A massive shipment of arms aboard the Chinese ship the ‘An Yue Jiang’, is currently destined for the government of Zimbabwe. These weapons, ordered three days after the elections, are likely to contribute to and increase human rights violations across the country. In the three weeks since the elections took place, there have been numerous credible reports of increased state sponsored violence. The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights had recorded 242 cases of organised violence and torture by 17th April.

Across southern Africa, attempts are being made to block the shipment. On Friday, members of the South African Transport and Allied workers union refused to offload the weapons from the ship in Durban. Since then a South African judge ruled that the cargo could not be transported overland through South Africa. Further attempts are being made to halt the shipment through the South African Courts. Trade unions representing dock and transport workers in Mozambique, Angola, Tanzania and Namibia have followed the South African lead by stating that they will not unload the arms should the ship attempt to dock in their territory. Human rights groups tracking the movements of the ship speculate that it is heading for Namibia or Angola.

We cannot allow this shipment to reach Zimbabwe and be used to continue the violence and human rights violations against the Zimbabwean people. Join ACTSA and civil society organisations from across southern Africa to call on the Chinese government to recall the shipment. Click here to protest to the Chinese Embassy in London