tabled on behalf of

Geoffrey Van Orden MEP; Mary Banotti MEP; John Corrie MEP; Nirj Deva MEP; Jacqueline Foster MEP; Michael Gahler MEP; Eija-Riita Korhola MEP; Klaus-Heiner Lehne MEP; Hanja Maij-Weggen MEP; Neil Parish MEP; Lennart Sacrédeus MEP in the name of the EPP-ED Group

in the name of the PSE Group

in the name of the ELDR Group

in the name of the Green/EFA Group

in the name of the GUE/NGL Group

in the name of the UEN Group

Bastian Belder MEP in the name of the EDD Group

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Zimbabwe on 13 April 2000, 18 May 2000, 6 July 2000, 15 March 2001 and 6 September 2001; [PSE / Greens-EFA / GUE-NGL / UEN point 1]

- having regard to the Abuja Agreement on 6 September 2001 between the Committee of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers, including a number of African States, and the Zimbabwean Government to return Zimbabwe to the rule of law and end all illegal occupations of farmland; [modified PSE point 3 / EPP-ED point 2]

- having regard to the General Affairs Council Conclusions of 25 June 2001, 8 October 2001, 29 October 2001, and 10 December 2001, which noted that no visible progress had been made to end political violence, expressed its hope that the Government of Zimbabwe would invite the EU to send observers to monitor the Presidential Elections in March 2002 and launched the consultation procedure provided for in Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement; [modified PSE point 2 / EPP-ED point 4 / EDD point 4]

- having regard to further repressive legislation put forward by the Mugabe regime since September, including the Land Acquisition Act, the Public Order & Security Bill, amendments to the Electoral Act, and the Access to Information and Privacy Bill; [EPP-ED point 5]

- having regard to the meeting of the SADC Task Force on Developments in Zimbabwe in Harare on the 10 and 11 December; [Greens / EFA point 4 & EPP-ED point 9]

- having regard to the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Bill passed by the US Congress on 4 December 2001 which paves the way for the US Administration to introduce targeted travel and financial sanctions against Mugabe and his associates including the freezing of assets; [modified EPP-ED point 8 & PSE E & Greens / EFA L]

- having regard to UN Security Council resolution 1376, adopted on 9 November 2001, which called for all states to withdraw their forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and condemned all illegal exploitation of natural resources in that country; [modified Greens-EFA point 5 & EPP-ED point 6]

- having regard to the visit of the EU Troika to Harare on 23 November when President Mugabe refused to accept EU monitors at the forthcoming Presidential Elections; [UEN point 6 & EPP-ED 7]

- having regard to the proposed meeting of the EU Presidency and Commission with representatives of the Government of Zimbabwe in Brussels during the week beginning 17 December under the terms of Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement; [UEN point 8]

whereas the further deterioration in the rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe is the direct result of the deliberate and reprehensible actions of the Mugabe regime, taken in flagrant defiance of the commitments it made at the Abuja Conference, with at least 20 new farm invasions; [modified EPP-ED & PSE A]

whereas mobs of ZANU-PF activists have been running riot unconstrained by police intervention, for example in Bulawayo on 16 November 2001, when two people were killed, hundreds injured and the headquarters of the Movement for Democratic Change ( MDC ) set on fire; [EPP-ED B]

whereas the Mugabe regime has systematically pursued a policy of persecution against the MDC in recent months, including trumped up charges against its leader Morgan Tsvangirai and imprisonment of its Treasurer and Member of Parliament, Fletcher Dulini, with members routinely subject to harassment, violent intimidation, and go in fear of their lives; [modified EPP-ED C & PSE I]

whereas the various legislative measures and actions taken in recent months by the Mugabe regime are clearly designed to intimidate the political opposition and to subvert the democratic process in Zimbabwe in the run-up to next year's Presidential Elections; [EPP-ED D]

whereas the Supreme Court judgement on 3 December 2001, that supported President Mugabe's Land Acquisition Act, indicates the extent to which the rule of law has been subverted by the partisan appointment of a new Chief Justice and three new judges to the Supreme Court in recent months; [EPP-ED E]

whereas on 29 November 2001 the Government of Zimbabwe approved the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill designed to impose significant restrictive and punitive measures on the media, with licensing of Zimbabwean journalists, penalties for those who breach a strict code of conduct and restrictions on foreign journalists, and has the potential to destroy the independent press; [modified PSE H & EPP-ED F]

whereas amendments to the Electoral Act are clearly designed to disenfranchise groups like itinerant farm workers and will effectively deny the vote to hundreds of thousands of young people without jobs and supports calls for Zimbabweans living overseas to return home to claim their right to vote; [modified EPP-ED G & ELDR G & PSE 7]

whereas a disproportionate share of land taken from the 1,700 white-owned farms has gone to supporters of President Mugabe, and notes that a UNDP technical team is currently in Zimbabwe assessing the possibility of a credible land reform programme; [EPP-ED H & PSE J]

whereas Mugabe's policies have created a humanitarian disaster that is impoverishing Zimbabwe as nearly three-quearters of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people live in abject poverty, inflation is at 98%, the economy to shrink by 7.3% in 2001, arrears on foreign debt of '‚¬766 million, and a dramatic decline in the production food forcing the World Food Programme to mount a massive relief operation to feed over 500,000 Zimbabweans who now face hunger and starvation; [modified PSE C, PSE G, and EPP-ED I]

whereas on 2 December 2001 President Mugabe arrived in Spain to receive medical treatment; [PSE F]

whereas the international criticism and reaction to recent events in Zimbabwe has grown increasingly resolute, as seen in the refusal of traditional allies like South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zambia to back Zimbabwe at the most recent ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly; [EPP-ED K]

Deplores the intensification of violence, intimidation and murder which President Mugabe and the ruling Zanu-PF party has unleashed against political opponents and farmers in spite of pledges at Abuja; [modified EPP-ED 1 & PSE 1]

Abhors the measures to restrict freedom of expression: particularly the Public Order and Security Bill and the death threats against journalists in Zimbabwe which are little more than a cynical attempt to gag the activities of the media and opposition; [modified EPP-ED 2; UEN 2]

Condemns the Government's on-going attacks on the lives and livelihoods of farmers, particularly the amendment to the Land Acquisition Act of 12 November 2001 that requires farmers issued with acquisition orders by the government to stop farming immediately and to remain confined to their houses until their forced departure from their property three months later; [EPP-ED 3]

Condemns the actions of the Mugabe regime to control the judiciary for selfish political ends and urges the Zimbabwean government to do what is necessary to guarantee the independence of the judiciary system; [EPP-ED 4 & Greens-EFA 2]

Demands that the Mugabe regime immediately fulfil its international obligations to withdraw its troops from the DRC and cease its involvement in the exploitation of the mineral resources of that country; [EPP-ED 5]

Applauds those politicians and citizens of Zimbabwe who, often in fear of their lives, continue to stand up for freedom of expression and democratic values; [EPP-ED 6]

Insists that the Presidency of the Council and the Commission now take urgent and resolute action and, in its forthcoming dealings with Zimbabwean Government representatives, must insist upon:

immediate end to political violence and a return to the rule of law in Zimbabwe, with guarantees for the basic democratic and human rights including the safety of opposition politicians,

free and fair Presidential Elections to be held in March at the latest, with full support for international monitoring, including by the EU,

an end to the arbitrary seizure of farms and the initiation of a fair process of land redistribution in accordance with the Abuja Agreement,

measures to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and the impartiality of the police,

concrete action to protect the freedom of expression of the media,

guarantees that international agencies and NGOs will not be impeded in the distribution of food and other humanitarian aid; [modified EPP-ED 7 & GUE / NGL 8]

Calls upon the Presidency of the Council and Commission to commence the 60-day countdown to further action, as stipulated in Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement, and to seek the widest possible international agreement for tough action against the Mugabe regime; [EPP-ED 8]

Calls on the European Council urgently to adopt so-called 'smart sanctions' against Zimbabwe including the identification and freezing of assets held in European countries and countries closely associated by President Mugabe, his family, and named close associates, and EU-wide visa restrictions on President Mugabe, his family, and named close associates; [PSE 9]

Condemns the Zimbabwe Government's refusal to establish an Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to conduct next year's presidential election announced for March 2002, and stresses that the establishment of an IEC is a minimum condition for a free and fair election, and calls for Electoral Commissioners to be vetted by a bipartisan Parliamentary Select Committee before confirmation; [modified PSE 7]

Calls on the European Commission and EU Member States to urge President Mugabe to implement urgently the recommendations adopted by all SADC countries at the SADC Parliamentary Forum in March 2000, on norms and standards for elections including the establishment of an Independent Electoral Commission, equal access to the state owned media, the impartiality of government security forces, foreign observers, introduction of new secure ballot boxes, the preparation of an accurate and transparent voters roll; [PSE 4]

Congratulates the SADC for its resolute stance in recent months against the excesses of the Mugabe regime and urges the heads of governments of the neighbouring states to increase their pressure upon Mr Mugabe by refusing to recognise a victory for Robert Mugabe if he fails to abide by the norms and standards on elections agreed in March 2000; [modified EPP-ED 10 & PSE 5]

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, Member States and candidate countries, the Government and Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Secretary General of the OAU, the Secretary General of SADC, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth and the President of the World Bank. [EPP-ED 11]

ENDS - agreed at Compromise Urgency Resolutions Meeting of all Political Groups on 121201

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