By Prof Jonathan Moyo
WHY the declaration of a national emergency in the three Executive Orders in question “. . . should no longer be in effect . . . ” and “. . . is no longer needed . . . ” is the question that begs.
For the record, it should be noted that while Biden’s revocation Executive Order 14118 of March 4 2024 gives the impression that US sanctions on Zimbabwe originate from or start with Executive Order 13288 of March 6 2003, the historic fact is that this is grossly misleading because the foundation of US sanctions on Zimbabwe is, in fact, the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (ZDERA); a notorious law that has become too inconvenient for the US to mention, let alone to acknowledge, in its propaganda that its sanctions have nothing to do with ZDERA; and that the sanctions always and only targeted individuals who allegedly “. . . undermine Zimbabwe’s democratic processes or institutions”; when, in fact, the US sanctions have, since their inception, targeted Zimbabwe itself as ‘country-sanctions’ with ZDERA as the enabling law of the sanctions.
Over the last 21 years, US officials and their running dogs in Zimbabwe have falsely claimed that ZDERA is not a sanctions law.
Even on the day US President Joseph Biden revoked the three ‘national emergency’ orders on March 4 2024; David Gainer (pictured), Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (Bureau of African Affairs) and Brad Brooks-Rubin (Senior Advisor to the Office of Sanctions Co-ordination — United States Department of State) made this false claim about ZDERA:
“The actions this week do not affect the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, also known as ZDERA. Importantly, ZDERA is not a sanction — it is legislation passed by the US Congress and signed by the US President in 2001. ZDERA — it is also very important to note — has never been invoked because Zimbabwe is in arrears to its international creditors.”
The false line that ZDERA ‘is not a sanction’, but ‘it is legislation’ about what Zimbabwe needs to do to access funding of one sort or another from multilateral financial institutions is one often touted by the US Embassy in Zimbabwe, with the example below being a case in point:
“The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act (ZDERA) of 2018 outlines the steps Zimbabwe needs to take to gain the support of the United States government for new lending through international financial institutions.”
Commenting on ‘US Sanctions on Zimbabwean Individuals and Entities’ in a statement that welcomed Biden’s Executive Order 14118 on March 4 2024, the National Security Council spokesperson, Adrienne Watson, drew a straight line linking sanctions with ZDERA when he said:
“The Administration reaffirms its commitment to work with the people
of Zimbabwe; will continue to robustly support civil society, human rights defenders, and independent media to promote values consistent with the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.”
It is, indeed, true that Section 4(c) of ZDERA specifically directs the US executive director to each international financial institution to oppose and vote against any extension by the institution of any loan, credit or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe or any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the US or any international financial institution.
But this is not all that ZDERA provides.
It is also true that ZDERA imposes visa restrictions and economic sanctions on individuals as provided in the three Executive Orders revoked by Biden on March 4 2024, namely; Executive 13288 of March 4 2003, Executive Order 13391 of November 22 2005 and Executive Order 13469 of July 25 2008.
That ZDERA is a sanctions law was acknowledged upfront by the Congressional Budget Office in a cost estimate of the law when it was still a Bill on July 16 2001, which observed that ZDERA, “. . . would support a transition to democracy and promote economic recovery in Zimbabwe through a set of incentives and sanctions”.
Just how can a law which, by the reckoning of the Congressional Budget Office, “. . . would support a transition to democracy and promote economic recovery in Zimbabwe through a set of incentives and sanctions”, not be a sanction law?
For the avoidance of doubt, the visa restrictions and economic sanctions in ZDERA are provided under the Act’s Section 6 as shown below:
PUBLIC LAW 107-99 — DECEMBER 21, 2001
The authority in this section supersedes any other provision of law.
Section 6: Sense of Congress on the actions to be taken against individuals responsible for violence and the breakdown of the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
It is the sense of Congress that the President should begin immediate consultation with the governments of European Union member-States, Canada and other appropriate foreign countries on ways in which to —
- identify and share information regarding individuals responsible for the deliberate breakdown of the rule of law, politically motivated violence, and intimidation in Zimbabwe;
- identify assets of those individuals held outside Zimbabwe;
- implement travel and economic sanctions against those individuals and their associates and families; and, λ provide for the eventual removal or amendment of those sanctions.
Given the above, anyone who says ZDERA is not a sanctions law is either an ignorant or illiterate US propagandist masquerading as a US diplomat or a running dog of US propaganda and imperialism.
First and only US ‘Presidential Proclamation’ on Zimbabwe sanctions made in 2002
Interestingly, after the enactment of ZDERA as the enabling or mother law for the US sanctions on Zimbabwe as a country programme on December 21 2001, and before the declaration of a national emergency on March 6 2003 in Executive Order 13288, US President George W. Bush, issued a now seemingly or conveniently forgotten sanctions proclamation on March 4 2002 as indicated below:
Zimbabwe Presidential Proclamation on Visa Restrictions:
“In light of the political and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe and the continued failure of President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean Government officials, and others to support the rule of law, and given the importance to the United States of fostering democratic institutions in Zimbabwe, I have determined that it is in the interest of the United States to take all available measures to restrict the international travel and to suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or non-immigrants, of senior members of the Government of Robert Mugabe and others detailed below who formulate, implement, or benefit from policies that undermine or injure Zimbabwe’s democratic institutions or impede the transition to a multi-party democracy.” (George W. Bush, March 4 2002)
The above proclamation was without any doubt enabled by and based on ZDERA and was the precursor to the devastating Executive Order 13288, which declared a national emergency and imposed sanctions that wreaked havoc on Zimbabwe’s economy.
