MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Zimbabwe
19.10.2010
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure
Michał Tomasz Kamiński, Geoffrey Van Orden, Charles Tannock, Nirj Deva, Tomasz Piotr Poręba, Ryszard Antoni Legutko, Konrad Szymański, Adam Bielan on behalf of the ECR Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0583/2010
B7‑0588/2010
European Parliament resolution on Zimbabwe
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its numerous previous resolutions on Zimbabwe, most recently that of 8 July 2010,
– having regard to Council Common Position 2010/92/CFSPof 15 February 2010 renewing until 20 February 2011 the restrictive measures against Zimbabwe imposed under Common Position 2004/161/CFSP, and to Commission Regulation 1226/2008 of 8 December 2008, amending the Common Position,
– having regard to the Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions of 22.2.2010 on Zimbabwe, and to the Conclusions of the 10th EU-South Africa ministerial political dialogue of 11.5.2010 on Zimbabwe,
– having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. Whereas Zimbabwe's government of national unity (GNU) has made some progress since the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in February 2009, the failure to properly restore democracy, freedom of expression, the rule of law and respect for human rights, and the continuation of politically motivated violence, often by state security forces, are a continuing cause for very serious concern;
B. Whereas Zimbabwe remains impoverished after years of economic mismanagement by the Mugabe regime and continues to receive extensive humanitarian and other aid both from the EU and from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Denmark, as well as the US, Australia and Norway, along with food aid from the UN, all of which provides for the most basic needs of a large proportion of the Zimbabwean population;
C. Whereas the EU’s “restrictive measures” are specifically targeted against key members of the exploitative Mugabe regime and those that have helped sustain it and do not impact on the people of Zimbabwe more widely, or the Zimbabwean economy;
D. Whereas Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, has recently written to European Commission President Barroso and European Council President Van Rompuy urging them not to accept the credentials of Mrs Margaret Muchada, Zimbabwe's Ambassador-designate to the EU, and has publically stated that Mrs Muchada's appointment is unconstitutional, as it was made unilaterally by President Robert Mugabe and thus violates Amendment 19 of the Zimbabwean Constitution;
E. Whereas Amnesty International has raised serious concerns about the fate of the 20,000
residents of an informal settlement on the outskirts of Harare known as the 'Hatcliffe
Extension' who have been threatened with forced eviction by the Zimbabwean state
on the grounds that they have failed to pay land lease renewal fees;
F. Whereas the Zimbabwean state is demanding the prohibitively high lease renewal fee of 140 USD per plot, whilst the average annual income of Zimbabweans stands at less than 100 USD and Zimbabwe currently has an estimated unemployment rate of 95%;
G. Whereas Hatcliffe's residents, who are some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in Zimbabwe, were not properly consulted by the state on either the issue of fees or on the lease renewal process;
H. Whereas the bulk of Hatcliffe's residents were allocated their land by the state in 2005 after they were violently evicted from their homes and businesses in Harare by the Zimbabwean security services under President Robert Mugabe's politically-motivated 'Operation Murambatsvina' (Operation Drive Out Rubbish);
I. Whereas the issue of exorbitant lease fees is not restricted to Hatcliffe and the residents of other informal settlements around the country are also under threat of state-sanctioned forced eviction;
1. Demands an immediate end to politically motivated forced evictions and reminds the Council, Commission and Member States of the appalling violence perpetrated by Mugabe and the state security services during the last round of such evictions in 2005 ('Operation Murambatsvina');
2. Calls on the Zimbabwean authorities to cancel the arbitrarily imposed lease renewal fees and to withdraw the policy on forced evictions and land-zoning; in this respect, insists the Zimbabwean authorities no longer use land-zoning law coupled with forced evictions for party political gain, as was the case during the 2005 'Operation Murambatsvina' campaign; urges development of a policy that is agreed by the government as a whole;
3. Demands that the Mugabe element of the Zimbabwean unity government fulfil the pledge it made in 2005 to provide sufficient housing for all of the 700,000 Harare residents it forcibly evicted during the violent 'Operation Murambatsvina' campaign carried out by the Zimbabwe security services in 2005.
4. Calls on the EU to refuse to accept Mrs Muchada's credentials as Zimbabwean Ambassador to the EU thereby demonstrating that it will not tolerate blatant disregard for due constitutional process in Zimbabwe and urges that such action be taken in co-ordination with the US and other countries;
5. Applauds the EU and those Member States and other countries that continue to provide funding for projects in direct support of the Zimbabwean people and the reforms contained in the Global Political Agreement, emphasising the need to ensure that such support continues to be channelled through bona fide NGOs, is well targeted and properly accounted for, avoiding government agency;
6. Calls on the Zimbabwean government to guarantee and uphold the unrestricted right to free speech in Zimbabwe, so that NGOs and political activists can freely express opinions without fear of persecution or imprisonment;
7. Calls on the Zimbabwean government, as part of the ongoing constitutional reform process which has been substantially funded by the EU and certain Member States, to ensure that the right to free speech and the right to conduct political meetings without state interference is enshrined in the new constitution;
8. Calls on South Africa and SADC, in its own interests as well as those of Zimbabwe and the wider southern African region, to take active steps to encourage a return to full democracy, respect for the rule of law and for the human rights of the people of Zimbabwe, recognising that Mugabe and his close supporters remain a continuing stumbling block in the process of political and economic reconstruction and reconciliation in Zimbabwe, plundering its economic resources for their own benefit;
9. Urges the Council and the Commission to call on SADC and the government of South Africa to take concrete action to ensure that sustainable political progress is made in Zimbabwe, and to urge SADC and the government of South Africa to enforce recent rulings by the SADC tribunal on illegal farm invasions by Mugabe’s close supporters;
10. Urges the EU to maintain its restrictive measures against individuals and entities with links to the Mugabe regime in place until there is real evidence of change for the better in Zimbabwe; emphasises that these restrictive measures are aimed solely at the Zimbabwean kleptocracy and have no impact on the Zimbabwean people as a whole; calls on the Council and Commission and Member States to take steps to explain this reality in Zimbabwe and internationally and to be more active in winning support for a rapid change to real democracy and economic progress in Zimbabwe;
11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the governments of the G8 countries, the governments and parliaments of Zimbabwe and South Africa, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Chairmen of the Commission and Executive Council of the African Union, the Pan-African Parliament, and the Secretary-General and governments of the Southern African Development Community and its Parliamentary Forum.