The next Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM),
the third to be held in
Africa, takes place 12-15 November, hosted by South Africa in Durban, with the theme
"People-centred development: The Challenge of Globalisation".
The Commonwealth is the second
largest global association of independent states, after the United Nations. Today it has
54 member states of which 19 are in Africa; 19 in Asia and the Pacific; 13 in the
Americas; and three in Europe.
Twelve of the 14 SADC states
are members of the Commonwealth, and form an influential grouping in an association which
has a total population of 1.7 billion people, and spans every major political grouping,
regional bloc and economic zone in the world.
More than one in four people in the world lives
in a Commonwealth country; its membership includes some of the world's fastest growing
economies, as well as the richest and the poorest. The Commonwealth has no charter, its
members voluntarily consult and cooperate; they subscribe to a number of declarations and
uphold a set of fundamental principles, enshrined in the 1971 Singapore Declaration and
the 1991 Harare Declaration.
These principles include the equality of all people, as well as democracy and good
governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law, and sustainable economic and
social development. The leaders meet every two years.
There are regular meetings of ministers, ie finance, education, health, women affairs,
and of parliamentary, media and other associations, including non-governmental
organizations and private sector. Almost all English-speaking countries belong to the
Commonwealth, except the United States of America and the Irish Republic.
Guided by its first African Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, a
widely respected Nigerian diplomat, the Commonwealth has been able to put teeth into its
declarations, suspending Nigeria's participation in membership until a democratically
elected civilian government took office earlier this year, and welcoming back Fiji which
had been expelled. More recently, Pakistan has been suspended from participation in
membership following the military coup in October.
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A consistent proponent of
equality and a "common humanity" and against racism in any form, perhaps its
greatest success and involvement in the past decade, which went largely unpublicized, was
the role of Commonwealth expertise in bringing to a successful conclusion the transition
over apartheid in South Africa. As well as the part played by the Secretary-General in a
"good offices" role behind the scenes, Commonwealth countries provided police
and mediation trainers, elections experts and observers, and peace negotiators.
South Africa left the
Commonwealth in 1961 after disagreement over its apartheid policies, and rejoined on 1
June 1994 after democratic elections. It is fitting therefore that, on the eve of the new
millennium, Commonwealth leaders are coming home to southern Africa and South Africa.
Commonwealth leaders met
previously in Lusaka, Zambia in 1979 in a historic summit that led directly to the
successful Lancaster House negotiations on independence for Zimbabwe.
They returned to southern Africa, to
independent Zimbabwe, to meet in Harare in 1991, when the Harare Commonwealth Declaration
set the association a new agenda for democracy, human
rights and good governance.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Head of
Commonwealth, shown here with the Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku from Nigeria. The
Queen will visit Mozambique for the first time, just after the Durban summit on 15
November. Mozambique joined the Commonwealth in 1995 |
The Millbrook Commonwealth
Action Programme on the Harare Declaration was adopted in 1995 in New Zealand to
facilitate implementation of these commitments. It established the Commonwealth
Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to facilitate action between summits, chaired by the
Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe, Dr Stan Mudenge. A number of advance meetings are planned,
whose deliberations will inform the discussions at CHOGM. The Commonwealth Business
Council meets in Johannesburg on 10-11 November to facilitates private sector
consultations.
The Commonwealth NGO Forum
meets in Durban on 8-10 November, and the Commonwealth Press Union is holding a meeting of
Editors on the same dates. The non-governmental sector, often called the "People's
Commonwealth" will also hold an exhibition to coincide with the summit.
CHOGM ends with a closing session and
communique on 15 November
Commonwealth leaders last met in 1991, in Zimbabwe, when they adopted the Harare
Commonwealth Declaration. Since then, they have met in Cyprus in 1993, New Zealand in 1995
and UK in 1997
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