In light of the escalating violent repression of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change - and of those whose support apparently helped the MDC to prevail in the presidential election, the results of which have still not been announced after four weeks [the presidential results were finally released on May 1 with MDC Tsvangirai scooping 47.9 percent of the valid votes cast against Mugabe's 43.2 percent-Editor] - an international arms embargo on Zimbabwe is urgently needed.
In addition, we call on the African Union, with the support of the United Nations, to send an investigative mission to Zimbabwe to determine what additional measures may be required to carry out the internationally accepted "responsibility to protect." The concept of the "responsibility to protect" was adopted unanimously by the UN World Summit in 2005. Yet, it remains controversial because it is often assumed that it implies the use of military force for purposes of humanitarian intervention. We believe, as was recognized at the UN World Summit, that military force should only be a last resort when needed to prevent or halt large-scale loss of life. The first step is to gather reliable information so that it is possible to know what international measures are required to prevent a disaster.
In the case of Zimbabwe, it is extremely difficult to obtain such information. Mugabe's regime has systematically shut down independent media, attacked independent civil society organizations, denied visas to foreign journalists, and has arrested and beaten journalists who nevertheless enter the country. Foreign observers were present when the voting took place in Zimbabwe on March 29, and their presence helped to ensure that the election itself was peaceful. The observers have long since left the country, however, and the reports that have filtered out suggest that in some parts of the country, Mugabe's opponents are now experiencing a reign of terror. The Constitutive Act of the African Union provides in Article 4 the "right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity [as well as a serious threat to legitimate order]." Here too, however, actual military intervention should only be a last resort.
