Zimbabwe to ban foreign human rights groups

Zimbabwe has published a proposed law that would ban foreign and foreign-funded human rights groups.

The bill could be debated in the near future in parliament, where President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party enjoys a comfortable majority, before passing into law.

Mr Mugabe, who has repeatedly accused some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) of working with Western countries to undermine him, indicated last month his government would introduce a bill to "ensure rationalisation of the macro-management of all NGOs".

The state-owned Heraldsaid all NGOs would be required to register with a state council which would be made up of nine state-appointed members and five from the NGOs.

The council would have the power to investigate the activities of NGOs and cancel their registration licences.

"No foreign NGO shall be registered if its sole or principal objects involve or include issues of governance," the Heraldquoted the bill as saying.

Local groups will not be able to receive any foreign funding or donation to carry out activities involving or including issues of governance, which are defined as "the promotion and protection of human rights and political governance issues."

Mr Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of pressure group National Constitutional Assembly, said the bill was outrageous as it would stiffle the operations of NGOs.

"They are really determined with their offensive tendencies against all those critical of the government," he said.

Mr Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, accuses Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler of leading a Western campaign to oust him over his government's seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.

Mr Mugabe denies that the land seizures are responsible for food shortages which have plagued the country since 2001. He says some foreign aid agencies have used what he calls a drought-induced crisis to push a political agenda under the guise of food distribution.