Zimbabwe - U.N. slams Zimbabwe

I bet this will cause Mugabe to have sleepless nights.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Zimbabwe's destruction of urban slums is a "disastrous venture" that has left 700,000 people without homes or jobs, violated international law and created a grave humanitarian crisis, according to excerpts of a harshly worded U.N. report.

The report details the devastating extent of Operation Murambatsvina, or Drive Out Trash, for the first time. It says a further 2.4 million people have been affected by the countrywide campaign that began with little warning on May 19 and has seen thousands of shantytowns, ramshackle markets and makeshift homes demolished.

"While purporting to target illegal dwellings and structures and to clamp down on alleged illicit activities, (the operation) was carried out in an indiscriminate and unjustified manner, with indifference to human suffering," says the executive summary, obtained late Thursday by The Associated Press.

The report, using unusually harsh language for the United Nations, says the operation clearly violates international law and demands the government stop the destruction immediately.

That's the stuff, show Mugabe whose boss. Now, after issuing this scathing report, what is the UN going to do next?

Anna Tibaijuka, a U.N. envoy sent to Zimbabwe to study the effects of the campaign, delivered the document to Secretary-General Kofi Annan earlier this week. She suggested an independent probe could help decide if there was criminal negligence leading to any deaths.

Well, how about having the UN Human Rights Commission conduct an "independent probe"? Ooops. My bad. Zimbabwe is on the commission. Ok, forget that idea then.

Right then, who is to blame for this violation of "international law and created a grave humanitarian crisis"?

The executive summary seen by AP does not assign blame for the destruction, saying only that it was launched on the advice of a few people who were not identified. Yet, it suggests that the act might qualify as a crime against humanity and urged Zimbabwe to prosecute those responsible.

I mean come on, give the UN a break here. You could hardly expect them to blame Mugabe for a "crime against humanity" when Zimbabwe sits on the UN's own Human Rights Commission, now can you?
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