The Commonwealth Summit held from 23-25 November 2007 in Uganda’s Capital Kampala became significant for its unflinching stand on anti-democratic regimes demonstrated by its unanimous decision to suspend Pakistan but threw up a divided house on the vital global issue of climate change with many vulnerable member nations in the club feeling left out.

Opening the summit, Queen Elizabeth II, in her address gave a clarion call to transform Commonwealth societies – reflecting the meeting’s theme – in her capacity as the Head of the 53-nation grouping.

The Queen urged governments and individuals to be respectful of fundamental human rights and “treat those around us as we would wish to be treated ourselves. That is the case for governments, as for communities, as for all of us individually. Moreover, the importance we all attach to dialogue, to hearing the voices of governments but also many of the other voices in society; to respect the fundamental human rights – these qualities still place the Commonwealth in a strong position to lead”.

Concern for Youth

“I am especially pleased that this year, special attention is being paid to young people,” she added. Of the two billion Common Wealth citizens, half are young people and the outgoing Secretary General, Don McKinnon, expressed concern that they are often “voiceless”.

“Without them at the core of our planning, our budgeting and our doing, our Commonwealth really has no future. We do have to do more for young people,” he urged the gathering of delegates, including those from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis, whose heads of government attended the Kampala meeting.

Suspends Pakistan

On Pakistan, the final communiqué expressed serious disappointment that President Pervez Musharraf had failed to quit as Army chief (post-summit he was elected President of Pakistan and doffed uniform before taking oath) and endorsed the decision of a ministerial committee to suspend that country’s membership until democracy was restored.

The three-day meeting overcame all divisions to suspend Pakistan because of its “failure to lift emergency rule” but on global warming the divisions simmered and the concern got restricted to a general statement.

For Pakistan, this is the second suspension from the Commonwealth in eight years. Making a final plea, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, urged Pakistan to lift the state of emergency in time for free and democratic elections scheduled for 8 January 2008.

But the elections were deferred following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

In 1999, Commonwealth suspended Pakistan for five years after General Musharraf seized power in a military coup. But it was readmitted to the club on the condition that the President took off his uniform. This time, Pakistan, urged the Commonwealth to delay its decision and send a fact-finding delegation to Islamabad to see the scale of the crisis, and the measures being taken to release the judiciary and political prisoners. It goes to the credit of CHOGM the penal action against Pakistan had its effect; emergency was lifted and the process of holding parliament elections is on.

Climate Change

On Climate Change, the summit failed to make a ‘binding commitment’ because of objections raised by Canada and Australia. However, the leaders hoped to bring a united position at the Bali Summit on Climate Change in Indonesia.

Many Commonwealth island countries are facing threat of ‘rising sea levels’ and their leaders at the summit broke new ground with stronger statement on fighting climate change. The leaders released the Lake Victoria Commonwealth Climate Change Action Plan. The plan takes the name of some big villains and victims of climate change.

The outgoing Commonwealth Chairman, Malta’s Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, said the problem was one that required not only a united front, but also an unprecedented level of global action. He warned that the threat of climate change must not be taken lightly and called upon the Commonwealth to send a strong message of support to the climate change conference in Bali.

“We must now work decisively towards the aim of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050. The challenge of climate change not only requires a united front, but unprecedented levels of cooperation and firm action. The Commonwealth family with its diversity can be and should be a model for such a change and cooperation,” he said.

Big Leap

Canada called the climate declaration ‘stern’ and Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon described it as “quite a leap forward”. The Commonwealth is proud of its tradition of decisions by consensus; so open dissent is something unusual. It was also true that some members were clearly disappointed; especially small nations that are threatened by rising seas.

“We believe that a number of developed countries have not given the commitment we expected. They are the main contributors to the imbalance in climatic conditions and they should contribute much more,” said Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of the tiny Caribbean nation of St Kitts and Nevis.

St. Kitts is among the countries likely to be worst hit by global warming, as rising sea levels engulf its populated coast and higher ocean temperatures increase the frequency and severity of hurricanes, scientists say.

Canada’s Resistance

But Canada, an oil producer, said it would not sign any final declaration that did not include developing as well as developed nations. India and China are major emitters, but as developing nations they are exempted from the Kyoto protocol. Before the summit, Britain had called for an unequivocal message on climate change that would urge developed nations to make binding commitments at a conference of world environment ministers in Bali.

The climate statement exhorted developed countries to take the lead in cutting emissions, but gave no details on how this would be achieved. McKinnon said it was impractical for the 53 Commonwealth members to make commitments before the Bali meeting. “They are not prepared to make themselves that vulnerable to the others.”

India’s Concerns

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh raised India’s concern over various issues including economic and international trade relations. Dr Singh met his British counterpart Gordon Brown on the sidelines of the CHOGM summit. The two leaders discussed the issue of Doha round of WTO talks, which failed to take off since its launch in year 2001.

Rich Legacy

Formed by 53 independent countries under the common roof of peace and understanding, Commonwealth covers around 30 percent of the world’s population. The two billion citizens of the Commonwealth countries are drawn from a wide range of different religions, races, cultures and traditions.

Though the association does not have a written constitution, it functions under a series of agreements containing firm beliefs and objectives. As the declarations are issued at different Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings, the first fundamental statement of core belief was issued at Singapore Summit 1971.

Canada being the first British colony transforming into a self-governing ‘dominion’, the country gained a newly constituted status that implied equality with Britain in 1867. In support of this new world initiated by Canada, a British political leader Lord Rosebury, first described it as ‘Commonwealth of Nations’ in Australia in 1884. Following the declaration, the other part of the empire also became dominions—Australia (1900), New Zealand (1907), South Africa (1910), and Irish Free State (1921).

It was at the end of the World War I, the dominions sought new constitutional definition and reshaping their relationships with Britain. In 1926, after resuming the 1887 conferences of dominions, the Prime Ministers of the participating countries adopted the Balfour Report (1926), which defined the dominions as autonomous communities in the British Empire. Every state was designated as member of the British Commonwealth Nations with equal status and no subordination with others in any aspects of their internal or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the crown.

In 1931, the definition of the association was incorporated into British law as the Status of Westminster. And it was immediately adopted in Canada with Australia and New Zealand following suit. Despite being the largest colony of British Empire India had still not achieved self-government. The country remained as a dominion under the India Act of 1935 until its independence in 1947.

However, in the post-war period, when the new state of Pakistan was created the British Empire sported a completely changed look. The London Declaration of 1949 was a transition for a new or modern Commonwealth in the history. India raised its voice: would Commonwealth membership only be for countries owing allegiance to the crown? The London conference resolved to recognise India’s continued membership as a republic, paving the way for other newly independent countries to join. In order to maintain the reformation, the word ‘British’ from the title was dropped.

Ghana (joined in 1957) was the first member to be ruled by an African majority. And after 1960, countries from all over Africa, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific increasingly joined to form the Commonwealth of today.