Taonga Mushayavanhu
Ambassador Taonga Mushayavanhu is the Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
See Zimbabwe’s United Nations Ambassadors.
Education
Mushayavanhu holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from the University of London, a Postgraduate Diploma in Diplomacy and International Studies from the University of Nairobi, a Masters in Economic History from University of Zimbabwe and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economic History from University of Zimbabwe.
Career
During his career, Taonga Mushayavanhu has served in various capacities, among them:
- Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and to the World Trade Organization (since 2014);
- Director for Multilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2014);
- Director for Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2011-2014); *Minister Counselor and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy in Beijing, China (2006-2011);
- Deputy Director, Policy, Research and Promotion Department (2004-2006);
- Principal Administrative Officer, Multilateral Affairs Political Department (2004); *Seconded to the Presidential Land Review Committee Secretariat (2003);
- Principal Administrative Officer, Zimbabwe Institute of International Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2002-2003);
- Principal Administrative Officer, Europe and the Americas Division (2001-2002); *Counselor at the Embassy in London, UK (1997-2000);
- First Secretary, Embassy in London, UK (1994-1997);
- Senior Administrative Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1989-1994); Administrative Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1987-1988).[1]
Dismissing the UN expert Report
Zimbabwe’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Ambassador Taonga Mushayavanhu has described the June/July 2020 report by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association as “prescriptive”, “biased” and out of touch with reality as it rumbles over issues that are “work in progress”, or have already been addressed by the Second Republic.
Ambassador Mushayavanhu said this while making representations at the 44th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on 9 July 2020, where he slammed UN Special Rapporteur Mr Clement Nyaletsossi Voule’s June/July report for slackness of standards, use of “subjective language”, lack of balance, and limited scope in sample representation.[2]
