Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Blaker (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 24 May 2007.

Zimbabwe: UN Commission on Sustainable Development

Question: My Lords, noble Lords will be glad to hear what the Minister said. However, is not the farcical situation described in the Question the result of the fact that certain African countries are determined to vote for Mugabe on any motion, whatever the question may be? If it is suggested that the remedy for this situation is to be found in the mandate recently given to President Mbeki of South Africa by the SADC countries to facilitate dialogue between the two sides in Zimbabwe, should not the following two points be borne in mind? President Mbeki regards his appointment as meaning that he will choose who will represent each side in negotiations; and neither side will be allowed to report back to its own leaders what is happening in the negotiations. The MDC would also have to accept that President Mugabe was correctly elected as the president of Zimbabwe. Should not this situation be discussed by the G8 when it meets in a couple of weeks’ time, when the item of Africa will be on the agenda and African leaders will be attending?

Answer: My Lords, it is very likely that the G8 will look at these matters, and it is as yet a little early to draw any conclusions about how President Mbeki’s mission will be conducted. Others in SADC have a rather more robust view on what is needed than the view that has just been described. In general, it is worth noting that in the recent election, which we have deplored, there were groups, and not only of African states, that believed that nobody should interfere with the decisions of regional groupings on who should be elected, because it had not been done in the past. I differ from that view. Some people plainly cannot add to any realistic or credible discussion because their own record and that of their country is beyond the pale.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 692 c762-3
Session: 2006-07
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Africa Foreign relations Public appointments Zimbabwe Southern African Development Community UN Commission on Sustainable Development
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk