The Lusaka Manifesto was a declaration adopted in April 1969 by fourteen East and Central African states at a summit in Lusaka, Zambia. It focused primarily on the issue of racial discrimination and minority white rule in Southern Africa, with particular emphasis on South African apartheid, as well as the situations in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Mozambique, Angola, and Namibia.
The manifesto called for the end of racial oppression and the recognition of the dignity and equality of all human beings, regardless of race. It affirmed the right of the peoples of Southern Africa to self-determination and majority rule. Importantly, it expressed a preference for achieving these goals through peaceful negotiation rather than armed conflict, while acknowledging that force might become necessary if peaceful avenues were exhausted.
The document was subsequently endorsed by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the United Nations General Assembly later in 1969. While it addressed the broader theme of decolonisation in Southern Africa, its central and defining concern was South African apartheid and racial segregation - making that the most accurate characterisation of its focus.
