9 2.1 The Abuja Agreement The “fast track” land acquisition process, begun in 2000, caused both national and international concern, and, in the wake of the contentious elections in 2000, drew the attention of the Commonwealth. The Abuja Agreement, signed in Abuja, Nigeria, in September 2001, was an important step in the internationalizing of the “land problem”, and, any brief analysis of the failure of this initiative by the Commonwealth, shows that the Zimbabwe Government was operating in a wholly mala fides fashion. Whilst the major thrust of the Abuja Agreement dealt with land, nonetheless, the Abuja Agreement did cover most aspects of the Zimbabwe crisis. It committed the Zimbabwe Government: • • • • to “take firm action against violence and intimidation” ; to comply with the standards contained in the Harare Declaration and the Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme; to observe human rights, the rule of law, transparency and democratic principles; to take a series of confidence-building measures that will lead to immediate and observable changes in the domestic situation. The Abuja Agreement, whilst welcomed in principle by civil society in Zimbabwe, nonetheless was treated with some skepticism. The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition issued a statement ahead of the visit of the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers, pointing out that there had been insufficient recognition of the violence that accompanied the farm invasions, as well as insufficient recognition of the breakdown in the rule of law in Zimbabwe. 11 As the Coalition commented: The words in the Agreement that there must be “due regard for human rights, rule of law, transparency and democratic principles” must be given actual expression and should not be mere vague aspirations that can be disregarded in practice. Concrete steps must be taken. All groups suspected of violence must be disbanded. All allegations of human rights abuses must be properly investigated and, if there is evidence of criminal acts the culprits must be brought to court. The police must uphold their duty under the Constitution with impartiality and afford protection to all citizens whose rights are violated. The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, the “Human Rights Forum”, also made a concerted effort to track the progress of this agreement, and issued 2 reports on adherence to the bench marks set down by the agreement, and accepted by the Zimbabwe government. 12 These two reports largely concluded that there was no attempt being made to “take firm action against 11 12 Comments by Civic Organisations on the Abuja Agreement. Crisis Conference Co-ordinating Committee. 10 September 2001. See Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (2001), Evaluating the Abuja Agreement, HARARE: ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM; Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (2001), Evaluating the Abuja Agreement: Two Months Report, HARARE: ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM. A Preliminary Report on Human Rights Violations on Commercial Farms, 2000 to 2005.