* Jonathan Shirley is an Executive Editor of the Boston College International & Comparative Law Review.
1 John McClung Nading, Note, Property Under Siege: The Legality of Land Reform in Zimbabwe, 16 Emory Int’l L. Rev. 737, 742, 750 (2002).
2 See id. at 739–41.
3 See id. at 755–60.
4 Thomas Mitchell, The Land Crisis in Zimbabwe: Getting Beyond the Myopic Focus upon Black & White, 11 Ind. Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 587, 591 (2001).
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 Mitchell, supra note 4, at 592.
10 See id.
11 See Heather Boyle, Note, The Land Problem: What Does the Future Hold for South Africa’s Land Reform Program?, 11 Ind. Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 665, 686 (2001).
12 See id.
13 See International Bar Association, Report of Zimbabwe Mission 2001, � 7.3 (Apr. 23, 2001), http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/zimbabwe.html [hereinafter Zimbabwe Report].
14 See id.
15 See id. � 7.4–.10.
16 See Boyle, supra note 11, at 687.
17 See Zimbabwe Report, supra note 13, � 7.6.
18 Id. � 7.7.
19 Id. � 2.3.
20 Id.
21 See id. � 2.7.
22 See Philip Gourevitch, Wasteland, The New Yorker, June 3, 2002, at 59, available at LEXIS, News Library, UPI File.
23 See id.
24 Zimbabwe Report, supra note 13, � 2.7.
25 See id. � 7.16.
26 See id.
27 See Gourevitch, supra note 22.
28 See Zimbabwe Report, supra note 13, � 7.16.
29 See Mitchell, supra note 4, at 596. These legislative acts occurred under the ZANU-PF dominated parliament that had existed prior to the June 2000 elections. Id.
30 Id.
31 Id. at 597.
32 Id. at 596–97.
33 Mitchell, supra note 4, at 596 n.70.
34 See Rahman Ford, Law History, and the Colonial Discourse: Davies v. Commissioner and Zimbabwe as a Colonialist Case Study, 45 How. L.J. 213, 241 (2001).
35 See Zimbabwe Report, supra note 13, � 7.18.
36 Id. � 7.19. Eyewitness accounts, however, suggest that Mugabe’s government was indeed involved in orchestrating these invasions. See id. � 7.16. Witness reported seeing government vehicles transport the war veterans to farms they intended to occupy. See id. In addition, the government was reportedly paying daily stipends to the occupiers. See id.
37 Ford, supra note 34, at 242.
38 Id.
39 See White Farmer Killed in Zimbabwe, BBC News, Mar. 18, 2002, at http://news.bbc.co. uk/1/hi/world/africa/1878846.stm.
40 See Black Zimbabweans Suffer in Land Reform, BBC News, Nov. 7, 2002, at http:// news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2414713.stm [hereinafter BBC News, Zimbabweans Suffer].
41 Id.
42 See The Situation Today, BBC News, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/ hi/english/static/ in_depth/africa/2000/zimbabwe_crisis/slideshow/situation.stm [hereinafter BBC News, Situation Today].
43 See Zimbabwe Report, supra note 13, �� 9.1–.2, 9.10–.12.
44 See id.
45 See BBC News, Zimbabweans Suffer, supra note 40.
46 See id.
47 See Zimbabwe Report, supra note 13, �� 7, 9.
48 See generally id. � 9.
49 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217A(III), U.N. Doc. A/810, at 71 (1948) [hereinafter Universal Declaration].
50 See Emily Bourdeaux Smith, Note, South Africa’s Land Reform Policy and International Human Rights Law, 19 Wis. Int’l L.J. 267, 274–75 (2001).
51 See id. at 274.
52 See J.D. Van Der Vyver, Ownership in Constitutional and International Law, 1985 Acta Juridica 119, 129 (1985).
53 See id.
54 See id.
55 See Smith, supra note 50, at 273.
56 Theodor Meron, Human Rights and Humanitarian Norms as Customary Law 82 (1989).
57 Universal Declaration, supra note 49, art. 17.
58 See id.
59 See id.
60 See Smith, supra note 50, at 274.
61 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No.16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966) [hereinafter CESCR].
62 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966) [hereinafter CCPR].
63 Compare Universal Declaration, supra note 49, with CESCR, supra note 61, and CCPR, supra note 62.
64 See CCPR, supra note 62; CESCR, supra note 61.
65 Van Der Vyver, supra note 52, at 129.
66 See id.
67 See id.
68 See id.
69 See Nading, supra note 1, at 755.
70 See Universal Declaration, supra note 49, art. 17.
71 Smith, supra note 50, at 274–75. The Americas and Europe have also ratified regional human rights documents. Id.
72 Organization of African Unity: Banjul Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, June 1982, 21 I.L.M. 58 (entered into force Oct. 21, 1986) [hereinafter Banjul Charter].
73 University of Minnesota Human Rights Library, List of Countries Who Have Signed, Ratified/Adhered to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, at http:// www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/ratz1afchr.htm (Jan. 1, 2000).
74 See Banjul Charter, supra note 72, arts. 10–17.
75 Ebow Bondzie-Simpson, A Critique of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, 31 How. L.J. 643, 656 (1988).
76 Banjul Charter, supra note 72, art. 14.
77 Id.
78 See id.
79 Id.
80 Bondzie-Simpson, supra note 75, at 660.
81 Id. at 661.
82 See id.
83 Mitchell, supra note 4, at 596.
84 See Bondzie-Simpson, supra note 75, at 661.
85 Banjul Charter, supra note 72, art. 21.
86 Spoliation is “[t]he seizure of personal or real property by violent means; the act of pillaging.” Black’s Law Dictionary 1133 (7th abr. ed. 2000).
87 Banjul Charter, supra note 72, art. 21.
88 See Nading, supra note 1, at 742–47.
89 Banjul Charter, supra note 72, art. 21.
90 See Bondzie-Simpson, supra note 75, at 661.
91 Banjul Charter, supra note 72, art. 21.
92 See Bondzie-Simpson, supra note 75, at 661.
93 See id. at 660.
94 See Banjul Charter, supra note 72, art. 21.
95 See id.
96 See Cuthbert Joseph, Nationality and Diplomatic Protection: The Commonwealth of Nations 1 (1969).
97 See id.
98 See id. at 1–8.
99 Assuming a foreign national’s land is acquired under the “fast track” plan, Zimbabwe will arguably violate the customary international law of expropriation because it does not pay just compensation for the land. See Hans W. Baade, Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Wealth and Resources, in Essays on Expropriations 22 (Richard S. Miller & Roland J. Stanger eds., 1967). Moreover, Zimbabwe’s commercial farmers are currently appealing the government’s acquisitions and will, presumably, soon exhaust all local remedies in Zimbabwe’s domestic courts. See BBC News, Situation Today, supra note 42.
100 Joseph, supra note 96, at 239.
101 See id.
102 See id.
103 It is estimated that 20,000 Zimbabwean citizens have British passports. See Michael Evans, MoD Watches for Any Risk to Britons, Times (London), June 26, 2000, available at LEXIS, News Library, UPI File. Although unknown, it is conceivable that some of these individuals are commercial farmers. Id.
104 See Iran-United States, Case No. A/18, 5 Iran-U.S. C.T.R. 251 (Iran-U.S. Claims Trib. 1984).
105 Id.
106 See id. at 253.
107 Joseph, supra note 96, at 9.
108 See id.
109 See 5 Iran-U.S. C.T.R. at 263.
110 Id. at 263–65.
111 Id. at 263.
112 See Forced to Flee Zimbabwe, BBC News, July 4, 2000, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/ hi/world/africa/818766.stm.
113 See id.
114 Joseph, supra note 96, at 239.
115 See id.