ZIMBABWE’S bid to rejoin the Commonwealth club has hit a brick wall, with the United Kingdom insisting on the implementation of meaningful reforms that align with the group’s principles, especially in the area of governance and human rights.
The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office made the disclosure recently in a written response to a question posed by Baroness Kate Hoey in the House of Lords.
The Northern Irish politician had asked whether Zimbabwe’s application would be upheld given the recommendations made by outgoing Commonwealth secretary-general Patricia Scotland.
Scotland had advocated for Zimbabwe’s readmission, giving member States until November 26 to provide their views.
“The UK has always been clear that we would like to see Zimbabwe return to the Commonwealth when the time is right. However, currently we do not share the secretariat’s assessment of Zimbabwe’s progress or readiness in line with the shared values and principles laid out in the Commonwealth Charter,” the Foreign Office said, adding that a second assessment should be conducted next year to check on improvements.
The Foreign Office cited several grey areas which Zimbabwe needs to address before it is readmitted to the club of former British colonies.
In particular, the Foreign Office noted Zimbabwe’s failure to act on several key recommendations made by the Commonwealth election observer mission following last year’s disputed elections.
“The UK strongly values our partnership with Zimbabwe and stands ready to support further reforms in this regard, through the Commonwealth and other fora,” the Foreign Office added.
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Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2002 following a disputed presidential election and it left the group when its suspension was upheld in 2003.
In 2007, the Commonwealth adopted a four-part process for re-admitting member States.
In the first stage, Baroness Scotland conducted an informal assessment.
In the second, she in October this year circulated her informal report to the membership, whose recommendation was shot down by the Foreign Office.
Under the process, the next stage is for Zimbabwe to make a “formal application” which “has to be presented with evidence of a functioning democratic process and popular support in that country for joining the Commonwealth”.
Local human rights organisations and the opposition have flagged Zimbabwe’s poor human rights record.
Stephen Chan, a professor of world politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, said Zimbabwe had not made enough progress to be readmitted.
“It is in my opinion unlikely that Zimbabwe will be readmitted. It has fulfilled none of the requirements outlined by the report of the Commonwealth observer group after the last elections,” he said.
