Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the restrictions placed on independent trade union activity in Zimbabwe.

The British Embassy in Harare regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders to improve our understanding of political and economic issues in Zimbabwe. The UK does not fund trade unions or involve itself in industrial disputes between the Government and civil servants. However, as the periodic review of human rights in Zimbabwe shows, we are concerned by restrictions on freedom of assembly and the harassment of opposition supporters and civil society, and that the draft Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) amendment bill could be used to restrict civic space if passed into law.