To address this question, we need to revisit the history of U.S. sanctions on Zimbabwe. In 2000, Democrats Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, alongside Republican Jesse Helms, sponsored the bipartisan Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Reconstruction Act (ZDERA). This act urged then-Republican President George W. Bush to impose executive order sanctions on Zimbabwe.
In 2003, President Bush issued executive order sanctions upon investors, businesses, and politicians shortly after Robert Mugabeβs 2002 election victory which saw the fast-tracking of land reform in Zimbabwe.
In 2005, Bush extended these sanctions on investors and businesses through EO13391, aiming to destabilize Zimbabweβs economy, in hopes of aiding the opposition’s chances in 2008 elections.
In July 2008, Zimbabweβs opposition failed to unseat ZANU-PF, so President Bush amended executive order sanctions to EO13469 to target the Zimbabwean government, its parastatals, financial institutions, and any entities conducting business with them. This economic coercion contributed to Zimbabweβs acceptance of a government of national unity (GNU), which led to the 2013 Constitution mandating compensation of white farmers for improvements made on sequestrated land.
Then, in the 2013 election, ZANU-PF secured a two-thirds majority which kicked the opposition out of government. In response, in 2018, Republican President, Donald Trump, amended ZDERA and extended the previous executive orders, to maintain sanctions on Zimbabwe.
May 2021, a Democratic Congresswoman, chairing the Subcommittee on Human Rights, Health, and Organization, conducted a human rights impact assessment on U.S. sanctions on Zimbabwe, as requested by ZASM. This assessment concluded that U.S. sanctions were depriving Zimbabwean civilians of healthcare and other basic human rights. Based on this, the Subcommittee issued a report to Democrat President, Joe Biden, urging him to lift the sanctions which were violating human rights, if not perpetuating crimes against humanity, in Zimbabwe.
On March 4, 2024, President Biden finally lifted sanctions on Zimbabwe, influenced by the Congress subcommitteeβs human rights impact assessment report, the September 2022 UN Human Rights Councilβs report on the negative impact of sanctions on Zimbabwe and the March 2022 case: ZASM vs South African and U.S. banks, the US President and others in South African court.
In my view, a Trump victory would likely have minimal impact on Zimbabwean sanctions because the same Congress that once requested Bush to impose executive sanctions through ZDERA, requested their removal, citing violations of civilian human rights.
For Zimbabwe and SADC, Trump will be preoccupied with Israel and Ukraine, presenting a strategic window of opportunity. Therefore, the region should leverage the Congressional and the UN Human Rights Council reports on Zimbabwe sanctions, by submitting a formal demand for reparations to the U.S. Congress, the Department of State, and the President, for the sanctions that brought deaths (genocide: they deliberately killed a part of our people -over a million people) and human rights violations (depriving of basic services and displacement of over 3 million refugees) upon Zimbabwean civilians and the region.
The demand should make clear that if the U.S. does not address these crimes against SADC civilians, they will take the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). At a time when the U.S. is seeking to bolster its position and western rules based system to offset BRICS, the last thing it needs is an ICJ ruling against it for crimes against humanity.
In addition, those listed under Magnitsky sanctions imposed on 11 designated nationals by Biden on the 4th of March, 2024 when he removed the executive orders, should file petitions with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to be removed from sanctions that punish them without trial. Zimbabwe and its SADC partners have this one window to press the U.S. to honor its role as a defender of human rights, before Trump settles down.
The U.S. has pressing challenges that depend on it preserving its image as a global human rights protector to prevent its rules based system collapsing. This moment offers an opportunity to urge the U.S. to reaffirm its commitment of being a champion for human rights by addressing reparations and restoring humanity of Zimbabweans that were eroded by illegal sanctions.
Written by Rutendo Matinyarare, Chairman of ZASM.
