Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department maintains an ongoing dialogue with the Vice-President of Zimbabwe; and what representations his Department has made to the Vice-President of Zimbabwe on the January 2019 violence in that country.

The UK meets regularly with the full range of stakeholders in Zimbabwe from across the political spectrum including members of the ruling and opposition parties, judiciary and civil society. British Embassy officials last met with Vice President Chiwenga in September 2018.

We have made our views clear to the Government of Zimbabwe following the January 2019 violence. Her Majesty's Ambassador to Zimbabwe last met Foreign Minister Moyo on 20 February and I spoke to him on 30 January. I reinforced our calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to investigate all allegations of human rights violations and urged them to follow the due process of law for all those arrested in connection to January's protests.