Maputo — The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is, once again, calling for unconditional and immediate lifting of sanctions imposed on individuals and institutions in Zimbabwe.
"SADC is deeply concerned with the allegations that the sanctions are focused for unilaterally punishing some individuals", says the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and incumbent Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Félix Tshisekedi, on a message issued on Wednesday and shared with Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi.
According to Tshisekedi, the sanctions affect the entire country, particularly due to a general negative perception about Zimbabwe around the world, especially in the sensitive global financial markets.
This perception, says Tshisekedi, results in the country being unable to attract foreign direct investment and access credit and other financial services necessary and essential for the country's socio-economic development.
This is even more worrisome given the need for a quick general recovery from the effects of at least two years of the Covid-19 pandemic that has crippled social and economic life and is currently being aggravated by the general increase in inflation worldwide.
Like most developing countries, Zimbabwe is particularly vulnerable to these negative trends and the unilateral sanctions only exacerbate its difficult economic situation.
SADC is committed to the consolidation of democracy in Southern Africa, and Zimbabwe is due to hold its regular national elections in mid-2023.
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"In this context, SADC calls on those who have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe to give the country's citizens space to exercise their democratic rights and not use sanctions as a covert mechanism to cause regime change", reads the document.
SADC is also committed to the spirit of multilateralism and the imposition of sanctions against a sister nation in the family of humanity must occur in accordance with international law.
In this regard, SADC welcomes the Report of the specialist Alena Douhan on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, produced following her visit to Zimbabwe, in which she recommends the lifting of unilateral sanctions in accordance with the principles of international law.
Tshisekedi concludes his message by stating that "SADC fully supports the Special Rapporteur's conclusion that sanctions, including secondary sanctions, and the various forms of excessive compliance by foreign banks and companies, have had a significant negative impact on the population and the Government, exacerbating previously existing economic and humanitarian challenges."
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