During her visit to Lomé, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland met with a delegation of Togolese opposition leaders and civil society representatives.
The participants in the meeting, which included Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson, Nathaniel Olympio, Gérard Djossou, Targone Sambirni, Jean Kissi, Lily Gnininvi, Sylvanus Outcha and Célestin Agbogan, appealed to Scotland to work towards upholding the fundamental values of the Commonwealth of Nations also in Togo.
The discussions focused on the ongoing socio-political crisis in Togo. Particular attention was paid to the constitutional amendment that was implemented shortly before the recent elections in Togo. This amendment, which according to the opposition was pushed through by the party of the ruler Faure Gnassingbé in breach of the previously applicable regulations, was aimed, among other things, at maintaining the regime's power and circumventing term limits. Various human rights violations were also pointed out. In view of the many political prisoners, the restriction of the right to demonstrate, the freedom of assembly and the restriction of trade union activities, Togo was disregarding the fundamental values of the Commonwealth of Nations.
At the same time, the opposition representatives proposed solutions to the human rights violations in the country. They called for the release of political prisoners, the creation of suitable conditions for the return of exiled people and the start of a national dialog that leads to “a transition that resets everything and leads to a new social contract and a constitution that unites us and addresses our problems, including the meaningless elections in this country,” said Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson.
Togo has been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations since 2022. The union, which was originally limited exclusively to countries that used to belong to Great Britain, has developed into a multi-ethnic and multicultural organization in recent years. Since the accession of Mozambique (1995), Rwanda (2009) and Gabon and Togo (both 2022), countries that were never part of the British Empire are also represented. The main motivation for these countries to join is to gain access to a larger Anglophone community and to free themselves from the dependence of their former colonial powers.
