19/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 19 ,December, the EU Council Presidency issued a statement on behalf of the European Union on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, in which the Presidency states: “The Presidency on behalf of the European Union welcomes the 3-7 December visit to Zimbabwe by Jan Egeland, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. We echo Mr Egeland's concern that the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is extremely serious and getting worse, with many Zimbabweans suffering from food insecurity and/or the HIV/AIDs pandemic, and with thousands still homeless six months after Operation Murambatsvina and four months after Operation Garikai, which has proven to be ineffective. We welcome the agreements signed by UN agencies and the Government of Zimbabwe for food assistance and HIV/AIDs programmes, and note the exchanges between the Government of Zimbabwe and the UN over the need for assistance with shelter. We join with Mr Egeland in calling on the Government of Zimbabwe to build on this and allow the UN and other international donors unrestricted access to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to those in need. We encourage African institutions and states to support this appeal to the Government of Zimbabwe”.
European Parliament plenary session