SALO workshop: An overview and analysis spotlighting the SADC region – 25 January 2024

On the 25th of January 2024 the Southern African Liaison Office (SALO) held a virtual public workshop: An overview and analysis spotlighting the SADC region in light of key regional scenarios relating to SADC’s current deployment of a peacekeeping force in the DRC, the removal of troops from Mozambique as well as the outcomes of the regional body’s response to the challenges arising from the recent elections in DRC, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe.

The meeting facilitated dialogue around recent trends in the regional response to situations of instability, conflict, disputed and fraught electoral outcomes, as well as political violence. As SADC troops are in the process of being withdrawn from Mozambique (to meet the set July 2024 deadline) and moved to the DRC, we examined SADC’s military and political approaches to Mozambique, focusing on the lessons learnt and security implications. 

Furthermore, this dialogue sought to investigate SADC regional instruments, in terms of their purpose and implementation with regard to the aforementioned concerns; particularly in a context underscored by regional electoral spillovers as a result of disputed electoral processes, including those observed in the DRC at the end of December 2023, where the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) in an unprecedented move postponed its decision on whether the elections were credible, free and fair. This approach by the SEOM contrasted with the highly critical report and public stance adopted by the SADC Observer Mission to Zimbabwe earlier in 2023. Additionally, SEOM’s commendation of the Eswatini 2023 elections, was widely disputed by key Swazi stakeholders and regional civil society. These contrasting approaches by SADC in Eswatini, the DRC, and Zimbabwe have generated intense debate within the region amongst policymakers, broader civil society, and ordinary citizens.

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