Zimbabwe could be readmitted to the Commonwealth – despite concern over its human rights record – following support from Baroness Scotland, the organisation’s controversial Secretary-General.
She has recommended the country be allowed to return more than 20 years after its expulsion for human rights violations under ex-president Robert Mugabe.
The move comes despite allegations of election-rigging and detention of political opponents by president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has also voiced support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
An Informal Assessment Report by Baroness Scotland says that ‘stakeholders’ in Zimbabwe have ‘reported an overall improved political environment’, adding: ‘I am certain that with the help of the Commonwealth family the country will flourish once again.’
The Secretary-General was dubbed ‘Baroness Brazen’ after it emerged she spent £338,000 refurbishing her grace-and-favour Mayfair apartment and appointed allies to key posts after she got the Commonwealth job. She is to step down early next year.
On Zimbabwe, she says that while the country was ‘still in the early stages of its democratic journey and challenges remain, including the issue of political prisoners and upholding freedom of association, most of the core criteria have been sufficiently and broadly met’. She recommends Zimbabwe’s membership progresses to the ‘next stage’, which entails her consultation with member countries.
The publication Africa Confidential says she made the recommendation despite criticism of Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections in a Commonwealth Observers’ Report which has been slow to emerge.
It found ‘shortcomings with the process that call into question the credibility, transparency and inclusivity of the election’. It added Zimbabwe had passed laws that ‘negatively impacted journalistic freedoms’.
Zimbabwe has been trying to rejoin the Commonwealth since 2018 for the prestige of being a member – and access to markets with low trade tariffs.
A Commonwealth spokesman said: ‘We have ascertained that all stakeholders (government, opposition, civil society, media, religious leaders etc) are eager to see Zimbabwe back in the family.’