Peter Tatchell’s call for international sanctions against the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.
All efforts by the Commonwealth and other western governments to engage in dialogue with the Mugabe regime have failed. Diplomatic efforts have come to nothing. The terror campaign in Zimbabwe continues unabated. Appeasement has coincided with escalating human rights violations. Mugabe’s excesses have become more extreme and blatant, not less. The time for diplomacy and persuasion is over. What is needed is tough international action to isolate and punish the Mugabe regime.
At their summit in Brisbane in 2002, Commonwealth leaders should agree an eight-point programme of international sanctions against the Mugabe regime:
* Arrest President Mugabe on charges of torture under the UN Convention Against Torture 1984
* Suspend Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth until it stops human rights violations
* Freeze the overseas bank accounts of President Mugabe, his Ministers and ZANU PF officials, and facilitate the return of stolen national assets to the people of Zimbabwe
* Send 1,000 human rights monitors to all regions of Zimbabwe to act as a deterrent against human rights abuses, and to report on acts of intimidation and violence
* Halt all arms sales to Zimbabwe, and suspend the delivery of weapon spare parts
* Enforce a travel ban on President Mugabe and his senior government officials and party leaders
* Ban the export of luxury goods to Zimbabwe to deny Mugabe and his cronies the opportunity to benefit from their ill-gotten gains.
* Lobby the United Nations and the European Union to get international agreement to implement these sanctions against the Zimbabwe regime.