Zimbabwe: Solidarity in a Time of Need

It is a tragic irony that the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law that all Commonwealth countries must follow are called the Harare Commonwealth Principles. While these principles were largely respected by the host government when they were agreed to at the 1991 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Zimbabwe's capital; sadly, that is no longer the case.

Following its suspension and then withdrawal in 2003, Zimbabwe may no longer be a member of the Commonwealth but the plight of the country and its people remains in the hearts of many in the association as well as in the region and around the world.

It is for this reason that in November 2006 CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation facilitated an African Solidarity Mission to Zimbabwe, in collaboration with the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition. CIVICUS, a Johannesburg-based international alliance dedicated to strengthening civil society and citizen participation throughout the world, runs a number of programmes, including Civil Society Watch (CSW) which organised this mission. In line with CSW's focus on responding to situations where citizen action and civil society rights and freedoms are being threatened, the November mission to Zimbabwe focused on the challenges faced by civil society in Zimbabwe and the obstacles they must overcome in order to do their work.

The Mission brought together senior and highly respected representatives from a diverse range of civil society groups from across Africa. The members of the team were: Don Mattera, South African writer and community activist; Don Deya, the Executive Director of the East African Law Society based in Tanzania; Luckson Chipare, former Regional Director of Media Institute of South Africa based in Namibia; John Kapito, a Commissioner at the Malawian Human Rights Commission; Hannah Forster, Executive Director of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies in the Gambia; Jeremias Langa, News Director of SOICO, the only independent broadcaster in Mozambique; and Fatoumata Toure, of the Global Pan African Movement, based in Kampala.

Travelling to Harare and Bulawayo from 27 November to 1 December, the team met with representatives of civil society including those from non-governmental organisations, women, students, business, trade unions and faith-based groups, as well as individuals in government and opposition parties. This provided an opportunity for regional civil society to offer solidarity to Zimbabwean civil society during the country's humanitarian and human rights crisis. The mission also sought to discuss with various stakeholders ways and means in which civil society can effectively react to the repressive environment, and practical assistance that can be provided from abroad, particularly from the countries represented on the mission.

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