The Commonwealth and Civil Society: Deepening Foundations or Appreciating Limits?
Posted by AlexT - 28/11/09 at 03:11 pm
Richard Bourne, founding head of the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit, examines the complicated relationship between the Commonwealth and Civil Society.
In an article published in The Round Table in September 2004, he states that recent years have seen a deepening relationship between the official Commonwealth- the Secretariat and member governments- and the world of non-governmental organisations and civil society. He does, however, highlight some key problems.
Commonwealth NGOs, he says, are primarily “meetings based” and “semi-voluntary”, while the financial limitations of the Secretariat itself restricts activities. Increasingly some are looking for funding outside Commonwealth countries.
But this does not mean all Commonwealth NGOs are facing problems- some are living up to the ‘pan-Commonwealth’ ideal. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has moved from London to Delhi, and has a large office in Accra. In 2003 the Commonwealth Journalists association moved from London to Port of Spain.
One of his conclusions is that CHOGM must be politically significant for Commonwealth NGOs to be successful. Do you agree?
You can read the full article, free of charge.
Category : Mobility & Exchange, The Commonwealth's Relevance
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