Consensus versus Voting
Posted by AlexT - 30/11/09 at 04:11 pm
The post is written by Sir Peter Marshall, a former Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
I would be hard put to say precisely most attracts me about the Commonwealth. But if forced to make a choice, I think I would opt for its chemistry – the way in which people treat one another, a sublime blend of maturity, tolerance, respect, responsibility, commitment and warmth – a recognition of our mutual affinities as well as our common values and interests.
This mixture applies across the board in the governmental and the non-governmental spheres, and, not less important, is the easy and fruitful relations between the two. It extends from top to bottom, with the Head of the Commonwealth setting a shining example.
The way in which we do business is a reflection of this chemistry. In the Agreed Memorandum of 1964, establishing the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Prime Ministers reiterated the conviction that “consultation is the life-blood of the Commonweath Association”. They realised at once that the Secretariat could do much to facilitate this. They also expressed their concern that “there should be opportunity for fuller participation by all the member countries in the normal processes of Commonwealth consultation”.
Forty years on, the priorities are the same. It is basically a question of listening and making sure that no-one feels left out. It is a good idea when chairing a meeting to invite contributions, before closing the discussion, from those who have not previously spoken. It helps inspire confidence, and can often yield surprising value added.
Democracy has been neatly, if starkly, described as a system of counting heads instead of breaking them. But “counting” is a many-faceted process, of which voting is by no means the only expression. What you want is agreement.
It is preferable if you can agree on what is to be said or done on the basis of discussion, without actually having to count heads in the literal sense. Indeed if there seems to be no prospect of agreement one has to ask one’s self whether the matter in question is worth pursuing, or whether there is not a better way of achieving the desired result.
In the consensus approach, every one in effect has a veto. But like other deterrents, the veto suffers if it is used.
Long live the Commonwealth!
Category : My Commonwealth, The Official Commonwealth
Tags: Consensus, Voting
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January 4th, 2010 at 3:27 am
Sir Peter Marshall
Commonwealth chemistry is curious if one goes by the contents of the following article:
CMAG needs to be reviewed and strengthened By Maja Daruwala, Executive Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 20 October 2009
January 5th, 2010 at 8:55 am
Hon Sir
As a Sri Lankan Tamil I’ve been utterly dejected by the inaction of Commonwealth over decades in halting the maceration of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
I’m unable to find if and when Sri Lanka was discussed at the Commonwealth conferences – I’ve scoured the Commonwealth Secretariat website but to no avail.
Can you please help me find if and when Sri lanka was discussed by the Commonwealth Heads of Governments or Ministers of Foreign Affairs?
Ethnic Conflict and Violence in Sri Lanka – Report of International Commission of Jurists 1981: The fate of the Tamils in Sri Lanka remains a matter of international concern”.
International Dimensions of the Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka, John P. Neelsen(Tuebingen University, Germany), 20th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, 8-11 July 2008: ”A shortcoming in international law as to internal colonialism and the right to self-determination renders the current types of international intervention not just inadequate to contribute to a negotiated solution of ethnic conflicts, but tends to inflame them.”
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) releases 12th annual list, 21 December 2009:
‘’Civilians attacked, bombed, and cut off from aid in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), along with stagnant funding for treating HIV/AIDS and ongoing neglect of other diseases, were among the worst emergencies in 2009, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported today in its annual list of the “Top Ten” humanitarian crises.’’
January 5th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Ethnic Conflict and Economic Development- A POLICY ORIENTED ANALYSIS, John Richardson(1996) “Democracy alone cannot ensure ethnic harmony. Instead, it may allow freer expression of ethnic antagonisms and legalised persecution of minorities. In Sri Lanka, both S.W.R.D. and Sirimavo Bandaranaike won democratic elections by appealing to Buddhist-Sinhalese nationalist sentiments and denigrating the ethnic Tamils. Slobodan Milosevic, the former Communist Party Chief of Serbia and General Franjo Tudjman of Croatia won their presidencies by appealing to the most divisive aspects of Serbian and Croatian nationalism”.
January 5th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Commonwealth Democracy:
CMAG needs to be reviewed and strengthened By Maja Daruwala, Executive Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 20 October 2009:
”… CMAG is the watchdog body of the Commonwealth. … in the case of Sri Lanka, reports of large scale civilian deaths, impunity and stifling of human rights in Sri Lanka continued to emerge throughout 2008 and 2009 but CMAG has refused to put Sri Lanka in its agenda. The additional irony is that Sri Lanka itself continues to serve as a member of CMAG during this period for a third consecutive (two year) term contrary to the 1999 Durban Communiqué that limits a country to a maximum of two consecutive terms. …”