Commonwealth leaders set to discuss less developed member nations

By Manjula Fernando

Commonwealth leaders are set to discuss the future prospects of growth and inclusive development, focusing more on less developed members, when they meet in Colombo from November 15 to 17.

Fifty four diverse nations, rich and poor and large and small, spanning across six regions – Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and the South Pacific - constitute the Commonwealth grouping. CHOGM Sri Lanka is the 22nd leaders’ summit the organisation will hold after the first meeting in 1971 in Singapore.

The summit had been held every two years in 21 cities in 17 countries.

It dates far back as the 1870s according to the Commonwealth Secretariat, ‘was reconstituted in 1949 when Commonwealth Prime Ministers met and adopted the ‘London Declaration’ where it was agreed that all member countries would be “freely and equally associated”.’

To quote its current Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma, “the Commonwealth operates different to other organisations, by co-operating with member countries, in partnership.

As the Commonwealth, we try to be practical offering assistance, and have embedded action for beneficial changes as far as the members are concerned.” According to him, the organisation helps the countries faced with difficulties with practical assistance in a spirit of lending a helping hand, instead of restricting its contribution to pointing fingers and criticising.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is the association's ultimate policy and decision-making forum, but the summits are private in design and informal. Agreement at Commonwealth summits is reached by consensus and not by vote. CHOGM 2011 was held in Perth, Australia where the 2013 venue as Colombo was endorsed by all 54 member states.

The summit has three broad objectives. First, the leaders will review international political and economic developments and discuss what action the Commonwealth will take.

The policy for the next two years will be announced in a concluding media briefing jointly attended by the Secretary General and the new Chairperson – in this instance President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Secondly, the leaders discuss avenues for future cooperation for development among the members while reviewing the progress of the plans executed during the previous two years.Thirdly, the forum is used as a platform to strengthen the sense of the Commonwealth grouping. CHOGM is considered the only international forum where leaders of a ‘globally representative range of countries’ meet regularly for informal dialogue.

The Commonwealth Leaders’ Retreat, which will be held at the Water's Edge Hotel this year, is designed and held during each summit to allow leaders to meet as friends, away from the formal settings. Some of the agreements about Commonwealth action over certain difficult issues have come forth from these informal meetings.

In line with the Heads Meeting, the Commonwealth ministers of foreign affairs, finance, health, environment, youth, education and tourism also meet regularly for a better understanding of each others' policies and help shape Commonwealth policies accordingly. Although Commonwealth countries are tied by its history, its membership believes that they are also united by the values of democracy, freedom, peace, rule of law and opportunity for all. These values were agreed and set down by all Commonwealth Heads of Government at two of their meetings in 1971 in Singapore and in 1991 in Harare.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), a rotating group of nine foreign ministers, was set up in 1995 to protect the Commonwealth values.

It assesses the nature of any violation by a member and recommend collective action.

The CMAG can suspend or recommend to Heads of Government to expel a country from the grouping, but once a country has been suspended, the Commonwealth makes every effort to bring it back into the fold, a unique feature which sets the association apart from other international groupings.

The Commonwealth does not act as a bloc in international affairs, and unlike the UN, its members are not bound by contractual obligations. Instead, they commit to the agreements reached at each CHOGM. The Commonwealth Secretariat executes plans agreed at CHOGM through technical assistance, advice and policy development.

The political watchdog, CMAG is one of many actions taken by the Commonwealth to uphold its fundamental political values including democracy. Other, more discreet interventions have been made by its ‘good offices’ to help prevent or resolve conflicts and build democratic structures.

In 1995, CMAG suspended Nigeria's membership after its military regime passed the death sentence on writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa and other activists.

In 2000, it suspended Fiji after the overthrow of its elected government. Zimbabwe was suspended indefinitely in 2002 after violence marred elections and Pakistan was suspended twice during the military rule of President Pervez Musharraf.

The Commonwealth is home to two billion citizens (over a third of the world population) of all faiths and ethnicities. According to the commonwealth Secretariat, over half of its citizens are below the age of 25.

Cameroon, Rwanda and Mozambique are the most recent members to joint the organisation. Mozambique is the first country to join with no historical or administrative association to the Commonwealth.

Queen Elizabeth II, who has attended every CHOGM since 1973 as the Head of the Commonwealth, is set to avoid the long air-travel to Sri Lanka. This year, she will be represented by heir to the throne , Charles, the Prince of Wales.

According to The Telegraph, “The Queen is set to miss the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, for the first time in 40 years, after Buckingham Palace confirmed it is reviewing the long-haul flights taken by the Monarch, who is now 87.”

This will be the first time Prince Charles will represent the Monarch at the biennial conference, and according to The Telegraph, it will be ‘one of his most significant duties as a future king'.In 2007, both the Queen and Prince Charles had attended the CHOGM in Uganda, but the opening ceremony was presided over by the Queen.

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[Core values, principles of Commonwealth Nations]

Commonwealth leaders commit to upholding democracy; human rights; peace and security; tolerance, respect and understanding; freedom of expression; separation of powers; rule of law; good governance; sustainable development; environmental protection; access to health, education, food and shelter; gender equality; and the importance of young people and civil society.

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