Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) Co-Chairs

Washington, D.C. – Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) Co-Chairmen Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) today strongly condemned the sham run-off elections in Zimbabwe on behalf of the CHRC and called on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to step down. The CHRC is the largest bipartisan and bicameral human rights working group in the United States Congress.

McGovern and Wolf called today’s election "the final act in a bloody play that Zimbabwean President Mugabe has put on for the world community in hopes to give his cruel and ruthless regime the veneer of legitimacy."

Several African leaders, including Nelson Mandela, and the United Nations Security Council have strongly condemned the violence leading up to the election today.  Morgan Tsavangirai, the opposition candidate of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), announced last Sunday that he was pulling out of the run-off elections because of the ongoing arrests and killings of opposition supporters.  The run-off election was triggered by what many observers have characterized as a fraudulent first round of elections on March 29.

McGovern and Wolf noted that international human rights groups have consistently criticized the poor human rights record of the Mugabe regime and his disastrous economic policies.

“We are deeply appalled by the slaughter and arrest of opposition supporters and the violence that the people of Zimbabwe have endured under Mugabe’s reign of terror,” Reps. McGovern and Wolf stated.  “The international community needs to speak with one voice in condemning Mugabe’s actions, and needs to make clear that time has run out on dictators like him.  There must be an immediate end to all violence.  We call on all African leaders, particularly the countries organized in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), to address this crisis. New political leaders in Zimbabwe must step forward to reach an agreement on a transitional government and new and free elections.” 

Currently, several resolutions are pending before the U.S. Congress, and the co-chairs announced their intention to hold Caucus briefings on the situation in Zimbabwe.