BELGIAN MFA ON ZIMBABWE: AGREE ON SERIOUSNESS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000647 SIPDIS SIPDIS ADDIS ABABA FOR USMISSION USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2023 TAGS: PREL UNSC ZI BE AU SUBJECT: BELGIAN MFA ON ZIMBABWE: AGREE ON SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION; SUPPORT FORMAL UNSC SESSION REF: STATE 44297 Classified By: Acting P/E Counselor REason, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Acting P/E Counselor delivered the points in reftel to Guy Trouveroy, Director, African Affairs, at the Belgian Foreign Ministry. Trouveroy replied that Belgium "agrees on the seriousness of the situation" in Zimbabwe and of the need to do more. ¶2. (C) He said the demarche was timely because the EU will be meeting on April 29 to discuss the issue and to try to come up with a solution to the problem. He said that the deliberations from that meeting would be made public at the end of the day. However, he cautioned that, although there was consensus within the EU about the seriousness of the situation, there was not consensus on a way out. The debate will be on whether the "more subtle African approach" still has potential. Trouveroy added that some EU members are concerned about bringing in other players at this stage and further undermining the credibility of the Southern African Development Community. ¶3. (C) Trouveroy will alert the MFA's UN office regarding the demarche requesting that a formal UNSC meeting be held on Zimbabwe. Post will relay the response as soon as we receive it. ¶4. (C) In response to the points on the restrictions placed on UN staff by Harare UNDP Resident Representative Augustino Zacharias, Trouveroy noted that Belgian no longer has an Embassy in Harare (Zimbabwe is covered by the Belgian Embassy in Pretoria). Belgium would be unlikely to second guess the decisions of Zacharias regarding the safety and security of UN staff, particularly with no Belgian diplomatic presence in the country to provide a countering view to Brussels. ¶5. (C) Trouveroy noted that the EU Mission head in Harare had stressed the importance of a common position toward Zimbabwe on the part of the international community. He added that the GOB has been working with the South African Government on a broad range of Africa issues, not simply Zimbabwe, and did not want to antagonize the SAG and put in jeopardy its other initiatives. ¶6. (C) At the end of the day, Acting P/E Counselor received a call from Wilm Geurts of the MFA's UNSC team. He said his office agrees with the points of the demarche and on the need to hold a formal UNSC session. This session should take place after the informal consultations scheduled for April 29 have been held. The GOB will be in contact with the British on the proposal as well. .