HARARE – Pressure continues to mount on the United States of America to remove illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West.
A member of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), Professor Lovemore Madhuku, says Zimbabwe and other regional blocs such as SADC and the African Union have succeeded in expressing their concern and disapproval of the illegal embargo.
This comes as SADC member states will next month join hands as they call for the removal of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West.
“We need to appreciate that we have now succeeded in spreading that message to say sanctions must be removed. We have SADC, AU and UN elements appreciating that sanctions ought to be removed and it is unnecessary to deal with Zimbabwe through the avenue of sanctions,” he said.
Professor Madhuku added that the coercive measures have decimated the country’s socio-economic development for the past two decades.
“The major effects are clear like our access to lines of credit. As Zimbabwe, we are unable to benefit from what others benefit from. If there are opportunities like you borrow money and pay back with existing concessional rate, that is not happening.”
Between the 18th and 28th of October last year, United Nations Special Rapporteur, Dr Alena Douhan embarked on a 10-day fact-finding mission on the impact of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West.
During the course of her visit, she engaged various stakeholders in different socio-economic sectors culminating in a report which urges the United States to cease the state of national emergency regarding Zimbabwe, which is not in accordance with the norms of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur also called for the US national legislation to be aligned to international law, including human rights law, refugee law and the law of international responsibility. – ZBC
