Citizens for Global Solutions

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND JUSTICE | Crisis in Zimbabwe

Illegal Operation: Crisis in Zimbabwe

Two months ago, the government of Zimbabwe launched "Operation Murambatsvina," initiating a large-scale humanitarian crisis across several key cities in Zimbabwe, including the capital, Harare. Translated as “Operation Drive Out the Rubbish,” Operation Murambatsvina has consisted of the systematic bulldozing, torching, and destruction of homes, stores, and clinics in the poorest parts of Zimbabwe’s urban areas.

The Operation has resulted in the displacement of over 700,000 Zimbabweans, including children with HIV/AIDS. UN Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka, an international diplomat from Tanzania, spent two weeks in Zimbabwe and produced an official report condemning the Operation as “indiscriminate and unjustified” with “indifference to human suffering.”

While the government has stated that the Operation is to drive out black market trading and other criminal activity in the city slums, Tibaijuka’s report paints a different picture. It describes the suffering as “immense, particularly among widows, single mothers, children, orphans, the elderly and disabled persons.”

The report calls for the international community to “encourage the government to prosecute all those who orchestrated this catastrophe and those who may have caused criminal negligence leading to alleged deaths." However prosecution is unlikely as Operation Murambatsvina was initiated and run by the government itself.

In response to the crisis in Zimbabwe, and the government’s complete disregard for human life and dignity, Representative Tom Lantos, ranking member of the House International Relations Committee (HIRC), supported by Rep. Henry Hyde, Chairman of the HIRC, has introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning Operation Murambatsvina. Rep. Lantos’ resolution calls on the Zimbabwean government to “allow international humanitarian organizations access to those affected by the Operation who are in need of food, medicine, shelter, sanitation, and water." It also demands that the government "hold accountable those responsible for the egregious injury to the Zimbabwean people" and to "restore their homes and livelihoods with due haste.” Lastly, the resolution calls on the President of the United States “to instruct the Executive Director to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to vote for the compulsory withdrawal of Zimbabwe as a member of the IMF if the government does not allow emergency humanitarian access for the international community.”

Citizens for Global Solutions applauds Rep. Lantos’ initiative and calls on Congress and President Bush to swiftly pass and sign the resolution. We also encourage African leaders to stand with the U.N., individuals like Rep. Lantos, and African civil society in condemning this violence. It is vital that the U.S. work with regional allies and international institutions to prevent further violence and provide humanitarian assistance to the victims.

Updated August 9, 2005

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