PLENARY SESSION - PARLIAMENTARY LINKS THROUGH THE COMMONWEALTH
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, H.E. Mr Kamalesh Sharma, in South Africa.
broad-based prosperity creates the stability conducive to the promotion of democracy; and that strong democratic institutions better promote development’.
It is therefore most appropriate that, as parliamentarians, your conference theme should be, ‘Effective Solutions to Commonwealth Developmental Challenges’. It also reflects the theme chosen for this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka, ‘Growth with Equity: Inclusive Development’. Our ambition for the CHOGM in November is that leaders will explore how growth and development can be advanced whether one lives in a city, a town, a village, a rural community, or an out-lying island.
We do well to recall the objectives identified already by our heads as those they consider make democracy work for pro-poor development. These include:
• A participatory democracy char- acterized by free and fair elections and representative Legislatures; • an independent judiciary; • A well-trained public service;
• A transparent and accountable public accounts system; • Machinery to protect human rights; • •Theright to information; • Active participation of civil society, including women and youth; • Substantially increased and more effective financial resources; and • Increased democracy at the global level, including enhanced participation and transparency in international institutions.
MDGs and post-2015 sustainable development framework
These objectives remain relevant and topical, particularly as we approach the target date for the Millennium Development Goals in 2015. While substantial headway has been made, both globally and in the Commonwealth, a long road still lies ahead.
Particular challenges remain in meeting targets on basic education, maternal mortality, hunger and gender equality. The final global push is being led by two Commonwealth countries, Australia and Rwanda, as co-chairs of the Millennium Development Goal
Advocacy Group convened by the UN Secretary-General.
As we assess progress and measure achievements, work towards international convergence on a post-2015 sustainable development framework is already underway. The UK Prime Minister was one of three leaders who co-chaired the UN Secretary-General’s high-level panel which has now issued its report on the framework. South Africa and Ireland have been contributing at another level.
The Commonwealth has a long record of building consensus around global challenges, and is well-placed to provide both analytical and practical insights into this debate. Indeed, the new global
development agenda has featured prominently at recent Commonwealth ministerial meetings. Last year’s Commonwealth Education Ministers Meeting in Mauritius set up a Working Group to define Commonwealth development priorities for education post-2015. Meetings earlier this year of Commonwealth Ministers of Health, Youth, Women’s Affairs, and Environment have also considered how our combined efforts can best
be directed to promote a robust, sustainable and effective global approach to development. A common thread, reflecting our focus on the practical and on delivery, is that our various ministerial discussions have pointed to the importance both of reaching global agreement on new goals themselves as well as on the means by which they can be achieved.
All in all, the Commonwealth is bringing its perspective to the debate on the new post-MDGs global development agenda.
Commonwealth values As representatives of the people, I can think of no more important an audience than this one to which to comment on our new Charter, also alluded to by His Excellency the President this morning. The values and aspirations for which the Commonwealth strives have been brought together in a single, accessible document, adopted by Heads of Government in December last year, and signed on Commonwealth Day this year by Her Majesty The Queen, Head of the Commonwealth. We now
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