THE United Nations (UN) announced Tuesday that it is sending a special rapporteur, at the invitation of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, to Zimbabwe in an effort to assess the impact of Western sanctions and their impact on the rights of the Zimbabwean people.
Belarusian national Alena Douhan, who is the UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, is set to make an official visit to the country from October 18 to 28, during a period which Zimbabwe and the SADC region is set to commemorate the Anti Sanctions Day with the aim of pushing Western countries to remove trade and politically motivated embargoes imposed on the country.
“Following an invitation of the Government of Zimbabwe, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Ms Alena Douhan, will undertake an official visit to the country from 18 to 28 October 2021 in order to gather first-hand information related to the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights in a specific country, enabling her to conduct her assessment and evaluation of such impacts and thus to prepare relevant recommendations and guidelines on means to mitigate or eliminate these adverse impacts,” the UN said in a statement Tuesday
“The purpose of the mission is to examine, in the spirit of co-operation and dialogue, whether and to what extent the adoption, maintenance or implementation of unilateral sanctions impedes the full realization of the rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments, in particular the right of individuals and peoples to development.
“The Special Rapporteur will present her conclusions and recommendations in a report she will submit to the Human Rights Council in September 2022,” the statement further reads.
The Mnangagwa administration has been making frantic efforts to have the sanctions removed as it cites they are stifling progress on its plans to economically empower the people of Zimbabwe.
During her visit, Douhan will meet with different stakeholders to get views on the impact of the sanctions.
She is expected to conduct meetings with Government authorities, civil society organizations, the private sector, and the opposition leaders.
Douhan will also hold private meetings with UN agencies in the country, international and regional organizations, international financial institutions, the national human rights institution, and representatives of the diplomatic community in Harare.
In the past, the United States and the European Union have maintained that they will not remove sanctions until Harare meets certain obligations which will usher in democracy and the rule of law..
