Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s controversial eviction of illegal dwellers will be studied by a United Nations envoy to see whether it has had a humanitarian impact on those affected by the measure, a spokesperson said on Monday.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Annan Kajumulo Tibaijuka of Tanzania to travel soon to Zimbabwe to study the problem, said Stephane Dujarric. Mugabe has agreed to Tibaijuka’s visit.
Tibaijuka is the executive director of UN-Habitat, a programme devoted to providing housing for the poor around the world.
She was asked by Annan to ”study the scope of the recent eviction of illegal dwellers, informal traders and squatters, and the humanitarian impact it has had on the affected population”, said Dujarric.
Under Mugabe’s orders, bulldozers last week razed dozens of dwellings in Harare, prompting protests at home as well in some world capitals.
Tibaijuka is called to write a report on her findings and present it to Annan.
Meanwhile, the United States State Department said on Monday the decision by Mugabe to destroy the homes and businesses ”defies explanation”.
”It’s really obscene what’s going on there,” spokesperson Adam Ereli said. He described the situation as ”tragedy, crime, horror.”
Ereli noted that the State Department had demanded in a statement distributed Friday that the Zimbabwean government stop the activity and act responsibly toward its people. – Sapa-DPA, Sapa-AP