As Commonwealth Election Observers prepare their final report on the Presidential Election held in Sri Lanka on 26th January 2010 there is a growing interest in what they will say, and what it will mean for the Commonwealth. Continue reading…

Krishnan Srinivasan, former Deputy Secretary-General (Political) of the Commonwealth, says that although the Commonwealth has made a start in committing to the Harare principles, it is difficult to see where the process will end.

In an article published in The Round Table in October 2003, Krishnan Srinivasan charts the rise of CMAG – the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group – formed in 1995 to monitor adherence to the values of the Harare Declaration.

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With Pakistan in almost perpetual crisis, where can the Commonwealth add value? In this interview for the Commonwealth Conversation, Jonathan Paris, a London-based Middle East and Islamic movement specialist, suggests the Trinidad Heads of Government Meeting could push along the India-Pakistan peace process.

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In an interview conducted by the RCS as part of the Commonwealth Conversation, the Kenyan Vice President, Kalonzo Musyoka, has spoken frankly about the need for Commonwealth renewal.

“The Commonwealth is very important to us in Kenya, but it has not been good enough at promoting itself – many people here do not understand what the Commonwealth is, nor how it works.

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In an article published on Tuesday 20th October 2009, in Caribbean Net News, Maja Daruwala, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has called for CMAG reform to be top of the agenda at the Trinidad CHOGM. CMAG is the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group – the Commonwealth watchdog on human rights abuses.

Today, CMAG must be able to deal quickly and unequivocally with situations of constant threats to human rights values by Commonwealth states and open challenges encapsulated in statements like the latest one by President Jammeh of the Gambia where he is unequivocal in his opposition to the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values when he declares on the eve of his departure to New York for the UN General Assembly meeting:

“I will kill anyone, who wants to destabilize this country. If you think that you can collaborate with so called human rights defenders, and get away with it, you must be living in a dream world. I will kill you, and nothing will come out of it. We are not going to condone people posing as human rights defenders to the detriment of the country. If you are affiliated with any human rights group, be rest assured that your security and personal safety would not be guaranteed by my Government. We are ready to kill saboteurs.”

While CMAG has its share of successes, lately there have instances where it has not lived up to expectations. For example 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.

CMAG has also been silent on other parts of the Commonwealth, for instance during the post election violence in Kenya in 2007, when freedom of assembly was curtailed in Malaysia in 2007, and for a long while on the Gambia where many basic human rights are heavily curtailed.

It is worrying to note that the CMAG has by and by interpreted its mandate very narrowly to focus only on the un-constitutional overthrow of governments albeit selectively. While my organisation welcomes the recent suspension of Fiji from the Commonwealth as well as the earlier suspension of Pakistan in 2007, CMAG’s non-action on Bangladesh when there was an army backed government in 2006 has left political activists and civil society organisations monitoring CMAG meetings wondering about its yardsticks.

The Hon. Steven Smith MP, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, tells the Commonwealth Conversation that the association shouldn’t be shy about focussing on its core strength – democracy. Do you agree?

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The RCS have interviewed a Nigerian anti-corruption campaign group called Enough is Enough. They think the Commonwealth should stand up to corrupt countries in its membership. Do you agree?

RCS: Who are you and what are you here for today?

We are a non-partisan and non-political group called Enough is Enough. It?s a campaign group that came together to say Nigerians should take action, not against our government, but with our own people to say Enough is Enough.

When 4 or 5 Nigerians get together they always talk about the problems in our country. ‘But we feel it’s time to come together and say in one voice we have had enough. It’s time for us to take positive action.

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An interview with former Australian Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. John Howard, conducted by the Royal Commonwealth Society as part of the Commonwealth Conversation.

Do you have any thoughts on how the Commonwealth should be re-engaging with Zimbabwe?

I have a strong view about Zimbabwe: I think the Southern African countries let everybody down. They should have caught up with Mugabe years ago and, if they had done so, I think he would have gone a long time ago. But asking how we re-engage with Zimbabwe is truly the wrong question.

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President Nasheed of the Maldives thinks the Commonwealth should be procatively encouraging democracy and redefining international relations in respect to climate change. Continue reading…

Sir Paul Reeves, the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Fiji, says that the suspension of Fiji from the Commonwealth does not mean the expulsion of her people. In an interview just prior to his visit to Fiji on 8-9 September 2009, Sir Paul, who is the former Governor-General of New Zealand, said that he hopes the Commonwealth can continue to offer assistance in restoring democratic governance in Fiji.

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