In a statement issued at the conclusion of a one-day meeting in the Kruger National Park last week, South Africa and the EU urged the Zimbabwe government to do more to uphold human rights. South African President Jacob Zuma headed South Africa's delegation, while the European delegation included the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso.
“We noted progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) while also recognising the ongoing challenges that are inherent in the process,” they said in a group statement, adding: “We encourage the parties in the inclusive government to finalise and endorse a road map on elections without any further delay.”
The EU commended the efforts of South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in assisting Zimbabwe’s coalition government with fulfilling the GPA, but “encouraged them to remain seized with the process.” No mention was made about ZANU PF’s ongoing refusal to honour the full terms of the agreement.
Zuma meanwhile used the meeting to again call on the EU to remove its targeted ‘shopping’ sanctions still in place against the Mugabe regime, insisting the move would help with progress in implementing the GPA. ZANU PF has used the restrictive measures as a convenient excuse not to implement the deal, arguing that the MDC-T has not fulfilled its promise to have the sanctions lifted.
But the EU’s Van Rompuy said that although they had already lifted some restrictive measures a few months ago, "a credible roadmap for elections is of utmost importance. It will facilitate for the EU a review of restricted measures." – Swradio africa
Post published in: News