Is Britain still seeking a political settlement in Zimbabwe?

Britain is committed to a constructive dialogue with Zimbabwe to support governance and economic reforms, Minister for Development and Africa Andrerw Mitchell said yesterday.

He was responding to a series of questions from Tony Llyod who wanted to know what the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was doing to:

• engage with the Zimbabwean authorities on a political settlement, 
• share lessons learnt from other peace processes and
•  support civil society engagement.

What steps the minister is taking in the UN Security Council to:

• encourage international support for a political settlement in Zimbabwe and
• help ensure civil society organisations can participate effectively in steps towards a settlement.

What steps the minister is taking to encourage the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security of the South African Development Community to support a political settlement in Zimbabwe.

Mitchell, who is Minister for Development, Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) and Minister for Development and Africa said that the UK is committed to maintaining a constructive dialogue with the government of Zimbabwe to support governance and economic reforms. 

“The Minister for Development and Africa released a statement on 31 August echoing the concerns expressed by various International Election Observation Mission Reports that Zimbabwe’s elections fell short of regional and international standards. 

“The Minister met with President Mnangagwa both before and after the elections, most recently at COP28. As part of these engagements, the Minister has expressed the UK’s desire to see reforms implemented and greater space for civil society organisations to operate. 

“We are in regular ministerial level discussions with our Southern African Development Community (SADC) counterparts on Zimbabwe and engage with partners across a wide range of multilateral fora.”

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