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Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition meets members of the AU Peace and Security Council
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
January 24, 2011

In preparation for the 16th African Union (AU) summit, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Director Mr. McDonald Lewanika held meetings with;

• Ambassador Kwesi Quartey - Ghana's Permanent Rep to the AU and the United Nations Economic Commisison for Africa (UNECA)
• Ambassador Professor Joseph Nsengimana Rwanda's Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Re to AU and NECA
• Minister Plenipotentiary Vincent J Kibwanda of Tanzania, Charge De Affairs and Acting Head of Mission who are all members of the AU peace and Security Force.

The meetings were facilitated by Oxfam International's Liaison Office with the AU and the state of Union Coalition. He also attended the launch of the Union Report organised by Oxfam and Partners which saw an a attendance of at least 25 African Ambassadors, the Ambassadors of Finland, and Brazil, some AU commissioners, Heads of Departments, International Civic orgs, as well as National Civic orgs and representatives from other countries. The meetings are part of the Coalition's efforts to impact on the AU, which included pre-summit missions to Zambia, Malawi and SA, Swaziland as well as a possible mission to Kigali Rwanda all organised by the South African Office.

The AU summit to be held from the 24th to the 31st of January will be focussing on unity and integrity in the African Continent under the theme "Towards greater Unity and Integration through shared values". Key issues also to be discussed include human rights, democracy, good governance and these issues will provide a basis for the collective actions and solutions in addressing Africa's political economic and social challenges. Given this, one of the key messages to the African union on Zimbabwe is that the AU's clear, and firm position on electoral fraud in Ivory Coast is an important first step which needs to be backed up by appropriate action. AU has an opportunity for setting a good precedent, which can and should be applied across Africa, including in Zimbabwe, where electoral fraud is not tolerated and where losers are forced to leave power in respect of the people verdict.

Other key messages included;

• Conceptualising fraud in the context of the AU governance Peace and Security Architecture, and come up with frameworks and systems that allow their 5 key structures to be active. Relating to this, ambassadors were impressed to note that there is need to properly work on this.
• Enhancing the capacity of their early warning system and their situation room in order to have shared meanings and understandings of indicators that tallow the African Union to avoid conflict rather than wait for it to happen and then to try to act afterwards - Indications from countries like Zimbabwe are a case in point.
• Africa's greater unity, integration and development can only be achieved on a strong foundation of political stability. The AU must ensure that electoral processes do not engender conflict and instability - Zimbabwe's next elections are a litmus test.
• For Zimbabwe's next elections, whenever they are held, the AU should ensure that SADC supervises those elections with the AU itself and the 4 wider international community closely monitoring them to ensure that they reflect the will of Zimbabweans and are conducted in conditions that fully comply with regional standards. An AU peacekeeping force should be on standby to deal with challenges that may arise during and after elections.
• AU and SADC must independently monitor Zimbabwe's preparations for credible elections and be satisfied that conditions are right before Zimbabwe can have elections. Particular focus should be on a new constitution, a new voter's roll, an independent and fully capacitated Electoral Commission, a robust and free media and electorate, non-violence and non-partisan justice institutions.

In pursuit of shared values, the decisive leadership shown by the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS) was contrasted with SADC, and though the very situation was different, it was impressed upon the Ambassadors that the development of shared values on the continent begins with decisive non negotiable being agreed to and stood by the Regional Economic Communities (RECS).

The following are also key messages to the AU on Broader Union matters;

• The issue of ratification and implementation of AU Statutes was also raised to the ambassadors, based on findings of the state of the Union Research Report, which indicated that members of the AU were found wanting in terms of ratification, and that even those who ratify key statutes are sometimes found wanting on domestication and implementation.
• The Sudan, Ivory Coast and Tunisia issues were raised as issues of concern needing attention from the AU and its member states, especially in respect of protection of citizens, an obligation which is found in the AU Charter as the Right to Protect, given political developments in those countries at the moment.

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