Development, democracy and peace

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting opened in Malta yesterday amid pomp and ceremony. The Times takes a look at the Commonwealth, how it was set up, what it stands for and what it tries to achieve.

An organisation with moral authority

The Commonwealth has often been criticised for being an international organisation with little influence or power. As Don McKinnon, its secretary general, said during his first press conference in Malta prior to the Commonwealth summit: "CHOGM is neither the G8 nor the United Nations security council".

Mr McKinnon is right of course and the Commonwealth has little political clout on the international scene. It can in no way be compared to blocs such as the European Union, the Arab League, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Organisation of African States or the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. All the members of these organisations have a lot in common and have many similar political and foreign policy interests. The Commonwealth is not an international bloc and the main thing its members have in common is the fact that they speak English and were once part of the British Empire. There is one exception, Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony which joined in 1995. However, this is not to say that the Commonwealth has no relevance in today's world. It might have little importance on the world stage but as an organisation that comprises 53 nations from all five continents - which represent one third of the global population - it simply cannot be dismissed as an outdated, anachronistic organisation. At worst it is a useful forum for dialogue among a diverse group of nations which have a common background as former British colonies. It could, for example, prove helpful as a platform for the easing of tensions between Islam and Christianity - two major religions within the Commonwealth, something suggested by President Emeritus Guido de Marco.

One definite benefit for Commonwealth members (mainly from the developing world) is development support through the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, which is the main way the Commonwealth promotes economic and social development.

The Commonwealth is described as "an association of 53 independent states working together in the common interests of their citizens for development, democracy and peace". While there is absolutely no doubt that in the past a number of Commonwealth countries in the developing world were ruled by brutal dictators who had no respect for human rights and democracy - Uganda under Idi Amin in the 1970s is a classic example - it is also fair to say that the Commonwealth has in recent years placed a much greater emphasis on the promotion of democracy among its members. There is still much more to do but the state of democracy in Commonwealth countries today is much healthier than in the past.

The 1971 Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles, for example, said that the member states "believe in the liberty of the individual, in equal rights for all citizens regardless of race, colour, creed or political belief, and in their inalienable right to participate by means of free and democratic political processes in framing the society in which they live". This declaration was further strengthened by the 1991 Harare Commonwealth Declaration which also took into account the end of the Cold War.

The Commonwealth leaders summit is held every two years and issues discussed include international peace and security, democracy, good governance, sustainable development, debt, education, environment, gender equality, health, human rights and trade issues.

Notable meetings have included the 1979 Lusaka summit where leaders confirmed their commitment to Zimbabwe's independence on the basis of majority rule, the 1999 Durban summit which set up a high level group of 10 leaders to review the role of the Commonwealth and which welcomed back Nigeria as a full member following democratic elections, and the 2003 Abuja summit which saw Zimbabwe leave the Commonwealth after having been suspended for not respecting democracy.

In the past the Commonwealth had focused a great deal - some people say excessively when compared to the problems in other Commonwealth countries - on ending apartheid in South Africa. In fact a number of summits - London in 1977, Melbourne in 1981, Nassau in 1985, Vancouver in 1987, Kuala Lumpur in 1989 and Harare in 1991 - all issued declarations criticising the government of South Africa.

The Commonwealth did contribute a lot to ending apartheid in South Africa - and deserves credit for this - but one argument made at the time was that many of the countries criticising the South African regime at the time were hardly democracies themselves. In any case South Africa was welcomed back into the Commonwealth in 1995 at the Auckland summit, a landmark event.

Pakistan was suspended from the Commonwealth in 1999 because of a military take-over but was readmitted in 2004 after making significant progress in returning to democracy.

The Commonwealth no doubt draws its main strength from its moral authority - in the past it has challenged apartheid in South Africa, military regimes in Nigeria and Pakistan and the erosion of democracy in Zimbabwe. It has certainly come a long way.

Finding relevance in today's world

The biggest challenge faced by the Commonwealth at the moment, in the words of its secretary general, Don McKinnon, is the maintenance of its relevance on today's globalised political and economic world stage.

The original aim of the association was imperial in nature. In 1926, one of the first Commonwealth conferences agreed to the equal status of the members, "though, united by common allegiance to the Crown".

That changed however, primarily as a consequence of India's fight for independence and the domino effect it had on the rest of the colonies including eventually on Malta.

The 1949 London Declaration changed membership of the Commonwealth from one based on common allegiance to the crown to one in which members agree to recognise the British monarch as the head of the Commonwealth, rather than as their head of state.

Today, however, critics say the Commonwealth has lost its legitimacy and cannot effectively live alongside powerful political blocs with tangible executive clout such as the United Nations and the G8.

The theme of this year's summit, Networking For Development, tries to hone in on a salient aspect of the Commonwealth's composition, which is the fact that the association brings together some of the poorest countries, most still struggling with the implementation of democracy.

Some 18 of the members have not yet signed or ratified key human rights conventions, for example. "Eighteen too many," Mr McKinnon admitted at the closure of Monday's Human Rights Forum.

At the same time, countries such as Gambia, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, to mention a few, do not manage to generate gross national income per capita rates in excess of $400. Malta stands at $9,260 and the UK at $28,350.

In Africa, particularly, this is compounded by rife medical problems such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, for example, have among the highest rates of people infected with HIV/AIDS in the world - 38.8 per cent, 21.5 per cent, 21.3 per cent, 16.5 per cent and 14.2 per cent of their populations, respectively.

These are the challenges which would make the Commonwealth relevant even today. In fact, in the spheres of human rights and good governance, the Commonwealth does claim success for the pressure placed against South Africa's apartheid policy, for example.

In 1961 South Africa was forced to withdraw from the association after it was criticised by many members over the apartheid and only eventually returned after the segregation came to an end in 1994.

"More needs to be done," even to begin to tackle the issues which many of the Commonwealth's countries face in the human rights sphere, Mr Mc Kinnon said.

In 1971 the so-called Singapore Declaration set an agenda of shared principles which include commitments to individual liberty, freedom from racism, peace, economic and social development, and international cooperation.

Since then, however, Nigeria was suspended after it sentenced to death the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and a group of fellow activists. Pakistan was the site of a military coup which was later legitimised through a presidential referendum and Zimbabwe was suspended over President Robert Mugabe's controversial reelection. Zimbabwe has since left the Commonwealth.

In the sphere of development eyes are cast on the ongoing discussions in the World Trade Organisation forum which is meant to culminate in a Hong Kong summit in three weeks' time. The removal of trade barriers blocking mostly agricultural goods from developing countries from entering western markets is seen as a dignified ticket which could help develop the economies of the Third World and lift many people from poverty.

As the December appointment looms there seems to be an attempt at redefining the targets of the WTO's agenda and this is where this weekend's CHOGM could prove the Commonwealth is still relevant.

Asked about this point on Thursday, Mr McKinnon expressed certainty that the issue will be tackled this weekend and pursued at the WTO. "CHOGM has a strong message to send to the WTO," he said.

However, he did pass a significant comment on what the EU's Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said recently; that the Doha agenda was a give-and-take exercise for developing nations too. "I would like to remind Mr Mandelson that in the Uruguay round developing nations gave and didn't take back," Mr McKinnon said.

Club of former British colonies

The term "Commonwealth of Nations" was used to refer to the changing British Empire for the first time by Lord Rosebery, a British politician, in 1884.

The club of former British colonies, as it is known today, in fact emerged amid decolonisation and nationhood - two 19th century concepts that shaped states as we know them now.

As Canada and Australia - former colonies under Britain's direct rule - achieved self-government, the former colonies sought to redefine their role with respect to the British Empire.

Canada became a dominion, meaning a virtually self-governing state, in 1867. Australia followed suit in 1900, New Zealand in 1907, South Africa in 1910 and the Irish Free State in 1921.

These dominions continued to establish their autonomy through their participation in World War I and their separate signatures on the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

At a 1926 Imperial Conference, dominions were redefined as autonomous communities within the British Empire. While they were declared as equal in status and in no way subordinate to each other, though united through common allegiance to the crown, they declared their free association to the British Commonwealth of nations.

As other nations gradually gained independence or became dominions, the predecessors of today's "unofficial Commonwealth" of professional associations and NGOs were set up linking professionals and institutions in the various dominions.

An important historical factor which reshaped the Commonwealth into how we know it today was India and Pakistan's independence in 1947. The principle of the Commonwealth, in fact, had to be rethought, as India wanted at once to become a republic and retain its status as a Commonwealth nation.

The turning point was a conference of Commonwealth prime ministers in 1949, which decided that Commonwealth membership would no longer be based on a nation's "allegiance to the Crown". King George VI, however, would be recognised as the symbol of the nations' free association and, thus, be head of the Commonwealth. India became the first republican member of the Commonwealth.

The first majority-ruled African member, Ghana, joined after achieving independence in 1957. From 1960 onwards, the Commonwealth expanded rapidly with new members from Africa, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific.

Today, 32 members are republics and five have national monarchies of their own. Sixteen are constitutional monarchies which recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state.

In 1965, Commonwealth leaders agreed to set up a Commonwealth Secretariat in London as an independent body headed by a secretary general. In 1966, the Commonwealth Foundation was established to assist the work of professional associations and NGOs.

In 1971, leaders adopted the Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles which gave the association a formal code of ethics and committed members to improving human rights and seeking racial and economic justice.

The promotion of democracy and good governance, the rule of law and sustainable economic and social development became declared objectives in 1991 through the Harare Commonwealth declaration.

Trade, investment and other areas of cooperation were identified as top priorities for Commonwealth nations in the new millennium.