HC Deb 17 November 2003 vol 413 cc664-5W
Mr. Best

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contacts his Department has had with theDaily News in Zimbabwe. [137635]

Mr. Mullin

Our High Commission in Harare maintains regular contact with media organisations in Zimbabwe, including theDaily News, as part of its routine duties. High Commission representatives also attended the court hearings that followed the Daily News closure on 12 September 2003. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has since issued two press statements on 15 and 20 September condemning the Government of Zimbabwe for its harassment of the free and independent media in Zimbabwe. Copies of the press release are available on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk/policy/news/press-releases.

Representatives from the Daily News were in London recently to raise awareness of the plight of the newspaper. I met them on 6 November.

Mr. Best

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met President Mbeki to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe. [137638]

Mr. Mullin

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last met President Mbeki in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly on 24 September. They discussed Zimbabwe.

Mr. Robathan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to urge the Commonwealth to expel Zimbabwe. [138407]

Mr. Mullin

Commonwealth decisions are made by consensus. The issue will be discussed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting next month.

The Commonwealth Secretary General has listed five benchmarks where there would have to be progress before Zimbabwe could be re-admitted to the Councils of the Commonwealth:

  1. Achieving national reconciliation and dialogue;
  2. Repealing legislation that prejudices freedom of speech, of the press and of peaceful assembly;
  3. Stopping harassment of the political opposition and civil society;
  4. Addressing the recommendations of the two Commonwealth election observer group reports;
  5. Engaging the Commonwealth Secretariat and UN Development Programme on a proper land reform programme.

We see no case for readmitting Zimbabwe to the Councils of the Commonwealth while it remains in breach of these benchmarks and of the Harare Principles.

Mr. Robathan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to press the United Nations(a) to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe and (b) to debate the issue of Zimbabwe. [138408]

Mr. Mullin

We maintain regular contact with the UN Secretary General, the UN Development Programme and the World Food Programme about Zimbabwe. We supported EU resolutions at the UN Human Rights Commission in 2002 and 2003. Regrettably these resolutions fell to `No Action' motions.

As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear to the House on 10 June 2003, Official Report, column 524, we would only go to the United Nations Security Council for a resolution when we believed that we would win one. Tabling a resolution on UN sanctions would be certain to fail and would only hand Mugabe a gratuitous victory.

We will continue to encourage the UN to focus on the crisis in Zimbabwe.