US offer: reforms first, then removal of Zimbabwe sanctions

The United States has outlined the measures the government of Zimbabwe can take for Washington to end its sanctions on the country, but warns that confidence building measures are needed for bilateral re-engagement.
On 19 October, the US Department of State called for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to prosecute former and current regime officials responsible for corruption and human rights abuses and build back its democracy. “We’re asking that the Zimbabwe government take meaningful noticeable material actions that strengthen the democratic processes, build the institutions back to its constitution,” the US Department of State sanctions coordinator told the press. Last month, the US updated its sanctions regime on Zimbabwe, which currently targets 83 Zimbabwean individuals and 37 entities, including President Mnangagwa, and his top adviser.
The US first imposed sanctions on specific individuals in Zimbabwe during the rule of the independence icon turned authoritarian leader, the late Robert Mugabe, for undermining democratic processes, such as passing laws restricting media freedom and the right to protest. President Mnangagwa has recently called for the removal of sanctions, calling them a “cancer” that eats away at the economy. In August, two visiting US senate officials were tailed and circled by vehicles believed to belong to Zimbabwe’s state security forces, which was denounced by the Department of State as an “act of intimidation”. Since sanctions came into effect, Zimbabwe has lost access to more than $100bn in bilateral donor support, grants, and loans from the IMF, World Bank, and the African Development Bank, a 2021 report by the UN Special Rapporteur found.