Secretary-General briefs the media on trouble spots, including Zimbabwe

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On 29 July, the Security Council received a briefing by the Secretary General's Special Representative Mr. Menkarios.

On 11 July 2008 the Security Council voted on a US drafted resolution which would have imposed sanctions on Robert Mugabe and 13 other individuals in his regime.  Regrettably, despite a commitment from the G8 leaders, widespread concern at the level of violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe, and nine Security Council members voting for the resolution,  two vetoes (from Russia and China) meant the resolution was not adopted.

Click hear to read the UK's statement or watch the BBC footage. Click to read the UK Permanent Representative's comments at the UN press stakeout.

Background

On 8 July 2008,  the Deputy Secretary-General spoke to the Security Council on Zimbabwe, underlining the violence, the intimidation and the appalling conditions that prevailed in the run-up to the second round of elections which she, along with every other independent observer, has characterised as illegitimate and failing to represent the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

On 27 June, after the flawed second round of the Presidential elections in Zimbabwe, US Ambassador Khalilzad said in his capacity as President of the Security Council that Council Members

• reaffirmed the Council's statement of 23 June;
• agreed that the conditions for free and fair elections did not exist and it was a matter of deep regret that the elections went ahead in these circumstances;
• and expected a report from the UN on regional and international efforts on the crisis, including the upcoming meetings of the African Union.

On 23 June, following the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)'s withdrawal from the 27 June election run-off, the Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement on Zimbabwe.  That statement condemned the campaign of violence against the opposition in Zimbabwe and the denial of the MDC's right to campaign, which made a free and fair election on 27 June impossible.  It notes that any Government of Zimbabwe, to be legitimate, must take account of the interests of all its citizens and that the 29 March results must be respected. The Presidential Statement also called on the Government of Zimbabwe to co-operate with all efforts to find a way forward through dialogue, to allow humanitarian organisations to resume their activities and asking the Secretary General to report further on efforts to resolve the crisis.

Under Secretary General Pascoe also briefed a formal meeting of the Security Council on 23 June. He painted a bleak picture, saying that there was "a new degree of gravity" to the situation, which posed a major challenge to regional stability and threatened to set a dangerous precedent. He said there was a "staggering degree of violence" in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe was first discussed in the Security Council in 2005 after Kofi Annan (then Secretary-General) sent a representative - Anna Tibaijuka - to the country to report back to him on the humanitarian consequences of President Mugabe's forced evictions. On her return, the UK asked Tibaijuka to brief the Council. A number of Security Council Members, including China and Russia, objected, arguing that Zimbabwe wasn't a threat to international peace and security and so shouldn't be discussed in the Council. But in a procedural vote (in which the Permanent Five Members of the Council do not have a veto), the Council voted 9-6 to hear Tibaijuka's briefing.

The Security Council discussed Zimbabwe in March 2007, after opposition leader Tsvangirai was beaten while in police custody. In spring 2008 the Council again discussed Zimbabwe, after a constitutional crisis was provoked by delays to the release of Zimbabwe's Presidential election results, and then massive electoral violence after the results were released.  The Council continues to consider the issue in the wake of the flawed second round of those Presidential elections, which was preceded by massive violence against and intimidation of the opposition.

The Government of Zimbabwe has, as part of its campaign of intimidation, suspended permission for NGOs to operate in Zimbabwe. The UK, which provides £40m ($80m) a year in humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe through UN agencies and civil society organisations, is appalled by this inexplicable and inhumane measure.