Page 40 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 29

Leadership
settlers.
In response to the dire situation, the Zimbabwe
Anti-Sanctions Movement (ZASM) was formed
as ZUAUWS (Zimbabweans Unite Against U.S.
War Sanctions) and mobilized to advocate for the
lifting of these illegal coercive economic
measures. Our efforts involved educating all
Zimbabweans, including government officials, on
these sanctions; engaging international bodies
and other human rights organizations on the
issue; mobilizing and organizing Zimbabweans to
fight sanctions; lobbying regional institutions like
SADC and the South African government to
champion the fight against these illegal sanctions.
Eventually, our efforts got the attention of US
lawmakers and members of the U.S. security
system, who approached us to understand our
grievances. We presented arguments and
evidence showing the magnitude by which U.S.
sanctions contravened and violated international
law, human rights principles, and put to shame
the rules-based system that had been created by
the U.S. government itself.
In particular, we raised the grievance that in the
20 years of sanctions on Zimbabwe, the U.S.
government had failed to undertake human rights
impact assessments (HRIA) of their unilateral
coercive measures on innocent civilian, either
when initiating the sanctions or on their yearly
renewal. As a result, they had failed to assess,
monitor, mitigate and remedy the suffering
caused by their sanctions upon civilians, as UN
guidelines on sanctions implementation
recommended.
From this engagement in April 2021, the persons
we engaged, wrote a report to the U.S. Congress
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informing them of our legitimate concerns on
how U.S. sanctions were violating human rights.
On May 25, 2021, the U.S. Congress sub-
committee on health, human rights, and
organization, led by Karen Bass, wrote an email
to POLAD in Zimbabwe, informing them that
they would be undertaking a human rights impact
assessment of U.S. sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Of interest, was the fact that the subcommittee
did not just end with undertaking this assessment
in Zimbabwe, but they also extended it to all
African countries under U.S. sanctions. This was
the first time in history that the U.S. government
ever undertook an assessment of their own
sanctions since the advent of executive order
sanctions to advance their political aims. It was
clear from this response, that the U.S.
government had taken serious note of our
concerns and were trying to remedy those
concerns, retrospectively.
That impact assessment would go on to prove
that their executive order sanctions on Zimbabwe
were depriving all Zimbabweans of the
enjoyment of their human rights, healthcare, and
development.
From this assessment, the subcommittee wrote a
report to Congress and the White House
recommending that the U.S. government remove
the executive order sanctions on Zimbabwe
because they were persecuting civilians and
depriving them of their human rights.
It must be remembered at this point, that in 2000,
while lobbying for sanctions to be imposed on
Zimbabwe, Chester Crocker asked U.S.
congressmen and senators to stomach the pain