By Staff Reporter
Harare – The United Kingdom has vetoed Zimbabwe’s bid to rejoin the Commonwealth, citing insufficient progress on governance and human rights reforms.
Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2002 under the late Robert Mugabe’s regime, following widespread human rights abuses and violations of property rights during the controversial land reform program.
Mugabe defended the reforms as a necessary redress for colonial injustices that had dispossessed indigenous Zimbabweans of land and economic opportunities.
The Commonwealth Secretariat had recommended Zimbabwe’s readmission, giving member states until November 26 to provide feedback.
Membership requires unanimous approval from all 56 member nations.
In a written response to Baroness Kate Hoey in the House of Lords, the UK Foreign Office stated:
“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.
“Whilst we recognise there has been progress, we believe further steps are needed on democracy, governance and human rights before Zimbabwe makes a formal application to re-join the Commonwealth,” read the statement.
The UK specifically highlighted Zimbabwe’s failure to implement the recommendations of the Commonwealth Election Observer Mission.
These recommendations addressed critical shortcomings, including the lack of independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, prohibitive candidate registration fees that hinder participation, inadequate judicial independence, and a lack of transparency in the announcement of election results.
To address these issues, the UK proposed a follow-up Commonwealth assessment mission to Zimbabwe in 2025 to evaluate progress in these areas.
The UK highlighted that Zimbabwe has yet to address these deficiencies, as outlined by the Commonwealth Election Observer Mission.
“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.
Although many African nations have expressed support for Zimbabwe’s return, the UK’s decision underscores the challenges Zimbabwe faces in aligning with Commonwealth standards.
