• Governance:
• Mandate & Vision

Mandate & Vision

As part of the Commonwealth Secretariat, GIDD adheres to certain fundamental principles of the organisation.

These include:

• Commitment to democracy, the rule of law, good governance, freedom of expression, and the protection of human rights.
• Respect for diversity and human dignity; opposition to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed or political belief.
• Poverty alleviation and promotion of people-centred and sustainable development, with the aim of removing the wide disparities in living standards amongst member countries.
• Pursuit of international peace and security, the rule of international law and the elimination of people-smuggling and the scourge of terrorism.

GIDD derives its mandate from the decisions of Heads of Government taken at CHOGMs (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings). This mandate is designed to provide a focus for collaboration between member governments, as they endeavour to improve public administration. In broad terms, the initiative focuses on key stages in public sector reform, including:

• Designing reform strategies
• Implementing the specific components of reform programmes
• Developing capacities to sustain reform
• Tackling new challenges towards good governance

GIDD’s work is demand-driven. All its programmes have been created because member countries have demanded them and because there is an identified need for them. The division initiates a project only when it receives a request for such assistance from a member country.