The Importance of the Commonwealth

Speech by The Minister for Foreign Affairs The Hon Alexander Downer MP

Introduction

Thank you distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

It is a great pleasure to be here this evening in these pleasant surroundings, at the invitation of the Victorian Branch of the Royal Over-Seas League, to celebrate Commonwealth Day. From its headquarters in central London, the League plays an outstanding role in maintaining the links between the citizens of Commonwealth countries.

The League pursues this aim in a myriad of ways. One that particularly appeals to me is the encouragement given by the League to young musicians, artists and writers throughout the Commonwealth in its music competitions, art exhibitions and book prizes. It was a Melbourne member, Mrs Mavis Bowskill, who I understand made a particularly generous donation towards staging a very successful series of concerts at the Millenium Dome in London last August. Amongst a range of performances, these brought together, as only the Commonwealth can, an acclaimed Maltese/Nigerian piano duo and instruments ranging from grand pianos to African marimbas.

It is also wonderful to see here tonight representatives of a wide range of Commonwealth organizations, such as the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Australian-Britain Society and the English Speaking Union. You are the ties that bind in the modern Commonwealth. I am pleased to say that, at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (or CHOGM), to be held in Brisbane from 6-9 October, a very special place is being reserved for the Commonwealth organizations with the establishment of a spacious Commonwealth Peoples' Centre.

For the Commonwealth is far more than the biennial Heads of Government meeting, important as this event is. It is primarily about the ordinary men and women who appreciate the value of the links between Commonwealth countries, and who participate in the activities of Societies such as yours. Without these sorts of people to people contacts, the Commonwealth would be greatly diminished and could even wither and die.

I am sure you will understand if, as Foreign Minister, I focus my remarks tonight on the forthcoming CHOGM in Brisbane, and the preparations for it, in addressing the subject "The Importance of the Commonwealth". Within that general context, I want to consider three areas of particular interest: firstly, the CHOGM theme of "The Commonwealth in the 21st Century: Continuity and Renewal"; secondly, the role of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group; and thirdly, the High Level Review Group.

Towards CHOGM

CHOGM will in fact be the most important international meeting held in Australia this year, with our Prime Minister playing host to some 50 Heads of Government, and to Her Majesty the Queen, who remains a very potent and effective symbol of Commonwealth unity as the universally recognised Head of the Commonwealth. Some of you will remember the last CHOGM held in Australia, here in Melbourne now twenty years ago. I trust you will not begrudge Brisbane its chance!

The CHOGM theme of "Continuity and Renewal" is one I suspect you will see echoed in the Queen's Message for Commonwealth Day when it is issued in a few days time. It is a theme that the Australian Government wholeheartedly embraces. Our objective for the Brisbane CHOGM is to see a revitalised and strengthened Commonwealth playing an even more important role, not only with its 54 member states, but in the wider world.

The Changing Commonwealth

Taking up the theme of continuity and renewal, it is worth reflecting on the changing Commonwealth. I have lived long enough to be able to appreciate personally how much the Commonwealth has expanded and changed over the years. In the year I was born, early in Sir Robert Menzies' record second term as our Prime Minister, there were just 8 independent countries that were members of the Commonwealth - of which Australia, of course, was one. Now the Commonwealth has 54 members, covering roughly one quarter of the countries of the world and one quarter of its population.

The great increase in membership made the Commonwealth a more complex international organization. In Asia and Africa, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans - the racial and cultural diversity, and geographic spread of the organization grew as more and more dependent territories of the former British Empire took their independent places in the international community, and freely chose to join the Commonwealth. As I have remarked previously, it is now the Commonwealth on which the sun never sets!

As a larger and more complex organisation, the range of the Commonwealth's interests and concerns also increased. In opposing apartheid and racial discrimination, and encouraging decolonisation and majority rule, the Commonwealth became involved in issues that reflected its profound commitment to democracy and diversity.

Even the very existence of Commonwealth Day is a symbol of the changes that took place over the past half century. Some of you may remember Empire Day from your school days - I certainly do! But, by the mid 1970s, this occasion no longer reflected the new realities. It was thus, at a meeting of Commonwealth senior officials in Canberra in 1976, that it was agreed that the second Monday in March, a rare occasion when all schoolchildren in every Commonwealth country would actually be at school, should become Commonwealth Day to reflect this new world. So here we are together, celebrating Commonwealth Day, on the theme established by the Secretary-General of "A New Generation". That theme chimes neatly with the notion of renewal in the CHOGM theme, and the important role of youth in the Commonwealth, about which I will have more to say in a moment.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Commonwealth faces the challenges of further change and development. Some of the great issues, which gave the Commonwealth much of its past importance in world affairs, no longer loom large on the international agenda. Apartheid has been overcome and the work of decolonisation is virtually complete. We need to look to the future and find our sense of direction for the challenges that lie ahead. Two of the bodies which will be reporting to the forthcoming CHOGM, and suggesting ways ahead, will be the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) and the High Level Review Group (HLRG).

Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group

One area of continuity is the important role the Commonwealth has carved out for itself in the area of human rights and fundamental political values as embodied originally in the Harare Declaration.

Some of you may know that I represent Australia on the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (or CMAG). This body of eight Commonwealth Foreign Ministers was first set up at the Auckland CHOGM in 1995, under the Millbrook Declaration, primarily to address the outrageous violations of human and political rights by the military government in Nigeria, which led to its suspension from the Commonwealth at that meeting. The members of CMAG come from across the Commonwealth, and currently include Botswana as chair, Nigeria, Malaysia, Barbados, Bangladesh, Canada, UK and Australia.

Since then, CMAG has addressed a wide range of political challenges in Commonwealth member countries. Currently, it has on its formal agenda the situations in Pakistan, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. More informally it has addressed issues of concern, in places like Zimbabwe and Cameroon, at its meetings. Nigeria, I am pleased to say, is no longer on its agenda, following the end of the military regime in May 1999 and the restoration of an elected civilian government led by President Olusegun Obasanjo, who we look forward to welcoming to Australia later this year.

For those who are all too quick to criticise the Commonwealth for ineffectiveness, the case of Nigeria, the largest country in Africa, stands as a firm rebuttal to such criticism. It is widely accepted that Commonwealth pressure played a significant, indeed a leading role, in the process for achieving democratic change in Nigeria. The Commonwealth was also there to support this process with election monitoring and civil reconstruction, when the opportunity arose.

And I am pleased to say that Australia played its part in Nigeria, just as it is doing currently in those problems closer to hand in Fiji and Solomon Islands, where the Commonwealth support for conflict resolution has been a useful adjunct to our own major bilateral effort. In a week's time, I will be flying to London for the next meeting of CMAG, and I trust that the success we achieved in Nigeria will in time be replicated in the other cases with which we are currently grappling.

CMAG will be reporting to the CHOGM on progress in all these situations, and recommending appropriate action, which in serious cases can include suspension from the Commonwealth. Pakistan and Fiji are currently suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth, but the possibilities for dialogue and change remain open, with a very active diplomatic process in train. The future remit of CMAG will be under consideration at CHOGM. CMAG itself has recommended a fuller implementation of its mandate to the High Level Review Group (or HLRG) examining the future of the Commonwealth.

High Level Review Group

I turn now to the HLRG itself, which will be meeting next week in London. Chaired by the President of South Africa, the host of the last CHOGM, it comprises the Heads of Government of ten member countries from across the Commonwealth, including our own Prime Minister.

Its mandate is most comprehensive. It is reviewing the political role of the Commonwealth, with particular focus on the future role of CMAG, options for strengthening the Commonwealth's role in conflict prevention and resolution and the involvement of Ministers in Commonwealth decision making.

On the social side, it is examining the developmental role of the Commonwealth, the issue of young people and education in the Commonwealth, a Commonwealth youth volunteers scheme, Commonwealth scholarships and a youth leadership scheme. Everyone who understands the value of the Commonwealth also knows how important it is, in seeking renewal, to engage the coming generations. The challenge is to find ways of doing this which go beyond the sort of youth exchanges which are fun and educative at the time but do not necessarily translate into lasting impacts or linkages.

In this International Year of Volunteers, we hope that ways can be found to engage young people from Commonwealth countries in service in other members which addresses the receiving country's priority needs, for example in the area of technology. Australia's experience in recent years with the very successful Youth Ambassadors for Development scheme has given us some ideas on how such a program might work, within the Commonwealth, to mobilise and sensitise the next generations in pursuit of Commonwealth objectives.

On the economic side, the HLRG is examining the inter-relationships between civil society, business and the Commonwealth and the report of an IT expert group. 90 per cent of the Commonwealth members are developing countries. Many of them perceive a growing technological divide between those countries which have been able to take advantage of the quite massive developments in information technology of recent years, and those who, lacking both physical infrastructure and skills in both organisation and technology, cannot even get to first base. The Commonwealth wants to help address this, in conjunction with international agencies with more specific expertise.

Finally, the Commonwealth is not neglecting its own house, with another important aspect of the HLRG's work being an examination of CHOGM Procedures and Practices, Commonwealth Ministerial meetings, and the governance and reorganisation of Commonwealth structures, including the Secretariat itself. All of these matters will be reported on to the Brisbane CHOGM. Australia's role as Chair will be important in seeking agreement on them among Heads of Government.

Conclusion

The next few years will be significant in laying the groundwork for a revitalised and relevant Commonwealth in the 21st century. The Commonwealth has achieved much in the past, particularly in encouraging countries to shape their own political and economic futures.

Australia welcomes the opportunity to contribute towards revitalising the Commonwealth, as host of the first CHOGM in the new century, through its membership of the High Level Review Group and CMAG, and through its active involvement in the affairs of the Commonwealth as a whole. We look forward to working with the Secretary General, Don McKinnon, who took up office last year, in undertaking this revitalisation process.

In the lead up to CHOGM, non-government associations such as the Royal Over-Seas League, and others of you here, will have an important role in fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of the Commonwealth throughout Australia. It may be that Sir Robert Menzies would hardly recognise the modern Commonwealth. But I am sure he would regard it as no less important, and nor should we!

Melbourne, 8 March 2001