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How do you feel the Commonwealth can remain an important international
organisation? How do you think the organisation, representing 54 nations, must
evolve to be considered more relevant, innovative and flexible in today’s times?
How do you feel a value-based organisation like the Commonwealth can fulfil the
constantly evolving global expectations of all its member states?
The fact that our membership has grown from eight countries in 1949 to fifty
four today, with countries still applying to join, gives some measure of the
relevance and attractiveness of the Commonwealth, not just to us but to others.
This is because of the wisdom, ambition, contribution and values-orientation
that have always been hallmarks of the Commonwealth. The diversity and range of
our membership mean that what works as a way forward for us is already
potentially a global idea which will work for the wider international community.
The consensus, practical initiatives and innovative approaches arising from
Commonwealth ministerial meetings also enable us to give ideas to the world,
apart from the meetings of our Heads.
Regular Commonwealth engagement, whether intergovernmental of through civil
society, ensures that the cross-connecting links, the lattice-work of our
Commonwealth networks, are kept in good repair and multiply. They also allow for
lessons learnt, and progress made, in one part of our family of nations to be
readily shared with others.
At the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth, our leaders
took bold decisions that will shape the Commonwealth of the future. They
resolved to ‘maintain the Commonwealth’s relevance, to ensure its effectiveness
in responding to contemporary global challenges’.
The Commonwealth is not just about government but about its citizens. We have a
vast network of civil society links and professional associations. We are
keeping up with the times by developing an ambitious Commonwealth Connects
portal, an internet gateway to generate information and awareness and lead to a
proliferation of partnerships.
Have the core values of the association changed or evolved over the past 40
years? How do you think it has been able to deliver on the three major agendas –
governance, growth and social mobility?
Collectively, the Commonwealth has always sought to be forward-looking, fitting
itself to the changing context of the contemporary world and addressing emerging
challenges, particularly to the small and the vulnerable that tend to get
marginalised in international discourse. Democracy, development and diversity
lie at the heart of what we do in the Commonwealth.
The standards to which our members commit themselves, and which they expect of
one another, have been set out over the years in a body of declarations,
communiqués and plans for practical action. In the Affirmation of Values and
Principles made at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2009, member
governments renewed their commitment to our values, including democracy, the
rule of law, sustainable development and human rights. And they refreshed their
commitment to our principles, including consensus and common action, mutual
respect, inclusiveness, transparency, accountability, legitimacy and
responsiveness.
The search to find ways of realising these ambitions, of translating words into
action, is seen in initiatives such as the Commonwealth Electoral Network which
aims to set a gold standard in the Commonwealth for the conduct of elections and
hopefully worldwide, and which is the bedrock on which enlightened governance in
the service of the people and parliamentary accountability are built.
There are many other examples of ideas developed within the Commonwealth that
have been globally adopted. In some cases the thinking has become so widely
accepted and mainstream that its Commonwealth origins are lost sight of or how
innovative it seemed when first suggested, and what an important contribution to
the global good it was when developed by the Commonwealth and presented to the
wider international community as a new way forward.
Our Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative was one which encouraged
coherence in the approach to debt management of the economically most fragile
states. The initiative helps countries manage old and new debt in a sustainable
way through a combination of sound policies, relief and aid inflows. We offer
legal advice to countries in dealing with creditors and our technical advisers
help strengthen internal and negotiating capacity. There is also our
sophisticated Commonwealth Debt Management System (CDMS) software which is now
used in more than fifty countries and enables them to record and monitor both
domestic and external debt.
The Commonwealth Teacher and Health Workers Recruitment Protocols have been
adopted by international organisations such as UNESCO, the ILO, WHO, the African
Union and the Organization of American States. It aims to balance the rights of
teachers to migrate internationally, on a temporary or permanent basis, against
the need to protect the integrity of national education and health systems, and
to prevent the exploitation of the scarce human resources of poor countries. It
also seeks to promote the positive benefits, which international teacher
migration can bring, while safeguarding the rights of recruited teachers and
conditions relating to their service in the recruiting country.
We pioneered the science of Small States and attach high priority to supporting
their integration into the global economy, building their resilience and
competitiveness, and helping them to take advantage of the opportunities as well
as to meet the challenges arising from globalisation. Such countries face
special challenges – limited diversification, limited capacity, poverty,
susceptibility to natural disasters and environmental change, remoteness and
isolation. We help so that their voices are heard whenever their interests are
involved.
One very practical step we took earlier this year was to open a Small States
Office in Geneva. It provides subsidised office space for the diplomatic
missions of Commonwealth Small States and two of its organisations. This enables
countries and organisations to establish permanent diplomatic presence in the
region and in the many multilateral organisations, including the three
trade-related and health, human rights and labour-related UN organisations. It
can serve as a hub and business centre both for tenants and visiting Small
States delegations with support from resident technical experts on trade and
human rights.
As regional blocs like the EU and African Union acquire a greater clout on
the world stage, do you feel the Commonwealth is in danger of being side-lined?
An association that represents a third of the population of the world and
embraces 54 nations spanning six continents and oceans is not one to be
side-lined. The ability in international relations, in the compacting world of
today, to have the flexibility of networks rather than the rigidity of blocs, is
a strength. In this respect we feel, as so often, that the Commonwealth is ahead
of the curve.
We have direct partnerships and links through our members with regional bodies
in many parts of the world – in fact a number of them, such as the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development, the Biketawa Declaration of the Pacific
Islands Forum and CARICOM in the Caribbean, drew directly on their experience in
the Commonwealth when framing their own goals and value setting. In this way,
the Commonwealth has contributed to the entrenchment of the culture of
democracy.
The comparative advantage of the Commonwealth lies in being able to add value.
Although the staff and budget of the Commonwealth Secretariat are modest
compared to many international organisations, even with some NGOs, we have a
Universalist ethos, an inclusive vision and an ability to mobilise these in
practical action. We see far but we have toolkits in our hands.
The Commonwealth has been involved in substantive issues in the rule of law,
the culture of democracy, and the freedoms and rights of the citizens. What do
you think are the major issues of moral or ethical nature that might affect the
Commonwealth in the future?
Members of the Commonwealth have a commitment to shared values and principles.
These encompass basic freedoms and rights of the individual and the citizen.
Recently, our Heads of Government at Perth took another significant step in
safeguarding these values further. In opting for reform and renewal of the
Commonwealth, the Heads have empowered the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group
to be more engaged in core areas such as respecting constitutionalism, rights of
the political opposition, independence of the judiciary and a level playing
field for the media. This will go a long way in entrenching Commonwealth values
and ethically sustainable societies.
How has the creation of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) helped in initiating
reform and renewal of the Commonwealth?
The world saw a historic stirring – a youth quake – among the young in 2011.
Most societies are being rapidly transformed in their age distribution. Sixty
percent of Commonwealth citizens are twenty nine or under and represent the true
potential of our societies. The rightful place and contribution of our women,
responsive governance and expectations of the citizens, economic pressures of a
volatile global economy are other challenges to the environment of policy. Given
this transformation, it was timely that our priorities and mechanisms for both
value creation and wealth creation were constructively scrutinised.
Our leaders permitted the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to recommend how
the fundamental values of the Commonwealth, of the culture of democracy, human
rights and the rule of law could be further safeguarded and advanced. We will
now engage earlier and more constructively than in the past – and on a wider
range of issues – to actively uphold and secure our fundamental values and
aspirations as partners and in a positive spirit, where serious or frequent
violations may be involved.
The Eminent Persons Group, which I convened at the direction of the Heads to run
a fresh eye over the Commonwealth, put forward a range of options for sharpening
our impact, strengthening our networks and raising our profile. It consisted of
members outside government and the more than one hundred recommendations covered
the whole range of democracy, development and diversity which drive our
association. Some of their recommendations have been adopted and others will be
assessed further for decisions to be taken well before the year is over. Leaders
also accepted the recommendation of the EPG that there should be a Charter of
the Commonwealth and there will now be a process of consultation in member
countries so that a broad range of views can inform the process of formulating
the Charter.
The Group laid special emphasis on our being a ‘Commonwealth of the People’. The
vitality we draw from civil society, from business and from our youth was on
display in Perth as never before. The reform and renewal, for which CHOGM 2011
will be remembered, help bring the ambition of the inter-governmental
Commonwealth and the expectations of the people’s Commonwealth together.
How do you feel the Commonwealth has fared in the fulfilment of the
Millennium Development Goals? Are you satisfied with the gains made in parts of
Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa?
Our commitment to parliamentary democracy and responsive public administration
are enormously valuable assets in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
The signs are that the target least likely to be achieved is MDG 5 – Improving
Maternal Health. Latest UN data shows that, although there have been
considerable advances; the maternal mortality ratio is declining at too slow a
rate across the Commonwealth. This is a big concern for the Commonwealth.
Maternal mortality in childbirth is a global outrage and at the G-20 in Canada,
we advocated the slogan ‘Half a million midwives’ to meet the scandal of
recorded deaths each year in childbirth.
Making a difference is our aim – and our role in expressing the concerns of the
ninety per cent of the world’s countries which do not have a seat at the G20
table is now established. Our meetings successively with Canada, South Korea
and, most recently, France have enabled us to be a conduit through which the
priorities of small states and vulnerable states, all of which influence the
achievement of the MDGs, can be represented to the G20.
Five Commonwealth members are in the G20. This provides a vital opportunity for
creative dialogue and enables us to work on the shared and priority concerns of
all Commonwealth members. The G20 needs to regard itself as the ‘T20’, trustees
of the wider world. This has special relevance for global progress towards the
MDGs.
We back our global advocacy with practical interventions such as by supporting
the East, Central and Southern African Health Community on aligning quality
standards of nursing and midwifery practice with global standards and
strengthening the capacity of professional councils. This work is being
implemented in nine Commonwealth countries of the ECSA Health Community, namely
Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and
Zambia.
This year, our Commonwealth theme is ‘Women as Agents of Change’, which
resonates with MDG 3 – Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women. In the
2009 Commonwealth Affirmation of Values and Principles, our Heads reiterated as
a core Commonwealth value ‘reaffirming gender equality and empowerment as an
essential component of human development and basic human rights’. It is a goal
we constantly pursue, and we revise our practical interventions to reflect
contemporary needs.
Since women’s health is a determinant in their ability to play a leading role
and contribute equally to development, MDG 6 – Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and
Other Diseases - is closely linked to all our work on the economic and social
empowerment of women. Shortage of health workers as a development concern is one
of the most serious constraints to scaling up the response to HIV/AIDS and to
the achievement of the MDGs. Through our Commonwealth recruitment protocols for
health workers we have made a contribution in a contentious sphere where
international movements of skills and labour can severely undermine capacity and
development in poor countries. The Commonwealth assists the goal of universal
primary education through projects in multi-grade teaching to alleviate the
shortage of teachers.
Considering the sheer numbers in terms of diverse faiths, races and cultures,
there is no doubt that the Commonwealth has tremendous potential. How do you
believe that this potential can be utilized more judiciously?
An important quality of the global value of the Commonwealth is that it is about
more than governments; it is not only meetings of Heads of Government and of
ministers that drive us forward. There are more than ninety accredited
Commonwealth civil society organisations and they have held an integral place in
our machinery of consultation and collaboration since the early days of the
modern Commonwealth. The meeting of Commonwealth Heads is inseparable from the
CHOGM as a concourse also of civil society, the young and the business
community.
In fact, it was a pioneering act of remarkable foresight as long ago as 1965 on
the part of our leaders to create, alongside the intergovernmental Secretariat,
the Commonwealth Foundation in order to strengthen what might be called the
‘people’s’ dimension of our association. Perhaps long before the term ‘civil
society’ became common currency, Heads of Government created a special place for
professional, technical and other voluntary bodies at the heart of the
Commonwealth as collaborators working towards our shared goals.
Both the intergovernmental Commonwealth as well as the Commonwealth Foundation,
Commonwealth Youth Programme (perhaps the world’s oldest from 1974), the
Commonwealth Business Council, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the
Commonwealth Local Government Forum and the other bodies give expression to the
geographical, cultural and social diversity we embrace, and also remind us that
our member countries enjoy many shared features in their parliamentary,
judicial, legal, educational, administrative and other systems. Such commonality
of language binds us together, both metaphorically and literally.
Considering the enormous variety in the Commonwealth in every respect, a
remarkable feature of the Commonwealth is how rapidly we are able to engage
gear. Our recently launched internet platform, Commonwealth Connects, offers new
opportunities for mutual learning, engagement and collaboration. It serves as an
innovative exchange, a new shared workplace where the Commonwealth can create
and experience a new form of partnership. Going forward, the youth must be a
special focus for such partnerships in all its possibilities.
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