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Zimbabwe: International Community Deeply Concerned By Ban On Humanitarian Aid
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SW Radio Africa (London)
8 August 2008
Posted to the web 8 August 2008
Alex Bell
The international community said in a statement on Friday it was "deeply concerned" about the Zimbabwean government's ban on humanitarian aid access, which is "denying vulnerable Zimbabweans essential and life-saving support" - and said it holds Zimbabwean ministers and officials responsible.
The joint statement was issued in Harare by the governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States on Friday - who have collectively called for the "immediate and unconditional lifting of the suspension on all NGO field operations".
The governments also called for the harassment of NGO's to cease immediately - a day after the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition offices in Harare were raided by police on Thursday.
The June 4 suspension of humanitarian operations, combined with critical food and currency shortages, has left millions of Zimbabweans facing starvation. The statement said without the "immediate resumption of food aid across the country, widespread hunger and worsening malnutrition are unavoidable". The Red Cross this week also issued an urgent food security appeal, citing that the lives of millions more people in Zimbabwe were at risk, if the harvest projections are accurate.
The joint government statement reads: "We feel a sense of responsibility to sound the warning about the coming emergency. Because the Government has not responded to our July 29 diplomatic appeal for full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and restored humanitarian space, we fell we must now raise the profile of this issue publicly".
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The Memorandum of Understanding, signed on 21 July between Zimbabwe's political parties, states that they "will work together to ensure ...that humanitarian and social welfare organisations are enabled to render such assistance as might be required." Friday's statement said the international governments are concerned that "more than two weeks after the signing of the MOU, and despite our diplomatic appeals, we have seen no concrete steps taken to carry out this commitment".
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