Geneva — ZIMBABWE has heightened its call for the removal of sanctions at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council's 60th session, saying that the punitive measures have fuelled brain drain, crippling key economic sectors and undermining the delivery of critical services.
Speaking at one of the sessions in Geneva, Switzerland, recently, Justice Permanent Secretary Vimbai Nyemba told the council that sanctions-induced economic hardships had triggered a mass exodus of skilled professionals, company closures and unemployment, among other vices.
"Due to sanctions-induced economic hardships, Zimbabwe has experienced brain drain, which has impacted on key sectors and critical services.
"Loss of direct foreign investment has led to the closure of businesses and job losses.
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"Not only has sanctions negatively affected the government's ability to provide basic economic and social rights but also its capacity to adequately finance social protection programmes and develop and maintain infrastructure, necessary performances and delivery of critical services.
"Our development agenda in the achievement of SDGs has been severely undermined by Unilateral Coercive Measures (UMCs). We continue to call for lifting of all the UMCs and reiterate the need for UN agencies to monitor and report on the impact of UCMs, secondary sanctions and compliance on the enjoyment of human rights in targeted countries," Nyemba said.
Another Southern African country, Namibia, also voiced for sanctions removal on Zimbabwe.
At a separate press conference on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council's 60th session, Alena Douhan, UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the UCM on the enjoyment of human rights, also said the targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe are affecting the whole country and causing human rights violations.
"It has been traditionally insisted that targeted sanctions imposed against bad guys only do not affect human rights in Zimbabwe at all but in reality, my country visit to Zimbabwe has clearly demonstrated that it is absolutely misleading to talk about targeted sanctions today because the majority of people who are in the designated list are high State officials and traditionally as soon as for example the minister of health is affected, the whole public health sector is affected sometimes even the private one."
Douhan also raised concerns over serious corruption in Zimbabwe, which together with sanctions is worsening human rights violations.
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"What I observed during my visit is that Zimbabwe has a serious problem with corruption. The struggle against corruption is necessary to have resources necessary for proper investigation, bring in those responsible to the courts.
"I was talking to police officers and what they said is the situation even got worst because they are not able to bring the person accused of corruption to the court due to absence of transportation, they are also not able to do forensic expertise especially in the IT sphere, because of the impossibility to procure and deliver necessary equipment and they are not able to do online court hearing because of unavailability of equipment," she added.
- Thandiwe Garusa's reporting on the UN Human Rights Council's 60th session in Geneva has been sponsored by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Universal Rights Group.
