AU has failed on Zim - Amnesty
22/03/2007 09:13  - (SA)  

SA worries about crime, Zim AU slams EU 'double standards' UK calls for tough sanctions Zimbabwe is a 'sinking Titanic' West steps up heat on Mugabe SA lays Zim crisis at MDC door J Lo to receive Amnesty Award EU, Amnesty slam Libya trial Zimbabwe slams Amnesty 'lies'

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London - The international community, and in particular the African Union, have failed to act to hold Zimbabwe to account, Amnesty International said on Thursday.

In a letter published in The Guardian daily, the London-based human rights organisation's Africa programme director wrote that the AU's actions thus far constituted "far too weak a response".

"What more do we need to witness before the African Union or the UN tell the Zimbabwean government 'enough is enough'?" Kolawole Olaniyan wrote.

"International condemnation has freely flowed, but little action has followed. Although the African Union has called for human rights 'to be respected' in Zimbabwe, this is far too weak a response."

Criticism of the Zimbabwean regime's violent campaign against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has deepened in recent days, with other African leaders joining a Western outcry over President Robert Mugabe's tactics.

The southern African country is also in the midst of an economic crisis characterised by an inflation rate of 1 730%, shortages of basic commodities and fuel.

"Accountability for human rights violations is central to the African Union's own Constitutive Act, and that body needs to show that it has the political will to hold the government of Zimbabwe to account for these atrocities," Olaniyan wrote.

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