A United Nations envoy has recommended that the West should lift targeted sanctions imposed on Zanu PF officials, saying the targeted measures are harming the country’s economy.
In a statement, the UN Human Rights quoted Elena Douhan as saying, “Over the past 20 years, sanctions and various forms of over-compliance with sanctions has had an insidious ripple effect on the economy of Zimbabwe and on the enjoyment of fundamental human rights, including access to health, food, safe drinking water and sanitation, education and employment.
“This situation also limits Zimbabwe’s ability to guarantee the functioning of public institutions, delivery of services, and maintenance of essential infrastructure, and undermines the right to development of the Zimbabwean people and impedes the achievement of the sustainable development goals.”
Douhan said the Unites and other nations should lift sanctions on targeted individuals and entities and end over-compliance.
“The time is ripe for sanctioning states and key national stakeholders to engage in a meaningful structured dialogue on political reform, human rights and the rule of law, and abandon rhetoric on sanctions as an advocacy tool,” she said.
Douhan will present her report to the Human Rights Council in September, 2022.
Reacting to the special envoy’s statement, Information Secretary, Nick Mangwana, said “ … the UN Special Rapporteur has made an emphatic call for the removal of Illegal and coercive Sanctions against Zimbabwe. There is no sane Zimbabwean who can insist on their retention.”
The West imposed targeted sanctions on some Zanu PF officials, citing serious cases of human rights violations and election rigging.