Condemning the Government of Zimbabwe's "Operation Murambatsvina" under which homes, businesses, religious structures, and other buildings and facilities were demolished in an effort characterized by the Government of Zimbabwe as an operation to "restore order" to the country.
| Date | Chamber | What was voted on | Result | Yes–No | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16, 2005 | House · vote #649 | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as Amended | Passed | 421–1 | See who voted → |
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the government of Zimbabwe: (1) has, through Operation Murambatsvina, created a humanitarian disaster that has compounded the country's humanitarian food and economic crises; (2) has a duty to protect its citizens' economic, social, and political rights; and (3) is subject to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with respect to forced evictions.
Condemns Operation Murambatsvina as a major humanitarian catastrophe caused by the government of Zimbabwe's callousness toward its own people, disregard for the rule of law, and lack of planning to move families and businesses to more desirable locations.
Calls on the United Nations, the African Commission for Peoples' and Human Rights, and the African Union to investigate the impact of the demolition of housing structures and premises from which informal businesses operated and to provide the international community with a strategy to address the problems.
Calls on the government of Zimbabwe with respect to Operation Murambatsvina to: (1) allow access to international humanitarian organizations; (2) hold accountable those responsible; and (3) implement policies to promote the private sector and create jobs and build housing.
Calls on the Secretary of the Treasury to use U.S. influence to continue to advocate for further action at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should the Government of Zimbabwe continue to fail to meet its obligations to the IMF.
Condemns President Mugabe's harassment of U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe. Calls upon him to recognize that absent corrective actions on his part his legacy will be defined by his ruinous policies and draconian laws that have brought untold suffering to his people and the near collapse of Zimbabwe as a nation.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.