Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the treatment of Zimbabwean citizens by the government of Zimbabwe.

In recent weeks we have noted with increasing concern the heavy-handed response of the authorities to peaceful and lawful demonstrators, and violence against opposition parties and social activists. We regularly call upon the Zimbabwean Government to end human rights abuses and restore internationally accepted standards. On 18 November our Ambassador and EU Heads of Mission in Harare issued a statement expressing concern at the increase in incidents, in violation of the fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in Chapter 4 of the Constitution.