General Kofi Annan has accepted an invitation by President Mugabe to visit Zimbabwe and assess the conditions although it is not clear when the visit will take place.144 Attempts by African governments and the AU to resolve Zimbabwe’s human rights crisis have so far yielded little. The government of Zimbabwe refused to accept the AU appointment of former president Joachim Chissano as an envoy to broker talks between the ruling party and the opposition MDC, claiming that such talks would not be taking place.145 In addition, the commendable effort by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare to appoint a special envoy to investigate the evictions was blocked by the Zimbabwe government, which refused to grant the envoy permission to do so, until he was forced to leave the country on July 7.146 The Zimbabwe government claimed that the African Commission had failed to follow protocol in sending the envoy to investigate the evictions.147 The African Union has yet to respond to the government’s actions. The Southern African Development Community also failed to discuss Zimbabwe at its annual summit on August 17.148 Zimbabwe has not signed on for peer review at the level of the African Union, making it difficult to initiate any discussion on its human rights record. As this report has documented, the unlawful manner in which the evictions were carried out, necessitates an independent investigation into how the evictions took place. This can only be done through the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to identify who at the highest levels was responsible for planning and executing the evictions. Zimbabwe’s Obligations under International Law Evictions conducted by a state can give rise to serious human rights violations. This is particularly true when they are carried out by force or without procedural guarantees. Zimbabwe acceded to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in May 1991 and is bound by its provisions. Zimbabwe also ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1986. The Charter does not specifically provide for protection against forced evictions, but has extensive provisions 144 Mail and Guardian Online “Kofi Annan to visit Zimbabwe,” July 25, 2005. 145 VOA news online, “Zimbabwe officials rule out talks with opposition,” August 16, 2005. 146 African Union news update, June 29, 2005. See Amnesty International Press release, “Zimbabwe: Government must not be allowed to silence African Union,” July 8, 2005. 147 148 Financial Gazette, “SADC reluctant to ruffle Mugabe’s feathers,” August 25, 2005. 36