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Summary of the exchange of views on Zimbabwe
Committee on Development (DEVE)
May 28, 2008

The European Parliament adopted a human rights urgency resolution on Zimbabwe in April 2008 in which it called for the immediate release of the original election results.

On 28 May 2008, the Committee on Development (DEVE), held an exchange of views on the situation in Zimbabwe following the release of the results of the first round of the presidential election and the announcement of the date for the run off presidential contest (27 June 2008) between the current President, Mr Robert Mugabe and the leader of the main opposition political party (MDC), Mr Morgan Tsvangirai.

The permanent representative of the African Union (AU) to the EU, H.E. Mr Mahamat Saleh Annadif (Chad) was invited to brief MEPs on steps being taken by the AU to ensure free and fair elections during the run off contest, with a special focus on the AU election observation mission. Representatives of the Council and Commission also contributed to the debate.

Mr Thijs Berman, vice-chair of DEVE in his introductory remarks in the chair underlined that the EP regularly received reports about torture, killings and intimidation. According to an Amnesty International report of mid May, at least 22 people had been killed, and over 900 had been treated for injuries sustained from the violence, since the elections took place. Several hundreds had been hospitalized and hundreds of families had been forced to flee their homes after they had been burnt by gangs of "war veterans" and ZANU-PF youths. Mr Berman also stressed the role of the regional organisations in Africa, in particular the AU and SADC, in promoting a peaceful completion of the election process in Zimbabwe.

Mr Annadif took the floor and acknowledged that the current situation in Zimbabwe was of great concern to the AU. He noted that the AU was closely monitoring the situation and that the chairman of the AU commission, Mr Jean Ping, has had constructive meetings with the Presidents of Tanzania, Zambia and South Africa in a move to tackling the current impasse in Zimbabwe. He added that the AU commission had sent a special mission to Zimbabwe from 3-5 May 2008 led by the President of Tanzania to specifically deal with the election crisis.

He concluded by saying that the AU will send a strong election observation mission to Zimbabwe to monitor the upcoming run off contest and to ensure the respect of the right to vote in Zimbabwe.

Mr Domen Grgic, the representative of the Slovenian presidency of the Council also acknowledged that the current situation in Zimbabwe was alarming. He explained that the crises in Zimbabwe had been discussed at various levels in the Council, including at ministerial level, where it was stressed that there was a need for a free and fair run off contest. The EU was ready to send an election observation mission but had received no invitation so far. The representative expressed the need for the EU to support regional actors, namely the AU and SADC, to ensure that the second round election was free and fair.

He concluded by noting that Parliamentary elections and the first round of presidential elections were strong indications that Zimbabwe was on the brink of democratic reform and underlined that the second round would be a crucial moment for the future developments in the country

Mr José Manuel Pinto Teixeira, Head of Unit, DG DEV of the European Commission expressed his concerns about the current human rights situation in Zimbabwe and the fact that the current environment seemed to be not conducive to free and fair elections. He welcomed the return of Mr Tsvangirai to the country He explained that the Commission was working with the AU and SADC to assist in the deployment of election observers' teams whose presence would undoubtedly help create good conditions for free and fair elections. He stressed, however, that for the election monitoring to be effective, it was crucially important for AU and SADC's monitoring teams to arrive as soon as possible and to stay in the country until after the release and completion of the election results.

Ms Kinnock (PSE) criticised the AU's reluctance to condemn the delay of election results in Zimbabwe. She urged the EU and AU to do more to strongly condemn ongoing violence in Zimbabwe. She stressed that the Mugabe regime had been committing systematic crimes against humanity, and violated Article 7 of the Rome Statute. She expressed the need for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the human rights violations in Zimbabwe, for which the UN Security Council should refer the situation in Zimbabwe to the ICC. She also called for President Mbeki to pull pull back and let other mediators conduct the negotiations. There was a need from the Commission to provide support and legal assistance to the victims and to human rights defenders. The AU should send a team of HR experts to the country with its mission. Ms Kinnock further underlined that it was necessary to guarantee freedom of association, press freedom and access of opposition party agents to polling stations. It would be vital that also the SADC Parliamentary Forum should receive an invitation for election observation.

Mr Gahler (EPP-ED) stressed that there were 3 million refugees from Zimbabwe in neighbouring countries, and that many people would not vote because of the violence. He distributed some photo and statistical evidences, based on interviews with hospitalised opposition supporters, of the very grave post-election violence situation, including torture, beatings, ill-treatment, forced disappearances and confiscation of property. The presence of armed youth gangs was also worrying. Mr Gahler also presented statistics showing that the post-election violence was particularly dominant in former ZANU-PF heartland regions.

He noted that recent xenophobic violence in South Africa against Zimbabweans and Kenyans were closely connected to the crisis in Zimbabwe and urged South Africa to push for democratic reform in Zimbabwe. He reiterated the need for the AU and SADC to ensure that the second run off contest would be transparent and free from vote rigging. Mr Gahler also supported the call for the SACD-PF to send an Election observation mission.

Ms Gomes (PSE) expressed her concerns about South African President Mbeki's mediation, which seemed to be ineffective with considerable shortcomings. She called on the Commission to offer assistance to victims of violence and human rights defenders, also from the EIDHR. Ms Gomes agreed with Ms Kinnock that a Security Council referral is needed which could be either initiated by a European or an African country. She expressed her disappointment that arms are smuggled into Zimbabwe and at the fact that the Chinese ship carrying ammunitions to Zimbabwe was allegedly allowed to dock and unload at an Angolan port.

Mr Berman (PSE) and Mr Ribeiro Castro (EPP-ED) expressed the need for the AU and the SADC to publish a credible election observation report and to condemn violence and prevent intimidation and torture. Berman also stressed the need for a review of the EU country strategy paper on Zimbabwe to adjust to probable upcoming changes in the country after the elections. Mr Berman further urged the Commission to support the IDPs and fund the work of the civil society in Zimbabwe.

In his response, Mr Annadif held that the AU had denounced the delay in the release of election results in Zimbabwe. He reiterated that the AU would work to ensure that the runoff was credible in Zimbabwe and stressed the importance to respect the election results and the will of the people of Zimbabwe. He assured Members that their suggestions and concerns will be taken into account by the AU.

The representative of the Commission explained that the Commission had allocated EUR 25 million of humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe. The county strategy paper existed in a draft version, but it was not yet signed and could be renegotiated with a possible new government. He added that the Commission was offering support to the civil society in the country through funding of independent Zimbabwean domestic observer organisations, such as the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), which played a key role in voter education and observing post election events. The Commission also shared the view that the election observation missions should be deployed as soon as possible and stay until full completion of the election and publication of the results.

As regard to the EU post-election conflict-prevention strategy towards Zimbabwe, the Presidency's representative noted that there was a draft Strategy Option Paper drawn up in the Political and Security Committee with the possible post-election scenarios. This document takes into account possibility of a regime change in Zimbabwe after the elections and the EU's reaction to potential post-election violence. The representative further underlined that on the need for the sending of human rights experts there was also broad consensus among Member States.

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