President Mnangagwa warns foreign missions against meddling in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe

A number of Missions have sought to relate to our nationals, whether singly or as groups, without going through our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, or other arms of our Government, as enjoined by Article 41(2) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. This gross violation has gone as far as hosting our nationals – all of them private individuals – on premises of Mission, thus flagrantly violating provisions of the Vienna Convention. Often, dirty business is transacted, which we of course end up knowing.

We have also come across instances where some missions have gone as far as summoning individuals and groups from our society to meetings they convene without caring to inform Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International

Trade, let alone portfolio ministries under which such individuals or interest groups fall. Even Churches have not been spared. I cannot imagine my Ambassador accredited to the United Kingdom summoning the head of the Anglican Church to a meeting without going through the relevant arm of Her Majesty’s government, to which he will have presented letters of credence in the first place. That would be utterly unheard of and sure to attract sharp rebuke from Her Majesty’s government. Yet such sacrilegious acts are being attempted here in our country.

While the Vienna Convention provides for Foreign Missions to further economic, scientific and cultural relations in the receiving State, the Convention does not sanction Missions to weaponise these key areas in order to meddle in electoral processes, or to undermine political stability in the receiving State. Again, we have seen some Missions mobilising our artists and communicators for partisan political ends. We have had to order one Mission to drop such hideous plans.

In yet other instances, offending Missions have sought to hide behind Offices, Agencies and personnel of the United Nations to further their illegal foreign policy objectives. That way, international civil servants of our United Nations have been reduced to doing the bidding of certain State Parties which do not employ them. This happened recently when a senior UN representative illegally summoned heads of all our Constitutional Commissions, before ordering them to submit monthly reports to him, in return for some funding he manages on behalf of a couple of Missions accredited to our country. It is as if funding waives provisions of the Vienna Convention or, worse, authorises the supplanting of rightful institutions of the State to which these Commissions are accountable, as clearly required by our Constitution. The State has had to act swiftly and decisively against such effrontery.

In terms of our national legislative agenda, we have witnessed with absolute consternation attempts to usurp or challenge law-making functions of Zimbabwe as a sovereign State. I am not even referring to obnoxious pieces of legislation passed against us by foreign Legislatures with no jurisdiction over us, and outside of the United Nations Charter. That type of outrage and gross interference is now a matter of international record. Rather, I am referring to pieces of legislations under consideration by our sovereign Parliament which some Missions have found fit and proper to criticise and even organise against. It is as if such errant Missions are lawmakers or judicial officers in our country. Much worse, it is as if the Vienna Convention places their Missions and diplomatic agents under our municipal laws. As it turns out, similar laws in even more severe form, are operational in their own countries. They do not challenge them in their jurisdictions, yet want to do so here. This takes away any ounce of sincerity in their conduct.

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