The People's Charter Movement (PCM) is a political organisation in

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

that advocates for the annexation of the Kingdom of Lesotho into the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Objectives

Lesotho is an enclaved country, entirely surrounded by South Africa. The country has suffered from numerous crises recently. Nearly a quarter of the population tests positive for

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

, and the country has also faced high unemployment, economic collapse, a weak currency and poor travel documents restricting movement. Among other things, these crises have motivated calls for increased integration with the surrounding South Africa. The exact objectives of the PCM are not entirely clear, as it has at times advocated for outright annexation while at other times calling for the two governments "to embark on discussions that could ultimately result in a special type relationship between the two countries--be it a union, a federation or a unified state". The PCM advocates merger into South Africa owing to the desperate economic conditions in Lesotho, aggravated by an AIDS crisis that has affected more than 400,000 people. While the PCM advocates the dissolution of Lesotho as a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...

, it argues for retention of autonomy and the status of the King of Lesotho.

History

In May 2010, the Charter Movement delivered a petition with 30,000 signatures to the South African High Commission requesting integration. South Africa's home affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa rejected the idea that Lesotho should be treated as a special case. "It is a sovereign country like South Africa. We sent envoys to our neighbours – Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho – before we enforced the passport rule. When you travel from Britain to South Africa, don't you expect to use a passport?"

References

{{Lesotho-stub Political parties in Lesotho Foreign relations of South Africa Foreign relations of Lesotho