Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, talks about what the Commonwealth means to him and how its values of diversity and tolerance are an immense assest.

Dr. Bari, you were born in Bangladesh, have lived in the United Kingdom for decades and, through your charity and community work, have links throughout the Commonwealth. So what does the Commonwealth exactly mean to you?

Well, ever since I grew up, I heard of the Commonwealth. When I was at university, many of my colleagues got Commonwealth Scholarships, so I know about the Scholarship area because I come from an educational background. I come from Bangladesh and, Bangladesh being a Commonwealth country, I have had a lot of interest in the Commonwealth, because it’s a massive organisation with fifty-three countries, with two billion people- one third of the world’s population- so it makes sense to me.

You are a patron of the Ramphal Centre, which is an organisation that promotes the discussion of policy issues concerning the Commonwealth and its member-states. Which key issues do you personally think the Commonwealth should be focusing on in the next few years?

I think young people are our future, every society, every nation’s future, and it’s the MCB’s duty to work with young people to bring them to the heart of British society. Commonwealth countries- many of them are having economic, social, political difficulties, so if we can focus on the young people and their future education and employment, so they can contribute to the well-being of society and they are able to run all those countries in a better way- I think that would be a wonderful thing.

We’ve seen recently international concern over alleged Islamic extremists emerging from Commonwealth countries including Nigeria, Pakistan and others. Do you think that Islamic extremism poses a serious threat to the member-states of the Commonwealth?

Well, I don’t want to use the two terms together; Islam is a religion, like the Abrahamic faiths and other important world faiths, and terrorism or extremism is not a monopoly of a religion or a community, it can happen with any community, any time, for different reasons. The fact that some Muslims have done terrible atrocities doesn’t mean that is the fault of Islam. So what we have to do is create a narrative where we work with all our communities without blaming anyone, and, if there are people who need to be isolated, let them isolate these people and leave the wider society as they are.

How do you think the core values of the Commonwealth- values that you personally have long sought to promote, values like inter-faith cooperation and the celebration of diversity- how can these Commonwealth values be used, do you think, to combat religious extremism?

I think Commonwealth countries have many people with many religious backgrounds, and this diversity is the strength of the Commonwealth. What we have to do, we probably have to go beyond tolerance of each other; if we can respect each other for each other’s values, and if we can work with each other for a common good, we can create a society that gives peace and harmony to everyone. So we have to respect each other’s values, we have to work with everyone irrespective of their diversity, and create an environment where everyone feels free to work with each other, and I think religions can really beget tools for that, because all religions, in their principles and message, speak more or less of the same ethos of shared values and interests for the whole of humanity.

H.M. The Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, highlighted the Commonwealth’s Relevance in its 60th Anniversary Year during her 2009 Christmas Broadcast.  Her speech also featured video interviews with delegates at the Commonwealth Youth Forum in Trinidad and Tobago.

It is sixty years since the Commonwealth was created and today, with more than a billion of its members under the age of 25, the organisation remains a strong and practical force for good. Recently I attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago and heard how important the Commonwealth is to young people. New communication technologies allow them to reach out to the wider world and share their experiences and viewpoints. For many, the practical assistance and networks of the Commonwealth can give skills, lend advice and encourage enterprise.

It is inspiring to learn of some of the work being done by these young people, who bring creativity and innovation to the challenges they face. It is important to keep discussing issues that concern us all – there can be no more valuable role for our family of nations.

I have been closely associated with the Commonwealth through most of its existence. The personal and living bond I have enjoyed with leaders, and with people the world over, has always been more important in promoting our unity than symbolism alone. The Commonwealth is not an organisation with a mission. It is rather an opportunity for its people to work together to achieve practical solutions to problems.

In many aspects of our lives, whether in sport, the environment, business or culture, the Commonwealth connection remains vivid and enriching. It is, in lots of ways, the face of the future. And with continuing support and dedication, I am confident that this diverse Commonwealth of nations can strengthen the common bond that transcends politics, religion, race and economic circumstances.

Dr. Claire Auplat, an academic specialising in institutional theory, suggests building on the existing capacities of the Commonwealth to ensure the association’s survival.

Dr. Auplat classifies the Commonwealth as a ‘conditional organisation’, meaning one that links member status to specific conditions. In the case of the Commonwealth this refers to historical and cultural links to Britain and, more recently, the promotion of values such as democracy.

However, she argues, the association must go beyond focusing on democracy, because this focus does not create any real comparative advantage for its members. In order to redefine its comparative advantage, the Commonwealth must firstly clarify what it stands for and then meet the expectations of its members.

The century old Commonwealth civil society network constitutes a comparative advantage in itself, but this network needs to be strengthened and better coordinated.

You can read the full article, free of charge, here and feel free to leave any comments below

Auplat, Claire, Redefining the comparative advantage of the Commonwealth as a conditional organisation, The Round Table, Vol. 96 No. 388, 51-56, February 2007

Last week we featured the opportunity to ask Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, any question you wanted. He is now responding.

Answering a question on profile, posted on the Commonwealth Conversation website, he said:

“It is by making ourselves relevant and responsive to the concerns of the ordinary people whom we serve that we can best hope to be acknowledged by them.”

He also welcomed the “frank exchange” of views the Commonwealth Conversation has enabled.

To see more responses visit the Commonwealth Secretariat’s website. He will be answering questions throughout CHOGM.  

This short film features young people from Commonwealth countries urging their leaders to take action on climate change at the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and subsequently at the Copenhagen UN climate change summit.

The Commonwealth Association, Uganda,  engaged over 400 people in their consultations on the future of the Commonwealth.

Speaking to students at various universities, the following observations and recommendations were made:

1) The Commonwealth has done little to raise awareness amongst the people of its work, mission and engagements
2) The Commonwealth should push more for the enforcement of democracy and good governance
3) Its role on the world stage is unclear
4) It has not benefitted the common man
5) The Commonwealth should intervene more to guarantee free and fair elections in all countries

A Commonwealth Conversation took place between a group of young people in Namibia.

1 student had heard of the Commonwealth Games, but did not know who participated in these games and where the next games were to be hosted. When asked of evidence of the Commonwealth’s presence in their community, “there was no response”.

The students spoke passionately about the situation in Zimbabwe and want the Commonwealth to help resolve this. They also asked the Commonwealth to provide more grass roots information on its scholarships and to check how country governments are managing international aid and funding.

Young people from around the Commonwealth gathered in London to debate what the Commonwealth could do to combat climate change.

Speaking earlier in the summit, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith, said: “long before it was fashionable, the Commonwealth entered the debate on climate change.”

Referring to concerns raised about rising sea levels by the then president of the Maldives, he recalled:

“An expert group was established [in 1987] and a flush of early political work by the Commonwealth helped to raise the international profile of climate change and sea-level rise concerns.”

How can the Commonwealth help tackle this issue today?

This critique of ‘the Commonwealth family’ is written by a young African member of a Commonwealth civil society organisation.

The inter-governmental Commonwealth works in many of its member states and assists them in election observation, peace building and technical assistance. There are also so called Commonwealth ‘civil society’ organisations in almost every country.

Despite these connections and good works, there are still many people that do not know anything about the Commonwealth, suggesting that there is much room and need for the organisation and its work to be highlighted.

Because of the Commonwealth’s ‘under the radar’ approach, the burden of publicity falls on the “friends of the Commonwealth” organisations.

In many countries the Commonwealth is only heard of if they host the heads of government meeting. Perhaps Commonwealth civil society bodies are not getting enough support to raise the profile of the Commonwealth? Do they need proper guidance and a watchful eye in order to be relevant?

I question many times why I am a member of my African Commonwealth organisation. I wonder who determines what activities we can and cannot take part in and if what we do is the same as what is being done by other membership organisations in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Uganda, and Malta?

I ask myself why the leadership never changes and why Commonwealth bodies do not recruit able personnel to run these organisations or oversee their progress? Universal targets could be set in line with the current focus of the Secretariat. This focus is badly needed.

Commonwealth organisations around the world need to work together along with the Secretariat to ensure that any projects the organisation designs and implements are promoted throughout the association.

Country-based organisations should also be called upon by the media to comment on Commonwealth affairs in order to raise their own profile, as well as the association’s.

In every Commonwealth state there should be an effective representative organisation. They do not need to comment on behalf of the Secretariat but provide the link between local people, NGOs, politicians and the inter-governmental Commonwealth.

This would increase knowledge of the Commonwealth’s activities and educate the public about its valuable work. Promotion, profile and a co-ordinated approach are what the Commonwealth currently needs.

Mr Sharma will respond in person online via email, Twitter and Facebook to as many questions and suggestions as possible during the summit.

This is a unique opportunity for those who can’t get to Port of Spain to engage Mr Sharma directly on any topic covered by the Commonwealth Conversation. The deadline is Wednesday 18 November.

Please send your question or suggestion to asksharma@commonwealth.int by Wednesday, 18 November.