Submitted to: The General Assembly Subject: Land Seizures in Zimbabwe Proposed by: Barbados Signatories: Chile, France, Ireland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, United Kingdom, Vietnam
The General Assembly,
1) Aware of the current land seizure programme in Zimbabwe, and
2) Alarmed by the manner in which land is being seized, particularly that land is 3) being taken only from descendents of British settlers to be given to friends 4) and family members of President Robert Mugabe, and
5) Aware that most of the
farmers have already stated that they are willing to participate
6) in a compensated land
distribution programme and that several nations have offered aid
7) to support it, and
8) Noting that land is seized without compensation, often by armed militants, 9) and many of the farmers have been forced off of their property with nowhere 10) else to go, particularly the 2900 ordered to leave their farms by August 8 as 11) part of the "fast track" programme, and
12) Appalled at the murder of eleven white farmers during violence since the 13) commencement of this process in early 2000, and
14) Recognizing additionally that over a million people have been displaced by the land seizures in addition 15) to the more than 4000 farm owners knowing that most of Zimbabwe's farming and food production originates 16) from those same properties being seized under the terms of the aforementioned programme, and
17) Noting additionally that the Harare High Court has temporarily halted 54 land 18) seizures because they were improperly attempted, while Mr. Mugabe has 19) continued to pursue those properties, and
20) Recognizing the need to maintain previous agreements regarding Zimbabwe¹s 21) land redistribution programme, notably the Fourth Communiqué, and
22) Alarmed that 6 million of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million citizens are at risk of 23) starvation and that the nation is in dire need of food aid, and
24) Bearing in mind the interruption to farming and food production within 25) Zimbabwe that these land seizures cause and, finally 26) refusals to many of offers of international aid:
27) 1. Calls upon the UNHCR to immediately coordinate dialogue between 28) Zimbabwe, its African neighbors, the African Union and international 29) aid donor countries in order to:
30) a. Monitor the humanitarian situation developing in Zimbabwe. 31) b. Assess the resources needed to successfully face the situation 32) c. Mediate an agreement with all bordering nations to provide means to assist 33) a potential mass migration; and 34) 2. Reccommends that the Secretary General mediates between Zimbabwe, United Kingdom, 35) Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Republic of South Africa to: 36) a. Define a compensation programme for ex-owners of seized land 37) b. Finance the adaptation of Zimbabwe's economy to the new situation 38) c. Create a government body to coordinate farming and food production development 39) d. Implement a regional agreement with bordering countries towards a common sustainable 40) usage of shared border-bridging resources (lakes, rivers, forests, farmlands, national parks) 41) e. Develop specialized university education in the sciences of farming and food production 42) f. Promote food trading and commerce by a common agreement on lowering taxes over foreign essential 43) goods; and 44) 3. Urges the countries in the Commonwealth to: 45) a. Reconsider their position on Zimbabwe's status within this organization 46) b. Assist in the humanitarian effort to lessen the sufferance of Zimbabwe's population 47) c. Find ways of helping ex-owners of seized lands to adapt to their new situation in Zimbabwe or elsewhere; and 48) 4. Condemns the Zimbabwean government of President Mugabe for systematic human rights violations including 49) unfree and unfair conduct of elections, violence against the political opposition, and restrictions on the 50) media; and 51) 5. Recommends to the Security Council to consider sanctions against the Zimbabwean regime in case diplomatic 52) initiatives in the near future, e.g. during the Franco-African summit in Paris on 20-21 February, fail; and 53) 6. Suggests that these sanctions should be modelled on those sanctions imposed on the regime by the European Union, 54) including a freeze on the overseas bank accounts of President Mugabe and senior government officials, halting all 55) arms sales to Zimbabwe, and enforcing a travel ban on President Mugabe and his senior government officials and 56) party leaders.