A UN official in charge of investigating charges of torture who was invited to Zimbabwe is on his way to Johannesburg, South Africa Thursday 29 October after being denied entry to the country at the airport in Harare. Manfred Nowak, the UN’s special rapporteur on torture, told reporters that his invitation had been rescinded by the Zimbabwean ministry of foreign affairs when he arrived in Harare late Wednesday evening 28 October. Immigration officials would not let him into the country despite an invitation from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The government of Zimbabwe has been split since Tsvangirai walked out two weeks ago, complaining of a concerted campaign of violence by President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF supporters against Tsvangirai’s MDC party members. A team from the regional grouping Southern Africa Development Community was expected in Harare to mediate the political crisis Thursday. AP,BBC
Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Nestlé subsidiary in Zimbabwe buys milk produced on Gushunga Dairy Estate farms seized from their owners between 2002 and 2004, the UK’s Sunday Telegraph reports 26 September.
The dairy farms are part of an estimated 4,800 hectares of prime agricultural land reportedly owned by Robert and Grace Mugabe. Both are on what the EU has labeled “targeted sanctions” lists, with visa and some trade restrictions set for more than 20o individuals and some 40 countries. These were first imposed in 2002 in the wake of the seizures of lands owned by white farmers, part of Mugabe’s land reform. They were extended following the disputed presidential elections in June 2008.
Switzerland also adopted targeted sanctions, in line with those of the European Union [ed. note: UK media have incorrectly reported that Switzerland does not have sanctions because it is not part of the EU], but the Gushunga Dairy is not on the identical EU and Swiss government list of blacklisted businesses. A spokesperson at the finance ministry in Bern told GenevaLunch Monday that the ministry contacted Nestlé when it became aware of the milk sales and it has been assured that the sales are entirely the business of its Zimbabwe subsidiary. “Nestlé confirmed that no individuals or companies in Switzerland were in any way involved in the relevant transactions. Therefore, no further investigations are planned at the moment.” The Bern office noted that the “Swiss legislation on international sanctions, including the sanctions against Zimbabwe, deploys its effects only in the territory of Switzerland. Foreign subsidiaries of Swiss companies are not subject to the Swiss legislation. The dealings of Nestlé Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd are therefore not in violation of the Swiss sanctions regulation against Zimbabwe.”
Swiss and EU sanctions involve only transfers of money or transactions with companies outside Zimbabwe: Even if Gushunga Dairy were on the list, the sanctions would not apply.
