Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa Calls for End to Sanctions

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has again called for the removal of what he calls “unjust, illegal and unilateral sanctions” on his country. The US imposed sanctions in 2001 under the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act following that country’s Land Reform Program in 2000 and also because of government-sponsored violence, undemocratic practices, and human rights abuses. Speaking Thursday to the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans have become masters of their own destiny despite the sanctions. He also said Zimbabwe continues to entrench democracy, although the country’s August 23 elections has been widely criticized.