Davidson and Purohit: The Zimbabwean Human Rights Crisis: A Collaborative Approach to International Advocacy YALE HUMAN RIGHTS & DEVELOPMENT L.J. [Vol. 7 The "African Civil Society Consultation on Zimbabwe" was held in Gaborone on August 5 and 6, 2003. It provided an opportunity for Zimbabwean human rights and civil society activists to meet with their counterparts from Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Zambia, and Malawi to exchange information, ideas, experience, and strategies. The consultation was the first time that such a broad range of regional civil society groups had met to focus entirely on the crisis in Zimbabwe, as well as to think together about methods to individually and jointly address that crisis. 39 It provided an opportunity for the Zimbabwean participants to give details about the current situation in Zimbabwe and to counter the tremendous amount of misinformation that exists in the region concerning Zimbabwe. Such a sharing of information was extremely useful for the non-Zimbabwean groups represented, as the details provided by the Zimbabwean participants gave them the necessary tools to engage in advocacy on Zimbabwe upon their return to their home countries. For the Zimbabweans, the consultation was an important occasion to meet their regional counterparts, to learn from their experiences and to share ideas, all of which provided them with crucial support and encouragement for their ongoing struggle. The substantive discussions began with a keynote address by Rev. Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo and one of Zimbabwe's best known and respected human rights advocates. Thereafter, presentations were given by other Zimbabwean participants on three broad themes: political violence; restrictions upon human rights defenders; and economic and social rights. These topics were then discussed in detail by all of the participants, who divided into three break-out groups. Each break-out group was charged with sharing ideas and formulating strategies to address the various issues raised. In addition, the participants discussed regional and international advocacy mechanisms that could be utilized by civil society groups to bring pressure for an end to ongoing human rights violations in Zimbabwe. This fourth discussion topic was considered particularly useful by many of the participants, who had not had previous experience in accessing and utilizing these mechanisms. At the close of the consultation, the participants adopted by consensus a concluding statement, as a public advocacy document.40 In addition, an internal document was created that laid out a program for action by African civil society groups on the Zimbabwean crisis, and each of the 39 While individual organizations in several African countries, including South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, had been raising concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe for some time, and such concerns had been expressed at regional meetings such as the African Commission on Human Rights, there had not yet been a regional meeting devoted to discussion of Zimbabwe involving such diverse groups from so many different countries. In addition, coordination of advocacy on human rights in Zimbabwe at a national level had not occurred in any African country apart from South Africa. There, a Zimbabwe Advocacy Campaign was created in 2003 to coordinate activities among a range of civil society groups. 40 AFRICAN CIVIL SOCIETY CONSULTATION ON ZIMBABWE, CONCLUDING STATEMENT (Aug. 6, 2003), at http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd zimbabwe/African-CivilSociety-Consultation.pdf. The full text is available as the appendix to this article. Published by Yale Law School Legal Scholarship Repository, 2004 17