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Zimbabwe - UK Relations

Historically, Zimbabwe's closest links have been with the UK; however, this relationship became very strained when violent land invasions of white-owned farms began in 2000. The government has demonized Britain in the press, blaming the country for Zimbabwe's problems, and claiming that Britain reneged on promises made at Lancaster House to provide money for land reform. As with the US, thousands of Zimbabweans studied in the UK, and private links remain close; however, official relations are strained.

Britain acted quickly to reinstate itself as a leading foreign partner after the fifteen-year breach caused by Rhodesia's UDI. Prospects of playing a vital role in Zimbabwe's future were fortified by Britain's historical and cultural influence and by intimate economic associations based on British interests in the mining, industrial, and financial sectors of its former colony. In spite of bitter exchanges over British supervision of the 1980 election campaign, harmony had been restored before independence day. Mugabe included in his independence message a tribute to the British governor, Lord Soames, calling him "a good friend and counselor" for his part in guiding the colony to freedom.

One of President Robert Mugabe’s enduring characteristics has been his declared hatred of most things British and to a lesser extent all things Western. He portrays Britain as the mother of all evil and ascribed Zimbabwe’s economic failures to the machinations of the British. Britain is his perceived arch-enemy and number one nemesis. In a taped, edited 90-minute state media interview televised locally on 19 Febuary 2006, Robert Mugabe sounded familiar anti-western themes and evidenced little inclination to countenance economic or political reforms. He struck out against customary perceived enemies inside and outside the country - the MDC, the West, the IMF, "cowardly" Africans who refused to stand up to the West, and corrupt officialdom.

Portraying Zimbabwe's adversarial relationship with the West in familiar terms, Mugabe suggested his willingness to engage the West but claimed that the UK Prime Minister Blair, backed by President Bush, remained obsessed with regime change. He meandered into a lengthy diatribe about the "nature of westerners," as manifested by purported genocide or abuse of native Americans, African slaves, Aborigines, Palestinians, etc. He claimed that the West and the United States had "never supported" Zimbabwe "from the day or independence" and were now subverting the IMF to unprecedentedly push a political agenda in Zimbabwe.

The United Kingdom made a manifesto commitment in 2015 to stand up for human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe. It means that we continue to invest in civil society programmes that aim to improve transparency, advocacy and human rights. It means that Zimbabwe remains one of the 30 UK Human Rights Priority Countries, where the UK monitors and reports regularly on Human Rights abuses, and support programs designed to make abuses less likely. And it means engaging in meaningful political dialogue with the incumbent government in order to encourage policy which is consistent with these goals.

The UK continues to reiterate to the government of Zimbabwe the importance of substantial improvement in upholding the rule of law and human rights, as defined both by the Zimbabwean constitution and Zimbabwe’s obligations as a member of the international community.

The British Embassy in Harare will continue to meet with members of the executive, legislature, judiciary and civil society, from across the political spectrum. Meetings do not imply agreement with any particular policy position. The UK does not have a vote in any future Zimbabwean election. Accordingly the UK does not and will not support any particular candidate, faction or party. It will however continue to encourage Zimbabweans of all political persuasions to exercise their democratic rights, under the protection of the 2013 Constitution and international human rights law.

The UK was one of the first donors to respond to widespread food insecurity resulting from a poor 2015 harvest and El Nino induced drought in Zimbabwe. Since October 2015, through partners CARE International and World Vision, the UK has provided humanitarian assistance to support over 360,000 people through the electronic mobile cash payments, in 15 districts worst affected by the drought. The scale up of the assistance meant that the UK will continue to help vulnerable households meet seasonal needs ahead of the planting season and over the peak of the hunger gap, until the next harvest.

Over the four years 2012-2016 the UK supported 890,000 Zimbabweans achieve food security, supported 170,000 children in primary and early secondary education, supported midwifes and nurses who have attended 160,000 births of Zimbabwean babies and reached 1.76 million people with our water, sanitation and hygiene programs.

In 2016 the UK government continued to encourage timely revision of repressive Zimbabwean legislation to align it with the 2013 constitution; support the efforts of local civil society organisations to have constitutional provisions enforced; monitor trends in frequency and severity of rights violations, including political violence, intimidation and politicised access to humanitarian aid; and support access to justice programmes. The UK called on the government of Zimbabwe to respect the provisions of the Constitution, particularly regarding eviction and demolition of property, and support those who seek to have these protections enforced. The UK government urges the government of Zimbabwe to follow the decisions of its courts in disputed land seizure cases.