Zimbabwe is suffering "persistent and serious" human rights violations despite the formation of a unity government four months ago, Amnesty International's secretary general Irene Khan said Thursday.

"The human rights situation in Zimbabwe is precarious and the socio-economic conditions are desperate for the vast majority of Zimbabweans," she told reporters in Harare following a six-day mission to the country.

"Persistent and serious human rights violations continue," she said, but urged donors not to withdraw crucial humanitarian assistance because of the human rights situation.

"The human rights assessment is grim but should not be used by donors to witthhold funding that can make a difference to humanitarian needs," Khan said.

"We believe humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe should be expanded," she said, especially to support primary education.

Her visit was the first-ever by an Amnesty chief, and Zimbabwe's decision to allow her mission was seen as a sign of great political openness.

She called on long-ruling President Robert Mugabe and those close to him to respect the power-sharing agreement which sought to end political violence that intensified after last year's disputed elections.

"The failure to introduce reforms of the police, army and security forces, or address impunity, and the lack of clear commitment of some parts of government are real obstacles that need to be confronted by the top leadership of Zimbabwe," she said.

"As head of state, commander in chief of the armed forces and leader of the country for the last three decades, President Mugabe and those around him must have a special responsibility to rise to the challenge of delivering on the global political agreement and particularly on the hard core human rights issues."

She urged the unity government formed in February between Mugabe and his one-time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to commit to human rights reforms and make public statements urging their supporters against violence.

She said the power-sharing pact "provides a framework for change, but commitment to its implementation is not consistent throughout the government."

"The government must give as much attention to securing human rights reforms as they are to seeking economic resources," she added.

Khan said a climate of intimidation pervades with human rights activists and supporters of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) still being prosecuted on terror charges.

Seven MDC activists who disappeared last year have never been found, while as recently as Wednesday, protesters were beaten while carrying out peaceful demonstrations.

Violence continues on white-owned farms, while no investigations have been opened into deadly political attacks that erupted last year or into earlier explosions of violence.

"There seems to be no real sense of urgency to bring about human rights changes on the part of some government leaders. Words have not been followed by effective action," she said.

Amnesty urged Zimbabwe's government and donors to expand their efforts to revive the school system and to abolish fees for primary school students.

"Because of their inability to pay fees, parents are being forced to make impossible choices - between feeding their children or educating them," Khan said.

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