Back to Index

Intended mass deportations and tightening of border controls
Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF)
July 12, 2007

The Zimbabwe Situation of the 12th of July 2007 reports that there is a plan by the South African and Botswana governments to deport Zimbabweans en masse in the next few weeks, ostensibly so that Zimbabweans can go home and vote. It has been alleged that under operation "Mugabe take your people", at least a hundred coaches will leave for Zimbabwe from SA and that about 20 000 people will be deported in a week's time.

ZEF has serious concerns about these reports, if true. Firstly, many exiled Zimbabweans fled Zimbabwe in fear for their lives and are liable to not only persecution, but torture and possibly death if they are genuine asylum and refuge seekers in host countries. ZEF therefore shudders to imagine their fate upon arrival.

ZEF also views the proposed operation as tantamount to pawning the lives of many Zimbabweans in a failed SADC political game that hinges on South Africa's widely discredited 'quiet diplomacy'. If this move is carried out, it would reflect the insensitivity of these two countries and SADC as a whole to the plight of Zimbabweans who are targets of President Robert Mugabe's misrule. The move would be akin to complicity in committing crimes against humanity on the part of these countries as most exiles stand to face not only starvation and other privations, but also torture, arbitrary detention and disappearance.

Further to the above, sending the exiled en masse to Zimbabwe towards election time will amount to grave violations of international human rights principles and refugee laws.

Commenting on this and reports that border security with Zimbabwe is going to be intensified, ZEF Executive Director and human rights lawyer, Gabriel Shumba said today

"The assistance that the exiled Zimbabweans need at this point is for the SADC states to recognise and act on the root cause of the Zimbabwean crisis. SADC also needs to pressure the Zimbabwean government to allow its exiled populace to regain their franchise, as well as to make it possible for those outside Zimbabwe to exercise their right to vote through Zimbabwean embassies. Once the majority of Zimbabweans have chosen their own government, and if that government respects their rights as citizens, the threat to regional peace and stability that is Zimbabwe today will have been removed."

ZEF believes that there is no doubt that the situation in Zimbabwe now poses a serious threat to regional peace and security. It obviously now warrants intervention under SADC or the UN Security Council to alleviate the suffering of the Zimbabwean people. Arguably, the UN Security Council's Responsibility to Protect could be invoked to deal with the situation, just as it should be used in Dafur. Otherwise, the legitimacy and efficacy of regional and international conflict resolution mechanisms and the struggle against impunity will remain undermined.

Visit the ZEF fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP