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Second Nobel Laureate Signs Gdańsk Declaration

Nobel laureate, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of Ukraine’s Centre for Civil Liberties, has signed the Gdańsk Declaration agreed to by a meeting of more than 50 African, Baltic and European leaders in Gdańsk, Poland, last week.

28 June 2023 ·   3 min read

Second Nobel Laureate Signs Gdańsk Declaration

The declaration which commits opposition leaders to working together to build open, accountable democracies was signed at the Rolling Back Authoritarianism conference held by The Brenthurst Foundation and the European Solidarity Centre.

African opposition leaders including Uganda’s Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, better known as Bobi Wine, Tanzania’s Zitto Kabwe and Tundu Lissu, South Africa’s John Steenhuisen and VF Hlabisa, Angola’s Adalberto Costa Júnior were among the declaration’s signatories. Zimbabwe’s Tendai Biti has also signed the declaration.

The declaration, which has 21 key points – mirroring the 21 points written by the striking Solidarity workers at the Gdańsk shipyard in the early 1980s, says leaders “Commit to breaking down racial, ethnic, geographical and religious divides in building just, free and fair societies.”


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The declaration calls for African opposition leaders to stand united against abuses of elections which frequently lead to despots prolonging their stay in power and for better gender representation.

The declaration was also signed by Nobel laureate and leader of Poland’s Solidarity movement, Lech Walesa and former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, who both addressed the meeting.

The declaration has now been signed by 58 leaders:

  1. Abbasali Haji, East Africa Capital, Tanzania
  2. Adalberto Costa Júnior, Leader, UNITA, Angola
  3. Alexander Kambili, Germany
  4. Alfonso de Prat Gay, Former Minister of the Economy, Argentina
  5. Amgad Faried Eltayeb Idris, CEO, Fikra Center for Studies and Development, Egypt
  6. Andriy Marasin, former Senior Assistant Defense Attaché, Ukraine
  7. Anwar El-Sadat, Leadee, Reform and Development Party, Egypt
  8. Arkadiusz Modrzejewski, Director of Institute of Political Science, University of Gdansk, Poland
  9. Artis Pabriks, Former Deputy Prime Minister, Latvia
  10. Atupele Muluzi, President, United Democratic Front, Malawi
  11. Robert Kyagulanyi “Bobi Wine”, Leader, National Unity Platform, Uganda
  12. Branko Brkic, Editor-in-Chief, Daily Maverick, South Africa
  13. Christopher Clapham, Professor Emeritus, Cambridge, UK
  14. Cynthia Appenteng, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Foundation, Liberia
  15. David Coltart, Founding Member Movement for Democratic Change, Zimbabwe
  16. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Former President of Liberia and Nobel Laureate
  17. Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor of Cape Town, South Africa
  18. Gloria Uwishema Nsengiyumva, Human Rights activist, All for Rwanda, Rwanda
  19. Greg Mills, Director, The Brenthurst Foundation, South Africa
  20. Gregor Jaecke, Resident Representative, KAS, South Africa
  21. Gregory Nemyria, Deputy Chair, Foreign Relations Committee, Rada, Ukraine
  22. Holger Dix, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Germany
  23. Ian Khama, Former President, Botswana
  24. Illia Bozhok, Ukraine
  25. Ivone Soares, Member of Parliament, RENAMO, Mozambique
  26. Jawar Mohammed, Founder, Oromia Media Network, Ethiopia
  27. Jędrzej Czerep, Head, Polish Institute of International Affairs, Poland
  28. John Githongo, CEO, Inuka, Kenya
  29. John Steenhuisen, Leader, Democratic Alliance, South Africa
  30. Juan Carlos Pinzón, Former Defence Minister, Colombia
  31. Kate Almquist Knopf, Senior Advisor, WestExec Advisors, US
  32. Khemaies Jhinaoui, Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Tunisia
  33. Kizza Besigye, President, Forum for Democratic Change, Uganda
  34. Lech Wałęsa, Former President, Poland
  35. Leopoldo Lopèz, Opposition Leader, Venezuela
  36. Luis Franceschi, Assistant Secretary General, The Commonwealth, UK
  37. Luke Pato, Bishop, Anglican Church of Southern Africa, South Africa
  38. Lutero Simango, President Democratic Movement of Mozambique, Mozambique
  39. Marcos Peña, former Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, Argentina
  40. McHenry Venaani, President, Popular Democratic Movement, Namibia
  41. Mpumelelo Mkhabela, Political Analyst, South Africa
  42. Moeketsi Majoro, former Prime Minister, Lesotho
  43. Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of Centre for Civil Liberties, Nobel Laureate, Ukraine
  44. Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President, Nigeria
  45. Omer Ismail, Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Sudan
  46. Paula Cristina Roque, Political Affairs Analyst, Portugal
  47. Raila Odinga, Former Prime Minister, Kenya
  48. Ray Hartley, Research Director, The Brenthurst Foundation, South Africa
  49. Robin Auld, Artiste, south Africa
  50. Roelf Meyer, CEO, In Transformation, South Africa
  51. Roland Freudenstein, Vice-President, Globsec, Belgium
  52. Sanyaolu Ayowole Oluwajuwon, African Action Congress, Nigeria
  53. Tendai Biti, Former Zimbabwe Finance Minister, CCC, Zimbabwe
  54. Tundu Lissu, MP, CHADEMA, Tanzania
  55. Velenkosini Hlabisa, President, Inkatha Freedom Party, South Africa
  56. Venâncio Mondlane, MP, RENAMO, Mozambique
  57. Winnie Odinga, EAC Member of Parliament, Kenya
  58. Yulia Tymoshenko, former Prime Minister, Ukraine
  59. Zitto Kabwe, Leader, ACT-Wazalendo, Tanzania

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