Memo on Zimbabwe


Memorandum on Zimbabwe

To: President Trump
From: Renee Radavich
Date: March 28, 2018
RE: Elections in Zimbabwe


Introduction

On November 21, 2017, Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, resigned after 37 years of tyrannical reign. Now, Emmerson Mnangagwa, a close associate of Mugabe, is gearing up to take over, and host free and fair elections. He has even gone as far as inviting the United Nations, European Union, and Commonwealth to observe the elections. Although we should remain skeptical of Mnangagwa, the United States should not take any independent measures outside of the scope of the United Nations in the upcoming elections. Our state has its own issues with race which makes us not the best example for Zimbabwe. Therefore, we need to take a back seat when dealing with Zimbabwe and its upcoming elections.

Human Rights Abuses in Zimbabwe

Under the rule of President Mugabe, the citizens of Zimbabwe suffered from economic turmoil and human rights violations:
1. Mugabe’s political opponents were beaten, sexually abused and sometimes charged with treason and homosexual offenses. 
2.    White farmers were often attacked, their homes burned, their possessions looted and their land confiscated. White people made up less than 1% of the population but were blamed for many of the problems in the country, due to Great Britain’s previous colonization of the nation. They were the targets of angry citizens and President Mugabe encouraged such violence.
3.    Due to the eviction of thousands of commercial farmers and their workers, the nation was plagued with a food shortage, and starvation because rampant.
 Now, with Mugabe out of power, tensions are high, and the future is uncertain

Current Situation in the United States

Following several African American deaths at the hands of the police, the Black Lives Matter movement was created to fight racial injustice in the United States. Since its launch, they have been campaigning against systematic racism and violence towards the black community. There has also been multiple protests and riots throughout the country, notably Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore, Maryland, and Charlotte, North Carolina. In recent years, the United States has been witness to an increase in civil unrest. We do not have mass human rights violations like Zimbabwe, but we still have racial injustice in our country that we need to focus on. Therefore, we are not the nation to be leading the elections in Zimbabwe.

What the United States should do

President Mnangagwa has already invited the United Nations, the European Union, and the Commonwealth to come and observe the elections set to happen in July of this year. Had Mnangagwa wanted the United States to partake, he would have personally asked us. The United States, being part of the United Nations, should not do anything outside the scope of what the Security Council decides to do. As stated above, the United States is dealing with their own civil unrest and is not the best example for Zimbabwe. The United Nations is perfectly equipped to deal with peacekeeping during the elections if they chose to do so. We need to trust that the international community will be able to handle the situation in Zimbabwe with ease.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 8, 2018 at 4:22 PM

    Renee, I like your ideas, especially with the whole the UN is already involved. I think why this is so important is because if the UN witnesses the elections and finds something problematic, it is more than just one country finding it problematic, its almost 200 nations finding it problematic. If it was solely the US, it could seem like a direct attack from one country on another. I agree that we need to trust the international community because what we may find problematic, the majority of other countries may not and we don't always need to play the police officer of the world. We are not the only country in the world and I think what is best in this situation is for the US to trust the international community.

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  2. UnknownApril 15, 2018 at 6:01 PM

    Renee, I like the use of United Nations to ensure something is done. However, I do have a problem with the trust in the security council which some questionable members sit on. This trust could be used against us and we could see the elections fail to amount to what we would expect. I understand the United States should not be the world police, but there are times where the interests of the United States does not go along with the United Nations. Overall, this use and tactic could work in our favor.

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