UN Human Rights Chief: Sanctions Against Zimbabwe Are Backfiring
May 25, 2012
Navi Pillay, the UN's Commissioner for Human Rights, wrapped up a five day visit to tense Zimbabwe this week, at the invitation of the coalition government. She has this startling advice for western nations that are punishing Zimbabwe over its poor human rights record: suspend international sanctions.
Pillay says the economic punishment has caused banks and investors to think twice about putting their money in Zimbabwe and that affects business. While the sanctions do target individuals, the overall effect hurts all poor Zimbabweans, who must also face political instability and crushing drought.
In a speech in Harare, Pillay related this example: since 2005, Zimbabwe's maternal mortality rate has zoomed up by 40 percent. She says during the same six year time frame, there've been more outbreaks of typhoid and cholera because fewer people can't get to clean water. Other factors may play a role in the disasters, but Pillay maintains the sanctions harm Zimbabweans.
This view is dramatically opposed by Human Rights Watch. In February, the group observed that while Zimbabwe began taking small steps toward political reform with the formation of a unity government in 2009, the country's human rights record is abysmal.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/05/25/153706791/un-human-rights-chief-sanctions-against-zimbabwe-are-backfiring
Navi Pillay is from South Africa,
