(Excerpted from highlights of the noon briefing)
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said in a statement that the directive in Zimbabwe instructing all private voluntary organizations and non-governmental organizations to suspend all field operations until further notice is a deplorable decision that comes at a critical humanitarian juncture for the people of Zimbabwe.
He strongly urged the Government to reconsider and rescind this decision as soon as possible, saying that the organizations concerned are engaged in vital humanitarian work fully respecting the principles of impartiality and neutrality, which are fundamental to all they and we do. They need unrestricted access, and guarantees for their safety and security.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour called Zimbabwe's decision to restrict the activities of non-governmental organizations in the country "absolutely outrageous" and said, "It is a true perversion of democracy." She described the Zimbabwe government's action as a cynical and offensive perversion of any notion of democracy and said it was against international human rights law.
Asked whether there has been agreement on sending Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Haile Menkerios to Zimbabwe, the Spokeswoman said that President Robert Mugabe had accepted such a visit in his meeting with the Secretary-General in Rome this week.
Montas said that Menkerios would not travel as an envoy but as the senior person in the Department for Political Affairs dealing with African issues. She could not confirm at this point whether Menkerios is traveling to the country.