Seventeenth Meeting of The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG), Marlborough House, 20 December 2001

COMMONWEALTH STATEMENT

Members of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG) met in London on 20 December 2001. The participants were: the Hon Lt. General Mompati Merafhe, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana (Chairman); the Hon Alexander Downer MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia; the Hon Morshed Khan, MP, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh; the Hon Billie Miller, MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados (Vice-Chairperson); the Hon, John Manley, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada; the Hon Tan Sri Dato' Musa bin Hitam, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Malaysia to CMAG; the Hon Sule Lamido, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria; and the Rt. Hon Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom.

ZIMBABWE

10. CMAG used the occasion of its Meeting to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe. It recalled that on three previous occasions the Group had expressed concern about conditions in Zimbabwe.

11. The Group reaffirmed its full support for the process established by the Abuja Agreement, reached at the initiative of President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, and expressed its deep appreciation for the President's ongoing mediation efforts. It also expressed its support for the initiative by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as the involvement of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in assisting with land reform in Zimbabwe.

12. CMAG noted that the repeated efforts of the Secretary-General to engage with the Government of Zimbabwe had been unsuccessful. It also noted that the Government of Zimbabwe had not agreed to receive a Commonwealth Ministerial Mission proposed by CMAG in the Commonwealth spirit of dialogue and co-operation.

13. The Group reiterated its deep concern about the ongoing situation in Zimbabwe especially the continued violence, occupation of property, actions against the freedom and independence of the media and political intimidation. It agreed that the situation in Zimbabwe constitutes a serious and persistent violation of the Commonwealth's fundamental political values and the rule of law as enshrined in the Harare Commonwealth Declaration.

14. CMAG agreed to draw the attention of the Government of Zimbabwe to its commitments under the Abuja Agreement and under the Harare Commonwealth Declaration. It strongly urged the Government of Zimbabwe to proceed vigorously with implementation of these commitments.

15. The Group noted the public indication by the Government of Zimbabwe of its willingness to invite international observers, including from SADC, the OAU, CARICOM and the Commonwealth, to be present for the forthcoming Presidential Elections. It expressed the expectation that formal invitations will be issued in sufficient time for an early deployment of such observers.

16. CMAG decided to include Zimbabwe on its formal agenda and to review the situation in that country at its next meeting on 30 January 2002.