No results have been announced from the March 29 presidential vote in Zimbabwe, but British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, "No one thinks, having seen the results of polling stations, that President (Robert) Mugabe has won."
"A stolen election would not be a democratic election at all," Brown told the summit. "Let a single clear message go out from here in New York that we ... stand solidly behind democracy and human rights for Zimbabwe."
South Africa, current president of the Security Council, scheduled the summit to discuss cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union. It did not include Zimbabwe on the agenda but Western countries were determined to raise it.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, who chaired the summit, has insisted the situation in Zimbabwe can be resolved through the Southern Africa Development Community, which has avoided a tough stand.
Trying to counter accusations at home that he is taking too soft a line on Zimbabwe, Mbeki told reporters after the summit the only way for mediators to resolve the impasse was to keep talking with both Mugabe's government and the opposition.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon indicated to the gathering he was not satisfied with a soft approach.
"The Zimbabwean authorities and the countries of the region have insisted that these matters are for the region to resolve but the international community continues to watch and wait for decisive action," Ban said.
Zimbabwe's economy is in ruins, with 80 percent unemployment, chronic food shortages and the world's worst inflation rate of almost 165,000 percent. Mugabe is widely blamed for the turmoil and critics say the country's misery will only end when he is replaced.
INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS
One of two African speakers who did mention Zimbabwe was Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, whose country chairs the AU. He praised the SADC for doing a "tremendous job ... to ensure that the will of the people of Zimbabwe is respected."
