Written question asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative) on Wednesday, 25 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 October 2006. It was answered by Geoffrey Hoon (Labour) on Thursday, 2 November 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Zimbabwe

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations with her UN colleagues to the government of Zimbabwe on the imposition of targeted sanctions.

Answer: We have pressed for continued international attention to Zimbabwe, including through discussion at the UN Security Council. Most recently Jan Egeland, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, briefed the UN Security Council on Zimbabwe on 15 September.There is no UN sanctions regime on Zimbabwe. There is therefore no agreed basis on which collectively to make representations to the Government of Zimbabwe. But some UN members do have their own targeted sanctions on members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other individuals responsible for the country’s deterioration. This includes the EU, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and associated countries. EU targeted sanctions include a travel ban and assets freeze on Mugabe and 126 members of his regime, as well as an arms embargo. We regularly discuss these with the Government of Zimbabwe.

Secondary information