Jaspreet Kindra
Delegates to an international body studying guidelines for intervention in the affairs of sovereign states have expressed concerns about Zimbabwe during discussions in Maputo.
Meeting last weekend at an African Round Table discussion hosted by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, delegates expressed “real anxiety” about the situation in Zimbabwe.
The commission, initiated by the Canadian government last year, is an independent body meeting politicians and NGOs in Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America.
Former African National Congress general secretary Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also a member of the commission, was among the 28 representatives of 13 countries, drawn from think tanks, NGOs and the Organisation of African Unity participating in the discussions.
Speaking to the Mail & Guardian, Gareth Evans, co-chair of the commission, said delegates had been informed that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had taken a “strong line” on the situation in Zimbabwe at its summit in Windhoek last week.
SADC had met to discuss restructuring the organisation. In a move perceived as criticism of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, headed by Mugabe, was integrated into SADC structures.
Evans, the former Australian foreign minister, said the level of debate on intervention was “sophisticated” in Africa. The recently constituted African Union has provided for member states to request international intervention to restore peace and security.
He said a view expressed at the African Round Table indicated that “direct intervention” should be the last form of action.
The ideal scenario would be where a problem in a country is addressed internally with support provided by the international community.
Evans said there was a great deal of “suspicion” and “distrust” on the continent about the direct interventionist roles played by the major powers in the past, which was understandable.
The situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said, “is still lying in the balance”, and Sierra Leone was a cause for concern.
He said the starting point of the commission’s approach to arriving at a global consensus on intervention was protecting the rights of people and the role of states as good international citizens with a duty towards “helping your neighbours”.
Besides Ramaphosa, the other prominent members of the commission are former Philippines president Fidel Ramos and Mohammed Sahnoun, who is co-chair of the commission and special adviser to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.