Sundayopinion: Sanctions are evil, retrogressive

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 08 May 2010 18:37

I listened to a programme recently whereby some Zimbabweans living abroad
who have failed or refused to buy into the idea of inclusivity as
represented by the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Zimbabwe, were
making uninformed suggestions on the subject of the lifting of sanctions on
the people of Zimbabwe as represented by the economic embargo on Zimbabwean
companies and government officials by the European Union and the Americans
through the Zimbabwe Democracy Economic Recovery Act.
All major political parties on the Zimbabwe political landscape have signed
up to have this imperialistic nonsense removed, yet some Zimbabweans who
have other agendas that do not include the reconstruction of Zimbabwe are
suggesting that the Americans and the European Union should lift the
economic sanctions on Zimbabwe and substitute them with international arrest
warrants targeted at Zanu PF officials as a way of arming twisting them to
concede to MDC-T demands.

The same characters who are calling for this impossible scenario have also
gone to the extent of sighting the arrest of Augusto Pinochet in London
under the Universal Jurisdiction principle as the modus operandi to which
they base their unilateral dreams.

Every sane Zimbabwean should now be calling for the repeal of all sanctions
imposed on the country as the last 10 years have proved that their only
purpose has been to kill millions of Zimbabweans as the country struggles to
import basic necessities such as chemicals for water purification, HIV and
Aids medication and supplementary food for the rural folk.

It was mindboggling to listen to Zimbabwean nationals proposing that the
West issue international arrest warrants on elected government officials.

To demonstrate the shallowness of some of these foolish and desperate ideas,
those discussing them never bothered to try and understand, let alone even
consider the practicality or possibility of their ideas.

Zimbabwe is a sovereign country that stands guided by international norms
and laws like any other country. It is not possible for any country to
suddenly wake on any one day and issue international arrest warrants on
government officials of another country without following the jus cogens
(compelling law) under international rules.

International arrest warrants can only be issued by internationally
recognised legal institutions like the International Criminal Court (ICC)
for a defined international violation. And the ICC can only issue valid
warrants on individuals who belong to member countries.

Zimbabwe has not ratified the Rome Statute hence the ICC has no jurisdiction
over Zimbabwean public officials whatsoever, be they Zanu PF, MDC or
otherwise. The only other institution that has the power to issue such
warrants is the United Nations Security Council.

This we all know requires the consent of all the five permanent members.
That is a process on its own.

The purported arrest of Augusto Pinochet following his arrival in London was
fraught with discrepancies under international law as the basis is not a
developed norm. (That of universal jurisdiction).

It relies heavily on domestic norms vis-a-vis international legal
principals. It is an underdeveloped international principal hence
practically of no use. That explains why Jack Straw the then Justice
Secretary intervened.

As Zimbabweans we need to be speaking positively about our country. We need
to be speaking out against international embargos that restrict trade and
the importation of basic commodities that make our country function.

The reality on the ground is that Zimbabwe as a result of the sanctions
cannot import medicine for our brothers and sisters.

Motor vehicle accidents are happening on a daily basis because the machinery
that was used to fix the roads is grounded, large numbers of people are
dying needlessly as a result.

There are no ambulances to ferry the injured to hospital. If by some fluke
one makes it to hospital there is no medicine to talk about. The police
cannot respond to crime because they have no vehicles as they are grounded;
they cannot import spares for the large number of Land Rover Defender
vehicles that are of British origin.

If our leaders on all sides of the political divide have realised that
Zimbabwe will not move forward if we are not united, it then boggles the
mind to think why Zimbabweans living abroad find it prudent to
intellectualise the issue of sanctions.

Our role in the diaspora is to educate those that manufactured these
sanctions as to what the real impact of the embargo has been.

n Lloyd Msipa is a Lawyer based in the United Kingdom and he can be
contacted at

lmsipalaw@googlemail.com

BY LLOYD MSIPA