United States–Zimbabwe relations
United States |
Zimbabwe |
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Diplomatic mission | |
Zimbabwean Embassy, Washington, D.C. |
United States–Zimbabwe relations are
History of relations
U.S. relations with Rhodesia
United States |
Rhodesia |
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After the
In 1971, despite Administration opposition, the
The United States supported the United Nations and the United Kingdom consistently in their efforts to influence Rhodesian authorities to accept the principles of majority rule.[4] Beginning in 1976, the United States began to take a more active role in the search for a settlement in cooperation with the UK. The Anglo-American proposals of late-1977, aimed at bringing a negotiated end to the dispute, lent the weight of the United States to the search for a peaceful settlement and were a counterpart to the Soviet-Cuban use of military power to increase their influence in southern Africa.[5]
U.S. relations with Zimbabwe
The United States supported British efforts to bring about and implement the settlement signed at Lancaster House on December 21, 1979, and extended official diplomatic recognition to the new government immediately after independence as the Republic of Zimbabwe. A resident Embassy was established in Salisbury on Zimbabwean Independence Day, April 18, 1980. The first U.S. Ambassador arrived and presented his credentials in June 1980. US President Jimmy Carter met with Zimbabwean Prime Minister Robert Mugabe in August 1980.[6] Author Geoff Hill criticized Carter for keeping "quiet as Mugabe's ZANU government nationalised the press, committed genocide against minority tribes and subverted [Zimbabwe's] constitution to make himself the sole source of authority."[5]
At the Zimbabwe conference on reconstruction and development (ZIMCORD) in March 1981, the United States pledged $225,000,000 over a three-year period towards the Government of Zimbabwe's goals of post-war reconstruction, redistribution and development of land, and the development of skilled manpower. By the end of FY 1986, the United States had contributed $380,000,000 the majority in grants, with some loans and loan guarantees.
However, in July 1986, the US Government decided to discontinue future bilateral aid to Zimbabwe as a result of a continuing pattern of what the US government alleges were uncivil and undiplomatic statements and actions by the Government of Zimbabwe in the United Nations and elsewhere. Aid programmes previously agreed upon were not affected by the decision; nor were regional development programs that might benefit Zimbabwe. Full programming was restored in 1988.
USAID assistance to Zimbabwe since 2002 has focused on family planning,
Since 2000, the United States has taken a leading role in condemning the Zimbabwean Government's alleged assault on human rights and rule of law. In 2002 and 2003, the United States imposed targeted measures on the Government of Zimbabwe, including financial and
Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi summoned the U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell on November 9, 2005, and expressed his "extreme displeasure" with comments Dell made a few days earlier in Mutare: Dell had said government corruption had led to food shortages. Mugabe replied that Dell could "go to hell."[9] Dell left Zimbabwe for Washington, D.C., United States, on November 9 for consultations after meeting with Mumbengegwi.[10]
Mugabe visited
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met with President Obama on June 12, 2009, at the White House.[11]
After Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe's rival and leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe under a power-sharing agreement, the Barack Obama administration extended its congratulations to Tsvangirai, but said that the U.S. would wait for evidence of Mugabe's co-operation with the MDC before it would consider lifting its sanctions.[12] In early-March 2009, Obama proclaimed that US sanctions would be protracted provisionally for another year, because Zimbabwe's political crisis is as yet unresolved.[13] He explained in a statement to Congress,
The crisis constituted by the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe's democratic processes or institutions has not been resolved.
These actions and policies pose a continuing, unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States.
For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue this national emergency and to maintain in force the sanctions to respond to this threat.[14]
Principal U.S. officials
- Chargé d'Affaires ad interimand Deputy Chief of Mission — Elanie M. French
Diplomatic missions
- U.S. Embassy (Chancery), Harare
- U.S. Agency for International Development, Harare
See also
- US and UK diplomats detained in Zimbabwe
References
- Agence France-Presse. "Obama extends Zim sanctions." News24, March 5, 2009.
Notes
- ^ "Background Note: Zimbabwe". U.S. Department of State. October 14, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^ "Zimbabwe". AllGov. 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^ "U.S. - Zimbabwean Relations". EBSCO Host Connection. May 2006. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^ "Majority Rule in Zimbabwe". GlobalSecurity. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^ a b Page 85 Nigerian Foreign Policy Under Military Rule 1966-1999 by Olayiwola Abegunrin
- ^ Page 380 Notable U.S. Ambassadors Since 1775: A Biographical Dictionary
- ^ Page 33 Hating America: The New World Sport
- ^ Page 146 Allies: Why the West Had to Remove Saddam
- ^ Zimbabwe voices anger at US envoy BBC News
- ^ Ambassador leaves Zimbabwe Archived March 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine Zwnews
- ^ "Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe after meeting, 6-12-09". whitehouse.gov. June 12, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ "Obama congratulates Tsvangirai". NewsToday.co.za. February 13, 2009. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009.
- ^ "Obama extends sanctions against Mugabe regime". AFP via France 24. February 3, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- ^ "Message from the President on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Zimbabwe". Embassy of the United States in Harare, Zimbabwe. March 2, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.