It was agreed and issued on 7 August 1979 in Lusaka, Zambia, at the conclusion of the fifth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
The first article of the declaration demanded legal equality 'without any distinction or exclusion based on race, colour, sex, descent, or national or ethnic origin'.
[2] It later stated that no degree of respect for separate cultures could justify racial discrimination,[2] and that the 'infamous policy' of Apartheid was an 'affront to humanity', and that it was the duty of the Commonwealth to effect its 'total eradication'.
[2] To compensate for the effects of past colonialism and racism, it was agreed that special provisions may be made to achieve social and economic redress,.
[2] The declaration was accompanied by the CHOGM's general communiqué, which explicitly iterated these principles with regards to Zimbabwe,[3] and which led to the invitation of Abel Muzorewa to take part in the Lancaster House Conference.