Regional leaders rally behind Harare at Durban summit as Zimbabwe prepares to take up UN Security Council seat for 2027–2028
By Ajong Mbapndah L
Southern African leaders have renewed their longstanding call for the removal of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, arguing that the restrictions continue to constrain the country’s ability to realise its full economic potential.
The call was contained in the communiqué issued at the conclusion of the 46th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community, held in Durban, South Africa, on August 17, 2026.
Meeting under the chairmanship of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, SADC leaders again put their collective weight behind Zimbabwe on an issue that has remained a recurring feature of the regional bloc’s diplomacy.
“Summit reiterated its long-standing call for the removal of sanctions imposed on the Republic of Zimbabwe,” the communiqué stated, adding that the measures continue to limit Zimbabwe from attaining its full economic potential.
The language represents a continuation of SADC’s established position rather than a new policy departure. At its 2024 summit in Harare, for example, the bloc similarly called for the unconditional removal of sanctions and argued that they hindered Zimbabwe’s progress and prosperity as well as the wider region.
Zimbabwe Gets Regional Backing
The sanctions resolution came alongside another significant diplomatic endorsement for Harare, with SADC congratulating Zimbabwe on its election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2027–2028 term.
Regional leaders expressed confidence that Zimbabwe would use the position to advance multilateral cooperation, international peace and security, while representing the interests of SADC, Africa and the Global South at the Security Council.
The two decisions offered President Emmerson Mnangagwa a significant show of regional support as Zimbabwe seeks a stronger diplomatic profile internationally.
Mnangagwa attended the Durban summit, which also commended him for his support and commitment to regional integration and economic development during the interim period as a member of the SADC Troika.
A Longstanding SADC Position
SADC’s opposition to sanctions against Zimbabwe stretches back years and has become one of the bloc’s most consistent positions on Harare.
At the 44th Ordinary Summit in Harare in August 2024, regional leaders reiterated a call first made at the 39th SADC Summit for the unconditional removal of sanctions against Zimbabwe. At the time, SADC said the restrictions were hindering progress and prosperity in Zimbabwe and the wider Southern African region.
The Durban communiqué again links the sanctions question to Zimbabwe’s economic prospects, at a time when SADC is seeking to accelerate industrialisation, regional trade, investment and economic integration.
The summit noted what it described as an evolving global geopolitical and economic environment and urged member states to exploit emerging opportunities to deepen regional integration, strengthen trade and investment, mobilise domestic resources and build greater collective resilience.
Sanctions Debate Remains Contentious
The Zimbabwe sanctions question has long produced sharply different interpretations between Harare and its regional allies on one side and Western governments on the other.
Zimbabwean authorities have consistently maintained that external restrictive measures have damaged the country’s economy, constrained investment and complicated its ability to access international finance.
SADC has broadly supported that position, repeatedly calling for the restrictions to be removed. The wider debate, however, is more complex than the summit communiqué itself addresses. Different Western sanctions regimes have evolved over time and have included targeted measures against particular individuals and entities rather than a comprehensive trade embargo against Zimbabwe.
The Durban resolution does not attempt to adjudicate those competing arguments. Instead, it reaffirms SADC’s political position that the remaining sanctions should be lifted and that Zimbabwe should be allowed to pursue its economic potential without those restrictions.
Ramaphosa Takes SADC Helm
The renewed call comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa assumes leadership of SADC following his election as chairperson at the Durban summit.
Zambia was selected as the incoming chair, while King Mswati III of Eswatini was elected Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
Ramaphosa takes charge of a regional bloc seeking to move economic integration and industrialisation higher up its agenda.
The 46th Summit endorsed the theme “Resilient, Sustainable, and Inclusive Industrialisation through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World.”
Infrastructure, agriculture and critical minerals were identified as central drivers of SADC’s ambition to build a more competitive, climate-resilient, inclusive and prosperous regional economy.
That economic agenda gives added context to SADC’s Zimbabwe resolution. The bloc’s argument is that regional integration and economic development will be stronger if all member states are able to participate at their full potential.
From Regional Support to Global Stage
For Zimbabwe, the Durban summit delivered a diplomatic boost on two fronts.
It secured another collective call from its Southern African neighbours for sanctions to be removed while receiving their backing ahead of its two-year tenure on the UN Security Council.
Zimbabwe’s election to the Security Council gives Harare an opportunity to play a more visible role in global diplomacy and to amplify positions shared by SADC and other African states on peace, security and reform of the international system.
SADC explicitly expressed confidence that Zimbabwe could represent not only its national interests but those of Southern Africa, Africa and the Global South during its 2027–2028 tenure.
The sanctions resolution demonstrates that, whatever debates persist beyond the region over Zimbabwe’s politics and economic trajectory, Harare continues to enjoy strong diplomatic solidarity from its Southern African neighbours.
For SADC, the message from Durban was familiar but unequivocal: the bloc wants the remaining sanctions against Zimbabwe removed.
