating impact. The UK is committed to working with African partners to drive long-term climate action; I discussed climate change when I visited Egypt in May 2023 for meetings of the African Development Bank. We will continue to work closely with the African Union Commission and Government of Kenya as Africa Climate Action Summit co-hosts and engage other partners in the run-up to and at the Summit itself.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support investigations into alleged money laundering connected with alleged proceeds of corruption in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK regularly engages with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, Government of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean civil society and other actors on tackling corruption in Zimbabwe. In 2021, the UK sanctioned Zimbabwean businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei for serious corruption.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to strengthen (1) support, and (2) protection, for (a) human rights defenders, and (b) civil society, in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Zimbabwe is one of the UK's 32 Human Rights Priority Countries. As the Minister of State for Africa and Development said to President Mnangagwa in May, the UK would like to see the Government of Zimbabwe meet its international and domestic obligations by respecting the rule of law and safeguarding human rights.
The UK has engaged with the Government of Zimbabwe on draft legislation including the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill and amendments to the criminal code that, if passed into law, could be used to undermine the operating capacity of civil society, and to silence and penalise critics of the state.
The UK continues to support the most vulnerable people in Zimbabwe. This financial year, we are providing £74 million in official development assistance, focused on education and livelihoods, promoting health, supporting governance and human rights as well as climate resilience.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to visit Zimbabwe.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
There are currently no plans for a Ministerial visit to Zimbabwe.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of Zimbabwe's readmittance to the Commonwealth.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The decision on whether Zimbabwe re-joins the Commonwealth is for all Commonwealth members. We recognise the value of having Zimbabwe back in the Commonwealth, but any re-entry would need to be on the basis that Zimbabwe meets admission requirements and is able to uphold the values and principles set out in the Commonwealth Charter. Zimbabwe's General Elections this August present a clear opportunity for the Government to demonstrate progress against the principles of the Charter, namely respect for human rights and freedom for the political opposition, civil society and media to operate.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Reception Assistance for individuals returning to Zimbabwe Grant.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Reception assistance was provided to Zimbabwean nationals returned and deported to Zimbabwe during this period which also coincided with the Covid pandemic. The scheme enabled practical support, including Covid testing, to be provided on arrival in Zimbabwe to all returnees who required it.