This archive report was first published on 28 October 2021.
On October 28, 2021, Alena Douhan, the UN special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, concluded a 10-day fact-finding mission in Zimbabwe.
During her visit, Professor Douhan from Belarus urged the US and other Western countries to lift their sanctions on Zimbabwe, citing the restrictive measures' impact on ordinary people.
“The US and other states should lift their sanctions on targeted individuals and entities and end over-compliance,” Professor Douhan told journalists in Harare.
The US first imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in March 2003, and later widened them to include about 250 individuals linked to late ruler Robert Mugabe for allegedly undermining democracy.
US sanctions against Zimbabwe also prohibit Americans from engaging in any transactions or dealings with people or government-linked institutions on the list that is reviewed annually.
On the other hand, the European Union (EU) imposed a travel ban on Mr Mugabe and dozens of other officials in 2002 following a disputed presidential election in the Southern African country.
Only the long-time ruler’s widow Grace Mugabe and the state-owned Zimbabwe Defence Industries remain on the EU sanctions list.
Professor Douhan said the restrictions and “over-compliance with sanctions in their complexity had exacerbated pre-existing social and economic challenges with devastating consequences for the people of Zimbabwe, especially those living in poverty, women, children, elderly, people with disabilities as well as the marginalised and other vulnerable groups.”
