Security Council shoots down Zimbabwe sanctions vote

The United Nations won't be sanctioning Zimbabwe anytime soon. Russia and China blocked a proposed sanctions motion in the UN Security Council on Friday. The motion was put forward by the United States and United Kingdom as a way of punishing the government of Robert Mugabe for crushing democratic opposition in Zimbabwe.

After the vote the government in Harare hailed the failure of the sanctions as a victory over racism and outside interference in their affairs. It’s not quite that simple.

For Russia's part the veto has a whole lot less to do with Zimbabwe and a whole lot more to do with diplomatic conflicts they are currently having with both the US and UK. Russia was angered this week by the United States moving forward with plans to install a ballistic missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland; and with America's growing ties with Russia's neighbor Georgia (both topics were discussed in other posts here this week). Meanwhile Russia's relations with the UK are also ebbing over allegations of spying, disputes over British management of oil projects in Russia and the UK's demands that a Russian suspect in the Litvinenko case (you may remember that he was the former Russian spy poisoned with radioactive polonium in London in a plot that seemed straight out of a James Bond novel) be turned over to them for questioning. So when the chance came to derail a joint US/UK motion in the Security Council, Russia was more than happy to take it.

As for China's veto, it comes down to money. You can check out this article: Mugabe averts collapse with Chinese help for a little more background, but in short over the past few years China has become a major investor in Zimbabwe. China gets minerals from Zimbabwe that it desperately needs to fuel its rapid industrial growth; while Zimbabwe receives much needed cash and support for its farming and energy-production sectors, both of which are in a shambles thanks to the mismanagement of one Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwe highlights the problem that China poses for reform and development in Africa. Western nations have more and more been tying their aid and investment plans to programs that ensure good government. In other words, they expect African governments to operate as democracies and respect the rights of their citizens if they want Western aid/investment. China could care less about human rights and governance, so long as they can secure the resources they need. And China has been spending very freely in Africa lately.