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Zimbabwe: Elections

My Lords, on the first point, we are trying to follow the fast-changing developments in Harare. I cannot comment on people being removed from the MDC headquarters, because I do not know the facts. We do know that Mr Tsvangirai is secure in the Dutch embassy. Both events make clear that the violence has not stopped but is continuing, and the need for monitoring and documenting it for later action remains as important as ever. On the second point about the ICC, I did not answer that point earlier only because it is a complicated and long answer. Because Zimbabwe is a non-signatory, it would require a referral by the Security Council. My view is that that is by no means impossible, but it is likely to come only at the end of a process where the Security Council despairs of an early, speedy political resolution of the issue and feels obliged to move to an ICC indictment. Even without an ICC indictment, the possibility of European arrest warrants and other legal proceedings internationally against the regime grows closer by the day. Let me reassure the noble Lord that there are many NGOs and others, including our embassy, that are documenting abuses as they occur.