JURIST - Paper Chase: Zimbabwe expels UN rights envoy

[JURIST] A UN observer who arrived in Zimbabwe Sunday to monitor the human rights situation has been ejected from the country after only two days, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile; statement, recorded audio] said Wednesday. Zimbabwe government agents told the UN envoy that he had not given them proper notice of his arrival, an assertion disputed by UN officials. Arbour further said that the government of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] has failed to cooperate with UN agencies and aid groups, as evidenced by the recent order that aid groups suspend their work [Telegraph report] in the country. AFP has more. The Zimbabwean has local coverage.

Mugabe and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party website] leader Morgan Tsvangirai [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] are now disputing the results of the recent presidential elections [JURIST news archive], and a run-off election is scheduled for June 27. The MDC has estimated that at least 65 of its members have been killed [BBC report] since the first election in March, and human rights groups have suggested that state-sponsored violence will only increase as the second presidential vote draws closer.

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