The United States has recently imposed new sanctions on Zimbabwe, marking a significant shift in its foreign policy. The sanctions target Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the First Lady, and other government officials for their alleged involvement in corruption and human rights abuses.
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated 11 individuals, including President Mnangagwa, and three entities for their involvement in corruption or serious human rights abuse. These sanctions block their assets in the US and bar them from unofficial travel there.
The new sanctions come after the termination of Zimbabwe’s national emergency and the revocation of Zimbabwe-specific sanctions. The administration is now using the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act as its authority to issue the sanctions.
The changes to Zimbabwe’s sanctions regime are intended to make clear that the sanctions are not intended to target the people of Zimbabwe. Instead, they are refocusing their sanctions on clear and specific targets: President Mnangagwa’s network of government officials and businesspeople who are most responsible for corruption or human rights abuse against the people of Zimbabwe.
In response to the sanctions, Zimbabwe’s government spokesman Nick Mangwana tweeted that “as long as senior leadership is under sanctions, we are all under sanctions. And as long as members of Corporate Zimbabwe are under Sanctions, we are under Sanctions”.
The new sanctions on Zimbabwe signal a stronger, more targeted sanctions policy towards Zimbabwe that the United States is implementing. It remains to be seen how these sanctions will impact Zimbabwe’s political landscape and its relations with the international community.