to remain silent on the issue of the evictions.138 The South African government indicated that it would await a UN report on the crisis before responding. It has yet to respond to the findings of the report. Nonetheless, the South African government has become increasingly concerned with the human rights conditions in Zimbabwe. In his weekly statement on the African National Congress website in August, President Thabo Mbeki in a rare but subtly phrased public reproach of the government of Zimbabwe pointed out that what happens in one country, directly affects other countries within the region.139 The United Kingdom has pledged to provide humanitarian aid towards the crisis. The UK ambassador to the UN also urged other leaders to extend humanitarian assistance.140 On August 10, the US Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome, Tony P. Hall visited Zimbabwe to assess the impact of the evictions. Ambassador Hall urged the government of Zimbabwe to remove bureaucratic obstacles preventing NGOs from delivering humanitarian assistance to those in need.141 During his visit, Zimbabwean security forces prevented him from visiting Hopley Farm a camp with up to 2,000 people displaced by the evictions. There is little consensus on what should be done to engage with the Zimbabwe government on its human rights record at the level of the UN Security Council. Members of the United Nations Security Council remain divided about how the situation in Zimbabwe should be resolved. A number of member states including Russia, China and Tanzania voted against a UN Security Council briefing by Anna Tibaijuka to discuss the report but were outvoted by other governments including the United States and the United Kingdom.142 It is unclear what the UN Security Council will do next. A resolution on Zimbabwe at the UN Security Council is unlikely to take place. China, Russia and other African countries do not believe that Zimbabwe warrants discussions at the Security Council or the UN Human Rights Commission because they claim that it is not a country in conflict and is not a threat to international peace or security.143 The United Nations Secretary 138 BBC news online, “Why Africa wont condemn Zimbabwe blitz,” June 24, 2005. 139 ANC weekly newsletter, “Letter from the President,” http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2005/text/at33.txt 140 Ibid. 141 United States Agency for International Development, “Zimbabwe: Complex Emergency Situation Report No.2,” August 16, 2005. 142 Mail and Guardian Newspaper, “Fur flies in UN briefing on Zimbabwe,” July 28, 2005; BBC News Online, “Zimbabwe report discussed at UN,” July 27, 2005. 143 Ibid. 35