AFRICA:African leaders meeting today to discuss the Zimbabwean crisis are expected to back away from taking firm action against President Robert Mugabe despite what human rights campaigners describe as a growing climate of repression in the country.
In a report published today, Human Rights Watch warns of possible escalating abuses in the run-up to next year's parliamentary and presidential elections in Zimbabwe.
The New York-based group is urging the Southern African Development Community to dispatch human rights monitors to the troubled state, which is gripped by hyper-inflation and a collapsing economy.
However, members of the development community, who are gathering in Zambia for a regional heads-of-state summit, have expressed little interest in tackling Mr Mugabe's alleged abuses of power.
Those hoping for a tougher stance from it have been discouraged by a draft report prepared for the meeting by South African president Thabo Mbeki, who had been charged last March with mediating on the crisis after a group of Zimbabwean opposition leaders were badly beaten by state police.
The report deflects attention away from Mr Mugabe's recent attacks on the opposition and claims "there are no real substantive issues" between the government and the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The report also criticises Zimbabwe's former colonisers, saying: "The most worrisome thing is that the UK continues to deny its role as the principal protagonist in the Zimbabwean issue and is persisting with its activities to isolate Zimbabwe."
Regional allies of Mr Mugabe are expected to seize upon Mr Mbeki's report to push for a lifting of EU and US sanctions.
The opposition has rejected suggestions that substantive progress has been made in negotiations. They say Mr Mugabe's party is only agreeable to token reforms, having ruled out the introduction of a new constitution.
The MDC has sent a delegation to the summit in Zambia but its influence is expected to be diminished because of recent bitter divisions in the party's leadership.
Also attending the summit are a number of non-government organisations, including Human Rights Watch, which says the credibility of the Southern African Development Community "as a real force for change on human rights is on the line".
Tiseke Kasambala, a researcher with the group, said: "Without any measurable improvements in Zimbabwe, there is a risk that things may get out of hand towards the end of the year or after the elections. To date, southern African leaders have sidelined human rights issues, but for Zimbabwe to have a sustainable solution these need to be addressed."