Intergovernmental meetings always look for agreement, as if accord is the only justification for assembly. The intergovernmental Commonwealth seeks consensus and, it is said, even as few as one or two dissenting or undecided governments can cause an idea to be dropped, diluted or deferred. This year’s 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, held in September in Sri Lanka and reported in this issue, demonstrates that great value can also come from the free and full expression of differences of opinion. There was no agreement at
the conference on whether the Commonwealth should establish a commissioner for democracy, the rule of law and human rights, an office recommended for – and still being considered by – the intergovernmental Commonwealth. Disagreement did not stop at that thorny Commonwealth issue from being keenly debated. In another session in Colombo,
some Parliamentarians advocated including precise, and therefore potentially justiciable, social and economic rights in constitutions while others argued that this was at best ineffective and at worst inappropriate. Strongly voiced differences of
opinion were heard on how and to what extent Parliaments should scrutinize foreign affairs. The idea of gender-responsive budgets did not receive universal acclaim, nor did the
idea of placing unemployed youth in voluntary work to gain experience and keep them meaningfully occupied till they find jobs. The idea of sacrificing certain human rights of all citizens in order to implement effective counter- terrorism measures went down well with some Members, but not at all with others. The Summary Reports of annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conferences and the accompanying Small Branches Conferences have always reflected the main points of agreement and disagreement expressed in these gatherings of Parliamentarians whose personal and political backgrounds are as diverse as the variety of the Parliaments and Legislatures – and Commonwealth jurisdictions – they represent. But the differences of opinion seemed to be more numerous this year than usual, perhaps a reflection of the pressures resulting from the difficult economic and financial times globally. Whatever the cause, many differences of opinion were put forward at the Sri Lankan conference by Parliamentarians in frank exchanges that sought to convince others to change their positions or, failing that, to enable everyone to understand clearly why firm positions had been taken. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Conferences and the Small Branches meetings are held to increase understanding as well as to provide new and useful ideas
232 | The Parliamentarian | 2012: Issue Four
that individual Members and officials can take home, adapt to their diverse situations and add to the diversity of Commonwealth parliamentary practice. The meetings in Sri Lanka demonstrated that this can be done just as constructively when Parliamentarians disagree as when they agree. The Summary Reports
of the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, the 32nd Small Branches Conference and the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians discussion are published in this issue. We also publish the Opening Ceremony speeches of the President of Sri Lanka and 2012 Vice-Patron of the CPA, H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the following Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Officers: Hon. Chamal Rajapaksa, MP, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and President of the CP; Rt Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst, MP, of the United Kingdom House of Commons and Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee, and Hon. Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu, MP, Chairperson of the South African National Council of Provinces and Vice-President of the CPA. Major addresses to plenary
conference delegates by CPA Secretary-General Dr William F. Shija and Commonwealth Secretary- General H.E. Kamalesh Sharma are published here in full, followed by a
summary of the short question period that followed. The plenary conference, held
in the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall and attended by more than 600 Parliamentarians and parliamentary officials, was chaired by Mr Speaker Rajapaksa. The Small Branches met in the
Galadari Hotel, where the Sri Lankan Branch hosted the 1995 conference. During the 2012 conference period, the CPA Executive Committee, the CPA Working Party and the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Steering Committee and general meeting were also held, as was the CPA General Assembly, the supreme governing body of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The Society of Clerks- at-the-Table also held meetings for Commonwealth Clerks and Secretaries of Parliaments and Legislatures. We are indebted to the following parliamentary officials who assisted the conference by writing some of the session summaries published here: Ms Elizabeth Kingston of Canada, Mrs Rabi Audu of Nigeria, Ms Madeleine Foley of New South Wales and Ms Anne Harris of Jersey. They were joined by the following Sri Lankan officials: Mr I.L.A. Jabbar, Ms Pamodha Senarathne, Mr G.V.S. Wijesinghe, Mr G. Jeyachandra and Mr D.D.V.N. Dhammage. In addition