H. Res. 1270 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
June 18, 2008. 
Whereas following the conduct of presidential and parliamen-
tary elections on March 29, 2008, Zimbabwe’s liberator- 
turned-despot, Robert Mugabe, unleashed a campaign of 
terror and intimidation against opposition members, sup-
porters, and other civilians in a desperate attempt to 
cling to power; 
Whereas human rights groups have documented numerous in-
cidents of state-sponsored political violence in Zimbabwe 
in recent years, and substantial political violence and 
human rights violations committed by government agents 
accompanied parliamentary elections in 2000 and 2005, 
and the presidential election in 2002; 
Whereas reports from the region indicate that the Mugabe re-
gime intends to continue this well-established pattern of 
state-sponsored and targeted violence and intimidation in 
the run-up to a second round of voting on June 27, 
2008; 
Whereas the Department of State found in its 2007 Country 
Reports on Human Rights Practices that the Mugabe re-
gime ‘‘engaged in the pervasive and systematic abuse of 
human rights, which increased significantly’’ in 2007, 
and reported that ‘‘state-sanctioned use of excessive force
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increased, and security forces tortured members of the 
opposition, student leaders, and civil society activists’’; 
Whereas the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum docu-
mented 586 incidents of torture, 855 incidents of assault, 
and 19 incidents of politically-motivated abductions and 
kidnappings in 2007 alone; 
Whereas Freedom House declared the Mugabe regime to be 
one of ‘‘the world’s most repressive’’; 
Whereas Human Rights Watch reported on April 19, 2008, 
that the Mugabe regime had established a network of in-
formal detention centers to beat, torture, and intimidate 
political opponents and other civilians; 
Whereas following the March 29 elections in Zimbabwe, a 
Chinese vessel, the An Yue Jiang, arrived in South Africa 
carrying a shipment of weapons for the Zimbabwean De-
fense Force that reportedly included 3,000,000 rounds of 
AK–47 ammunition, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades, 
and 3,000 mortar bombs and tubes; 
Whereas the delivery of such arms would only further de-
grade the security situation in Zimbabwe, which has al-
ready been compromised, as the materiel are likely to be 
used by government security forces and militias to fur-
ther abuse, torture, and kill members of the political op-
position and other civilians; 
Whereas the dock and freight workers of the South African 
Transport and Allied Workers Union refused to unload 
the shipment or transport its cargo; 
Whereas the International Transport Workers’ Federation 
(ITF) called for an international boycott of the vessel, 
stating, ‘‘There’s no prospect of there being a sudden ex-
ternal invasion of Zimbabwe. And so it is very difficult
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for anyone to conclude that this ammunition is likely to 
be used for anything other than to take action against 
opposition groups’’; 
Whereas the Congress of Southern African Trade Unions 
joined in the call by the ITF and others for an inter-
national boycott of the vessel; 
Whereas the High Court of the South African port city of 
Durban blocked the reported weapons transfer and or-
dered South African authorities to prevent the vessel’s 
passage through South African waters; 
Whereas press reports suggest that other governments in the 
region, including those of Mozambique and Tanzania also 
denied the vessel permission to dock at their ports; 
Whereas Zambian President and Southern African Develop-
ment Community (SADC) Chairman Levy Mwanawasa 
commended South Africa and Mozambique for blocking 
the arms shipment, stating, ‘‘I hope this will be the case 
with all the countries because we do not want a situation 
which will escalate the situation in Zimbabwe more than 
what it is’’; 
Whereas despite the SADC chairman’s appeal to member na-
tions to block the delivery of ammunition of Zimbabwe 
and China’s alleged recall of the An Yue Jiang, 
Zimbabwe’s 
Deputy 
Information 
Minister 
Bright 
Matonga announced the shipment had arrived in Harare 
on or around May 16, 2008; 
Whereas while Beijing has denied that the shipment reached 
its destination, speculation on the possible surreptitious 
delivery of weapons to Harare continues; 
Whereas the United States has been vocal in its condemna-
tion of the atrocities and violence in Zimbabwe, and has
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implemented targeted financial and travel sanctions 
against select members of the Mugabe regime and others 
who ‘‘have engaged in actions or policies to undermine 
Zimbabwe’s democratic processes or institutions’’; 
Whereas in violation of the Vienna Convention, American dip-
lomats and officials from other embassies in Harare have 
been repeatedly harassed by elements of the Mugabe re-
gime in retaliation for their repeated protests against the 
ongoing state-sponsored campaign of terror ahead of the 
June 27 presidential runoff election, including the deten-
tion of the American ambassador’s vehicle for several 
hours on May 13, 2008, and the detention of 5 American 
embassy staff and 2 local embassy workers on June 5, 
2008; and 
Whereas Congress expressed its opposition to the Mugabe re-
gime’s undemocratic policies in the Zimbabwe Democracy 
and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, and other subse-
quent legislation: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes and commends the efforts of south-
ern African trade unions, religious leaders, and advocacy 
groups to raise awareness about the possible weapons 
transfer to Zimbabwe as part of a campaign to address 
the worsening political, economic, and humanitarian cri-
sis in Zimbabwe; 
(2) recognizes and commends the efforts of those 
southern African governments which denied access 
through their national territories for a weapons shipment 
destined to be received by a regime that continues to
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perpetuate gross human rights violations against its own 
citizens; 
(3) urges the United States to continue to work 
with African governments and multilateral institutions to 
compel Robert Mugabe’s regime to respect the will of its 
citizens and find a peaceful and timely solution to the 
current political standoff; and 
(4) urges the Permanent Representative of the 
United States at the United Nations to advocate for an 
international moratorium on all shipments of arms, 
weapons, and related goods and services to Zimbabwe 
until the current political crisis has been resolved and 
democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are re-
spected by the Government of Zimbabwe. 
Attest: 
Clerk.