The United States has characterized the situation in Zimbabwe as a threat to peace which justifies the imposition of sanctions on the country under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. permanent representative at the UN, told journalists in New York Tuesday that "even those" who opposed sanctions "say that the situation... has destabilized the region." A transcript of his remarks was posted to the website of the U.S. Mission to the UN.
"A quarter of the population of Zimbabwe are now in the neighboring countries," Khalilzad added. "There is more violence to come - which people anticipate if the circumstances are not resolved... There will be more people leaving Zimbabwe to come to the neighboring states. That affects the stability of the neighboring states. You already have seen incidents in South Africa and other places..."
Khalilzad also suggested there was enough support on the UN Security Council to secure passage of a sanctions resolution this week - provided Russia did not veto it. A resolution needs the support of nine of the 15 members of the council, including permanent members with veto rights, of which Russia is one.
After dealing with a question referring to Russia's stance, Khalilzad said: "We believe absent a veto - which we do not anticipate, but you can't rule it out... the votes are there to move forward."
He told reporters there was "broad agreement... that the Council cannot be indifferent to what has happened, that action is required." But, he added, "there are differences of view on exactly what should be done. There are some who argue that only political pressure is needed. We are of the view that we have been there and done that and have failed to get results... What we have proposed... is very tailored, very focused sanctions, an arms embargo, and targeted sanctions on individuals in whose hands it is to allow a process to start that can produce results."
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Responding to a question, Khalilzad asserted that Tuesday's G8 Summit statement on Zimbabwe "has provided the support needed for us here to move. We were going to move in any case. Our... draft resolution predates the G8 statement but we see in the statement support for us to continue the course that we were on."
Chapter VII of the UN Charter deals with measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. Khalilzad argued that the way in which world leaders defined threats had evolved since the adoption of the Charter. "The threats of the Cold War versus the threats of this new world are not exactly the same," he said.
