The Lusaka Declaration of the Commonwealth on Racism and Racial Prejudice (short: the Lusaka Declaration) was a declaration of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

on the issues of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

and

egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...

within and between Commonwealth member states. It was agreed and issued on 7 August 1979 in Lusaka,

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

, at the conclusion of the fifth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The declaration followed the 1971

Singapore Declaration The Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles was a declaration issued by the assembled Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations, setting out the core political volunteering values that would form the main part of the Commonwealth ...

, which laid out the first political, social, and economic membership criteria. In that document, three paragraphs were dedicated to egalitarianism of all forms, of which, one was concentrated entirely upon racism. The impending collapse of the breakaway government of Rhodesia (then styled as '

Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, and sometimes as Rhobabwe, was a short-lived sovereign state that existed from 1 June to 12 December 1979. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was p ...

' under the

Internal Settlement The Internal Settlement was an agreement which was signed on 3 March 1978 between Prime Minister of Rhodesia Ian Smith and the moderate African nationalist leaders comprising Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Ndabaningi Sithole and Senator Chief Jeremiah Ch ...

) was seen as demanding a restatement of the Commonwealth's principles of racial equality, and so the Lusaka Declaration was made to further expound and clarify the Heads of Governments' position. The first article of the declaration demanded

legal equality Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law. The principle requires a systematic ru ...

'without any distinction or exclusion based on race, colour, sex, descent, or national or ethnic origin'. It later stated that no degree of respect for separate cultures could justify racial discrimination, and that the 'infamous policy' of

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

was an 'affront to humanity', and that it was the duty of the Commonwealth to effect its 'total eradication'. To compensate for the effects of past

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

and racism, it was agreed that special provisions may be made to achieve social and economic redress,. In addition to demanding respect and equality for indigenous peoples, the Lusaka Declaration also demanded equal respect for immigrant communities. The declaration was accompanied by the CHOGM's general

communiqué A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

, which explicitly iterated these principles with regards to Zimbabwe, and which led to the invitation of

Abel Muzorewa Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa (14 April 1925 – 8 April 2010), also commonly referred to as Bishop Muzorewa, was a Zimbabwean bishop and politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia from the Internal Settlement to ...

to take part in the Lancaster House Conference.

Footnotes

External links

Full text of the Lusaka Declaration
{{Commonwealth of Nations key documents History of the Commonwealth of Nations Racism Lusaka Foreign relations of Rhodesia Politics of Rhodesia 1979 in international relations 1979 in Zambia 1979 documents Decolonization