VIEW FROM THE CHAIR
THE COMMONWEALTH CHARTER – A POSITIVE FIRST STEP TOWARD RENEWAL
I recently chaired a roundtable forum at Westminster to discuss topics relating to the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November this year. Our meeting took place exactly six months before the start of CHOGM to analyse a number of aspects of the meeting, but focusing particularly on the content and impact of the Commonwealth Charter. I was delighted to have our discussion led by Sir Ronald Sanders, KCMG, a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and a member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (EPG). Joining him were Prof. Philip Murphy, Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, and Dr Purna Sen, Deputy Director of the Institute of Public Affairs at the London School of Economics. I found the discussions to be extremely valuable and believe it would be helpful to summarize the points made for colleagues. As many of you will be aware, the Commonwealth Charter was produced originally by the EPG and was signed by Her Majesty The Queen in December 2012. In signing the Charter, the Queen stated that she hoped the Charter will “reinvigorate efforts, already begun, to make the Commonwealth fit and agile for the years ahead, so that it can apply its global wisdom to the hopes and needs of this and future generations”. In the United Kingdom, the Charter has been enthusiastically received by the public and civil society groups and colleagues from other nations seem to be similarly passionate about its aims.
with violations of these principles in member states more actively. In designing the Charter, the EPG learnt lessons from the formulation of the Millennium Development Goals and undertook to combine existing statements from Singapore, Harare, Port-of-Spain and others into a single document with relevant additions from the contemporary context.
Rt Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst, MP
Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee
At the forum, Sir Ronald went into detail about the initial discussions held within the Eminent Persons Group which brought about the formation of the Charter. This was a fascinating insight into their thoughts and hopes for the exercise and highlighted the desire of EPG members for the Commonwealth to succeed, flourish and grow in future years as a strong and coherent body. We then heard from Prof. Murphy who analysed the long history of promoting human rights and values within the Commonwealth. Dr Sen then outlined her views on the impact the Charter will have. Participants were then given the opportunity to share their personal views on these areas. As the meeting was held under Chatham House rules I am not at liberty to disclose these, however I can assure you all that it proved a hot topic for debate!
It is clear that the Commonwealth is now taking its responsibility for the promotion of human rights and the rule of law more seriously and engaging
94 | The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue Two
One of the recurring themes in our forum discussion was the high expectations placed on the Charter before its publication and the various responses to it from citizens and the media in each Commonwealth nation. It was felt that a more effective consultation with the public would have benefited the development of the Charter and that, as it stands, the Charter does not adequately reflect the views of the citizens of Commonwealth nations. However, we would have to question how this consultation may have played out and how a fair representation of the citizens of the Commonwealth could have been reached. Although the logistical challenge of surveying citizens was acknowledged, those assembled felt this process would have added weight to the importance of the Charter and its reception in member nations. Many felt the Charter had not gone far enough on some aspects of human rights, and the clause “We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds” was too vague. It was agreed, however, that the Charter remains an extremely useful document for the Commonwealth to celebrate and promote to its citizens. As the Commonwealth is a voluntary organization, creating a document like the Charter gives the exercise more clarity and scope than similar documents produced by supranational organizations. It shows our non-Commonwealth neighbours our commitment to our shared values and our commitment to each other. The Charter, while not legally binding, exercises a moral obligation on nations to uphold principles of democracy, human rights, international peace and security, tolerance, respect and understanding and, importantly for colleagues, good governance and others. Discussion later turned to the renewal of the Commonwealth and the “glue” which holds us together. In this ever increasingly connected world with numerous pressures and opportunities for governments, the Commonwealth relies on its shared values to maintain its membership. Some members may have found their interests begin to diverge in the past; but new transnational issues such as climate change, micro-finance, land rights and food security mean
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