The United States has designated eleven Zimbabwean individuals and three entities, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, under Global Magnitsky sanctions program for their connection to corruption or serious human rights abuses.
Secretary of States, Antony Blinken who disclosed this in a statement on Monday revealed that the United States continues to have concerns regarding serious cases of corruption and human rights abuse in Zimbabwe.
Stating that these designations are part of a stronger, more targeted sanctions policy towards Zimbabwe the US is implementing following President Biden’s approval of a new Executive Order terminating the Zimbabwe sanctions program that had been in effect since 2003.
He added that key individuals, including members of Government of Zimbabwe, bear responsibility for these actions, including the looting of government coffers that robs Zimbabweans of public resources. “Multiple cases of abductions, physical abuse, and unlawful killing have left citizens living in fear”.
Blinken noted that the United States is committed to ensuring our sanctions are relevant, timely, and targeted against those most closely connected to corruption and human rights abuses.
“We continue to urge the Government of Zimbabwe to move toward more open and democratic governance, including addressing corruption and protecting human rights, so all Zimbabweans can prosper”, the Secretary of States added.
“The changes we are making today are intended to make clear what has always been true: our sanctions are not intended to target the people of Zimbabwe,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said.
“We are refocusing our sanctions on clear and specific targets: President Mnangagwa’s criminal network of government officials and businesspeople who are most responsible for corruption or human rights abuse against the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Mnangagwa, whose party has been in power for more than four decades, was declared the winner of a new term in an election in August that international observers said fell short of democratic standards.
He is the second consecutive Zimbabwean leader to face US sanctions following veteran president Robert Mugabe.
Hopes of a thaw briefly surfaced after Mnangagwa pushed Mugabe out of power in 2017, but Western powers and rights groups say that the new leadership has also clamped down on the opposition and protests.
President Joe Biden, in a declaration on Monday, ended an earlier sanctions programme on Zimbabwe imposed in 2003 under George W. Bush, who had advocated for a broader global push of sanctions on the country under Mugabe.
