Reinforcing our Commitment to Peace, Human Rights and Development

*By Edward Kallon

Prelude to the Summit of the Future (2024) which aims to adopt collective agreements on global solidarity for current and future generations, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres has released a Policy Brief on – A New Agenda for Peace. The Policy Brief follows the declaration on the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, in which the Heads of State and Government undertook to promote peace and prevent conflicts. This requires major actions at global and national levels to address the complex, multi-faceted and multi-layered threats to peace and development and the ability to deliver on the promise of the Charter of the United Nations and the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Indeed, the Secretary-General’s message depict the correlation between peace, human rights, and development. The timeliness of this message in view of the 23 August harmonized elections cannot be overemphasized. Zimbabwe’s engagement and re-engagement policy, including the ongoing arrears clearance and debt resolution dialogue is already repositioning the country on a new path towards prosperity. It is critical for Zimbabweans to seize the moment and conduct a peaceful and inclusive electoral process that would widen the trajectory towards a brighter future for all. Violence in all its forms must continually be denounced and prevented before, during and after elections.

Diagnosing the challenges: the Secretary-General’s key messages  

The global challenge to peace and development is as glaring as it is frightening. It was Kofi Annan, who identified the apt nexus of the conundrum in the following coinage: there can be no peace without development; there can be no development without peace; and there can be no sustainable peace and development without respect for human rights. If one of these three pillars is weak in a nation or a region, the whole structure is weak.

The Secretary-General’s renewed agenda for peace maintains that inequalities and injustices, within and among nations, are giving rise to new grievances. Global warming and its attendant problems of climate change, together with increasing mar­ginalization, and raging conflicts have rendered young peo­ple all over the world disillusioned about the prospects for their future. The urgency of all countries to come together, to fulfil the promise of the nations united, the Secretary-General says, has rarely been greater. The peace the world is envisaging can only be pursued alongside sustainable development and human rights.

The Secretary-General’s policy brief has raised concerns over the shrinking space for civic participation. Digital tools that created previously inconceivable avenues for civic participation, in particular for young people, are now used to restrict civic space. For the tenets of the Charter to be realized, redressing the pervasive historical imbalances that characterize the international system – from the legacies of colonialism and slavery to the deeply unjust global financial architecture and anachronistic peace and security structures of today – must be a priority.

Paradigm shift to prevention

Action for peace is urgently needed, not just to address crises and their immediate conse­quences, but also to prevent them and tackle their underlying drivers. This must begin with bolstering the implementation of all the SDGs, to drastically improve the abil­ity of developing countries (including Zimbabwe) to close their current development financing gaps, and increase resources allocated to support national action for peace. As a way forward to having durable peace, we also need to invest in building peace through Global citizenship education and strengthen Media and Information Literacy Skills programmes to build and strengthen a culture of peace among citizens. A renewed commitment to prevention must start by addressing that lack of trust, along with invest­ment in national prevention capacities and infra­structures for peace. A whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach grounded in sus­tainable development that leaves no one and no region behind would make national prevention strategies more effective. Overall, prevention is better and cheaper than cure.

A commendable development worth highlighting is the anticipated renewed role of Member States, like Zimbabwe, in the new agenda for peace. Member States ought to develop nationally led prevention strategies to address the different drivers and enablers of violence and conflict in societies and strengthen national infrastructures for peace. These strategies can help reinforce State institutions, promote the rule of law, and strengthen civil society and social cohesion, so as to ensure greater tolerance and solidarity. Equally important is the need to ensure that human rights in their entirety – economic, social, and cultural rights as well as civil, ecological, and political rights – are at the heart of national prevention strategies, as human rights are critical to guarantee conditions of inclusion and protect against marginalization and discrimination.

2023 elections and the peace imperative

As Zimbabwe gears up for the harmonized elections, the imperative to highlight the need for a peaceful and inclusive process to further consolidate and deepen the democratic process and foster social-cohesion, sustainable development, and prosperity cannot be overemphasized.  

First, peace is a catalyst for development. A peaceful election serves as a foundation for sustainable development that would create an environment conducive to socio-economic growth and transformation. Second, prosperity and inclusive economic progress is linked to political stability and genuine and purposeful respect for human rights. Zimbabwean stakeholders - political leaders and citizens - must prioritize peace during elections, ensuring an atmosphere of tolerance, mutual trust, and inclusivity. Third, to ensure peaceful elections, it is essential to address the underlying issues that often fuel political tensions. Ensuring transparency, effective voter education, and impartiality of the electoral body and related institutions are crucial elements that build trust and accountability.

Confidence in the process can be reinforced through non-partisan observation and independent monitoring. Inclusive dialogue between political leaders, with the support of the media and civil society organizations, including faith-based organizations can contribute to creating an enabling environment of peace and sustain national unity. I believe that no Zimbabwean should die, or be subjected to violence or suffer discrimination, while exercising their rights to political participation, including the right to vote and to be elected.

As Zimbabwe approaches the harmonized elections this month, the reimagination of its future lies in the hands of its citizens and political leaders. By prioritizing peace and human rights during the electoral process, Zimbabwe has an opportunity to change its narrative and assume its economic leadership position in Southern Africa. Political leaders should avoid fanning the embers of discontent and use of language that is likely to incite, promote, or encourage others to commit acts of violence or harm against opponents. I commend the relentless calls for peace by the President and other political leaders so far. My appeal is that those who will emerge as winners should do so in magnanimity. Those who will not make it should display a spirit of fair play and restraint. Grievances or dissatisfaction with the outcome should be channeled peacefully through established mechanisms and courts law.  

This year, as the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights– a historical document that was drafted as a blueprint to prevent conflict and build peace, let us heed the words of the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, who has said that promotion of human rights is the best starting point for preventing crises and building peace. I urge all stakeholders to embrace the opportunity to make peace happen. Let the overall winner in this election be Zimbabwe as country.

*Edward Kallon is the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator to Zimbabwe, and Representative of the UN Secretary General in the country.