COMMONWEALTH secretary-general Ms Patricia
Scotland will “imminently” dispatch a high-level delegation to Zimbabwe to
assess the country’s eligibility to rejoin the group following the country’s
expression of interest to return to the 54-member bloc.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa wrote to Ms
Scotland on 9 May expressing Zimbabwe’s willingness to end its 15-year hiatus
from the group.
The Commonwealth has now initiated a four-step
process to assess whether the southern African nation meets the requisite
membership criteria or not.
Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003
as the bilateral dispute between Harare and London reached breaking point over
the land reform exercise.
Former President Mr Robert Mugabe announced
Zimbabwe’s withdrawal from the group after the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (Chogm) in Abuja, Nigeria, in December 2002 decided to suspend Zimbabwe
indefinitely from the grouping of former British colonies.
Commonwealth director of media and public
relations Professor Barnie Choudhury told our Harare Bureau in e-mailed
responses last week that the process of reintegrating Zimbabwe has already
begun.
“Commonwealth heads of government agreed to a
new set of membership criteria at their Kampala CHOGM in 2007, which is a
four-step process.
“The first step, which is the
secretary-general’s informal assessment, is now in progress, and an assessment
mission to Zimbabwe is expected to be undertaken imminently.
“The timeline for the remainder of the
membership process will be subject to the assessment mission findings, and if
necessary, the conclusions of any other informal assessment measures the
secretary-general may wish to undertake.
“The second step of the process, that is
consultations with member governments, will commence once these findings have
been shared with them,” he said.
It is believed that following the assessment
mission, a report will be produced before the findings are shared with member
states.
Consultations will be made before a decision is
formally made at the next Chogm meeting slated for Rwanda in 2020.
Already, the British government has thrown its
weight behind Zimbabwe’s membership bid.
In a statement soon after meeting Minister of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Dr Subusiso Moyo in London on 20 April
— on the sidelines of the recent Chogm meeting — British foreign secretary Mr
Boris Johnson said “the UK would strongly support Zimbabwe’s re-entry”.
To re-join, Zimbabwe must demonstrate that it
complies with the fundamental values set out in the Commonwealth Charter,
including democracy and rule of law, plus protection of human rights such as
freedom of expression.
Zimbabwe has also invited the Commonwealth to
observe its forthcoming elections in July.
The secretariat is presently mobilising a team
of observers for the polls and their assessment will form part of the
secretary-general’s informal assessment. Sunday Mail
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