Rights Group Says U.N. Is Failing in Zimbabwe

Reuters
December 2, 2005
Wall Street Journal
Original Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113347733369111679.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- A human-rights group accused United Nations agencies of failing to stand up to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe when his government bulldozed city slums earlier this year, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Human Rights Watch said that, instead of decisive action to help the displaced, U.N. agencies entered into negotiations with Zimbabwe based on what was acceptable to Mr. Mugabe's government.
However, the group said in its report, The obligation to protect and assist the displaced lies first with the Zimbabwean government.
When Mr. Mugabe's government demolished city slums earlier this year, it drew sharp criticism from the U.N., which said the crackdown destroyed the homes or jobs of 700,000 people and affected the lives of 2.4 million others.
But Human Rights Watch said it found serious flaws within the U.N.-led humanitarian-assistance programme in Zimbabwe. U.N. agencies...have been reluctant to confront the government over its blatant disregard of the human rights of the displaced and to protest the continued obstruction of humanitarian assistance, claiming that quiet representation would be more effective for achieving its operations, the New York-based group said in a report released in Johannesburg.
The U.N. in Zimbabwe wasn't immediately available to comment. Mike Huggins, U.N. World Food Programme spokesman in Johannesburg, said the Zimbabwe government had been unwilling to recognize that there was an urgent need for food aid because of the evictions. The WFP has been able to distribute food to about 100,000 people, he said.
There was no immediate reaction from the government, which has previously said the operation was meant to root out black-market trade in foreign currency and scarce commodities.