‘Elders’ spurn attempt to revive role for UN in Zimbabwe

The self-styled diplomatic “Elders” spurned an effort by Britain and the United States last night to revive the United Nations’ role in Zimbabwe.

---

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, and Condoleeza Rice, the Secretary of State, attended a Security Council meeting in New York to step up pressure on President Mugabe of Zimbabwe amidst a cholera epidemic. The closed-door session was the first discussion of Zimbabwe by the UN’s top body since Russia and China cast a double veto to kill a proposal to clamp sanctions on top Zimbabwean officials in July. UN sources said that the meeting was originally organised to hear a presentation on Zimbabwe by the Elders — Jimmy Carter, the former US President, Kofi Annan, the former UN chief, and Graca Machel, the former First Lady of Mozambique — who were blocked from entering the country last month...more

---