'The Commonwealth and The Healing Touch'
Date: 17 Feb 2003
Speaker: Secretary-General Don McKinnon
Location: India International Centre, New Delhi
I feel particularly honoured that the former Prime Minister of India, Mr I K Gujral, is presiding over my talk this evening.
It is nice to be back in India again. New Delhi was the first Commonwealth capital I visited, in April 2000, within days of assuming my current responsibilities, for a Commonwealth ministerial meeting. This is, in fact, my third visit to India as Secretary-General.
It is not surprising that India should feature prominently and frequently in the agenda of a Commonwealth Secretary-General. This is not just because when we talk about the Commonwealth claiming 1.7 billion people, nearly two-thirds of them are from India.
I would like to start my address by outlining the important role India plays in the Commonwealth community.
I will then share my thoughts with you about the healing touch of the Commonwealth and its role as a multilateral organisation.
I will then describe some of our work in promoting democracy and preventing conflicts and will finally outline our efforts to promote economic development.
India and the Commonwealth
Apart from being the largest member of the Commonwealth, India is widely acknowledged to have been instrumental in the birth of the Commonwealth as we know it today.
It was independent India's request in 1948 to stay in the Commonwealth, in spite of choosing the republican path, which led to the 1949 London Declaration.
That initiative by Pandit Nehru - and the equally farsighted response by the other members of the Commonwealth at the time - paved the way in later decades for many other countries from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific to join the Commonwealth after independence.
Today, from the eight members of 1949, the Commonwealth has grown to embrace 54 nations and we know that some others want to join. This, in itself, underscores the relevance and vitality of our association.
India was also instrumental, as part of a group of half a dozen nations led by Ghana, in the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1965, arguing strongly for a neutral and impartial body to replace the mechanism hitherto provided by the British Government.
Over the years India has continued to play an important role in Commonwealth affairs. It epitomises core Commonwealth values - an open and tolerant society, a vibrant democracy and a firm commitment to better the lives of its people.
India hosted the Commonwealth Summit - CHOGM as we call it - in 1983. It has hosted meetings of ministers and officials. It is the fifth largest contributor to Commonwealth budgets and the largest supplier, among developing countries, of skilled personnel under our programme of development assistance.
Today India is a member of the group of eight Foreign Ministers called the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG), which is the custodian of the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, which are at the heart of the Commonwealth.
It is also a member of the Commonwealth ministerial committee on terrorism.
A touch of healing in a globalising world
I have undertaken to speak to you this evening about the Commonwealth and the healing touch.
That phrase is perhaps familiar to some of you. I know that one of my illustrious predecessors, Sonny Ramphal, used it often. But I have no fears of violating Sonny's copyright over it.
Because that phrase is taken from a famous speech by Prime Minister Nehru to the Constituent Assembly of India on 16 May 1949, seeking ratification of the 1949 London Declaration and India's continued membership of the Commonwealth.
It is useful to quote a bit from Nehru's speech:
"In this world which is today sick and which has not recovered from so many wounds during the last decade or more, it is necessary that we touch upon the world's problems, not with passion and prejudice and with too much repetition of what has ceased to be, but in a friendly way and with a touch of healing…I think the chief value of this [London] Declaration and of what preceded it was that it did bring a touch of healing in our relations with certain countries…The fact that we have begun this new type of association with a touch of healing will be good for us, good for them and, I think, good for the world."
Those eloquent words of Prime Minister Nehru clearly have a special resonance today.
This theme is particularly appropriate at this time because the 21st century portends a world divided in so many ways, crying out for a touch of healing.
The end of Cold War promised many things -- an end to conflict in many parts of the world, unprecedented human freedom, a huge peace dividend, and the possibility of genuine multilateralism.
But all has not proceeded according to the script.
It is true that many conflicts have been resolved. True also that democracy has spread its wings and the map of Eastern Europe and Central Asia has been transformed.
But the end of the Cold War has also unleashed sinister new forces. It has taken the lid off many repressed conflict situations - based on perceived nationalism, ethnicity, religion and other attributes which divide people.
The wars of the 21st century are not fuelled by the global strategic considerations of super-powers, but by the local dynamics of inter-community relations.
On the one hand our global village is becoming ever smaller and we all want to enjoy a border-less world. On the other, the feelings of otherness prevail over togetherness. This is especially dangerous as societies everywhere become more diverse and cosmopolitan.
One consequence of a shrinking globe is that no country or community can afford to live in cocoons, insulated from the outside world. What happens far away affects us more easily than ever before.
Whether it is the menace of terrorism, or global warming, or the fluctuations of stock markets, or the tentacles of commercial crime, no country can any more be an island unto itself.
Multilateralism and the Commonwealth
Collective problems require collective solutions. Unilateral approaches will simply not work. Multilateralism is the only answer.
Nobody doubts the importance or primacy of the United Nations in such a situation. The UN must remain the principal forum for multilateral action, certainly the main custodian of international peace and security.
The Commonwealth does not presume to compete with the United Nations. But I submit that the Commonwealth is better suited than other organisations to provide Nehru's touch of healing. How, you ask. There are several explanations for this.
The modern Commonwealth is itself a testament to a unique display of political will - that which involves letting colonial bygones be bygones and of forging new relationships based on sovereign equality. I can hardly put this point more eloquently than Nehru did in 1949.
The Commonwealth is also extremely diverse. It has countries of all sizes, levels of development and interests. It brings together members of the G-8, the OECD, the Non-Aligned Movement, the G-77, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, small island states, landlocked countries, you name it.
It is therefore a network that cuts across networks. Any consensus reached within this diverse group has an excellent chance of winning support more widely, and this has been proven in more than one instance. One recent example is the Commonwealth Statement on Terrorism issued by our leaders on 25 October 2001. It is worth emphasising that this statement does not merely condemn acts of terrorism. It established that any member country which supports terrorists is in violation of the fundamental values of the Commonwealth and has no place in our organisation.
Apart from the diversity of the Commonwealth as an association, individual Commonwealth countries - like India - are also very diverse.
It was Mahatma Gandhi who said "I will let the winds of all cultures blow about my house; but I will refuse to be blown off my feet by any." Gandhi spoke not only about the diversity of the world, but also about the incredible diversity of the Indian nation. He could just as well have spoken in those terms about the Commonwealth.
The management of diversity is therefore inherent to the Commonwealth. This is a major asset in today's world.
Decision making in the Commonwealth is by consensus. There are no majorities and minorities - increasing the commitment of all to the agreements reached on issues of common concern.
There is a sense of family in the Commonwealth - there is of course a common working language, but there are also shared traditions and institutions, a common legal system, similar education regimes, generally a familiar ethos.
The overall impact of this sense of family is that the Commonwealth is perceived by its members as discreet and non-threatening.
This is reinforced by a sense of informality. The Commonwealth has no formal charter, only guiding principles. It is flexible and not hide-bound.
Although we have no charter, no Security Council, no Chapter VII, we do claim a strong adherence to agreed values. These were set out clearly in the 1991 Harare Commonwealth Declaration and the Millbrook Action programme of 1995 translated that Declaration into steps for practical action.
Among other steps, Millbrook established CMAG, to which I have referred and of which India is currently a member. This group of eight Foreign Ministers, convened by the Secretary-General, has become the custodian of the Harare Principles.
The Commonwealth was the first international organisation which made it virtually automatic that a country is suspended from its councils in the event of the unconstitutional overthrow of an elected government.
At Coolum last year, our Heads of Government further empowered CMAG to address situations of violation of the Harare principles even when no overthrow of an elected government had taken place.
There are plenty of examples to show that the Commonwealth does not merely pay lip service to its fundamental political values.
In 1995 Nigeria was suspended from membership but has since rightfully returned to the family following the restoration of democracy in 1999. Sierra Leone was suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth in 1997; it too was subsequently reinstated after some very difficult years.
Pakistan and Zimbabwe are still suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth. In both there is still some way to go. The Commonwealth continues to be engaged and to press hard for full compliance with its principles and values. These will benefit the people and will allow their countries to regain their proper place as Commonwealth members.
The Commonwealth has been a trailblazer in this regard and CMAG remains the only mechanism of its kind among international organisations. I believe the world would be a better place if the United Nations and other organisations could also ensure that dictators and usurpers did not enjoy the same legitimacy as elected leaders who pursue a genuinely democratic course.
Promoting democracy and preventing conflicts
The Commonwealth promotes democracy, human rights and the rule of law in many proactive ways, enabling people to participate freely in framing the societies in which they live.
These are values which you in India have learnt to take for granted and are an example to our members and the world.
We help by observing elections at the request of member states, by creating or strengthening institutions which safeguard the Harare values, by promoting transparency and accountability in public life, by sharing best practice among Commonwealth countries.
But the healing touch of the Commonwealth is manifested most directly through the expanding good offices programme, which strives to pre-empt conflict and to resolve them when they do occur.
Naturally, all good offices activities require the invitation or consent of the government in question. As an intergovernmental organisation, we must be sensitive to the sovereignty of our member nations.
It is therefore a measure of the immense confidence that countries have in the Commonwealth that it has been permitted to assist in so many instances to resolve internal issues. Let me cite a few examples.
In 1994, a Commonwealth Special Envoy (Sir Ninian Stephen) helped to develop the formula adopted by Bangladesh which requires a caretaker government to take over the administration prior to each general election.
In Fiji, my Special Envoy (Justice Pius Langa) remains engaged in the effort to promote national reconciliation.
In Cameroon, another Commonwealth envoy (Christine Stewart) is helping to promote closer adherence to the Harare principles.
My Special Envoy to Guyana (Sir Paul Reeves) is currently making his third visit to that country in an effort to promote national reconciliation.
I could give other examples, but these adequately illustrate the range of Commonwealth involvement on conflict prevention and resolution.
Not much is known about many of these interventions because, by their very nature, they have to be discreet. Megaphone diplomacy does not help preventive diplomacy or mediation.
I should add that to date the Commonwealth has not become involved in any conflict resolution between member states, though it remains ready and willing to do so if asked by the governments concerned.
In fact I am constantly asked, what are you doing about the tensions between India and Pakistan, two important member countries and both nuclear weapon states?
My answer has been that the Commonwealth cannot but be deeply concerned by this situation and that we are ready and willing to assist, but that we can only do so if asked by both the governments concerned.
One of those countries urges us to become involved. The other firmly believes that bilateral problems must be resolved bilaterally. No prizes for guessing which is which.
Promoting economic development
The Commonwealth's healing touch is not only manifested through conflict prevention or resolution work, or through the buttressing of democratic institutions, but through the promotion of sustainable socio-economic development.
It is widely recognized that poverty remains one of the greatest threats to global peace and stability in the future.
Globalisation has brought many benefits around the world. The IT industry in India, or the call-centres that now dot the landscape in this country working for businesses in North America and Europe, are small examples of the positive spin-offs from globalisation.
But globalisation has also exacerbated economic disparities and feelings of marginalisation. Small states and least developed countries feel particularly threatened in an increasingly complex and unequal world.
The Commonwealth helps these countries both through its advocacy role as well as through practical interventions to help these countries in key ways.
With the limited resources at our disposal, we seek to build the capacity of small states in particular to understand the complexities of the WTO regime, to record and manage debt, to negotiate maritime boundary agreements, to lower the risk and cost of private investment inflows, to enhance export competitiveness.
We do these primarily through the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC). Its resources are meagre by international standards. But it is rapid in response, flexible and cost-effective. It concentrates on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals but also helps small states to fill strategic gaps, for which help is not forthcoming elsewhere.
Bridging the digital divide is currently a major Commonwealth priority. It is key to closing the economic gap between the affluent and the poor. India has so much to offer in that regard.
Conclusion
In my address to you, I have outlined the role of India in the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth's touch of healing in a globalising world and its significance as a multilateral organisation dedicated to the promotion of democracy, the prevention of conflicts and the enhancement of economic development.
Let me conclude with the observation that few organisations have seen so many death notices written about it as the Commonwealth. It was initially predicted to wither away as an irrelevant post-colonial club. Its days were seen to be numbered when apartheid divided one member country from the rest. The growth of strong regional organisations around the world were then supposed to be the nail in the coffin.
The Commonwealth has defied many prophets of doom. It has continued to grow in size and strength. It enjoys more respect internationally than ever before. Remaining relevant and credible is a constant challenge but at Coolum last year our leaders were convinced that we have a role to play.
More than half a century after Nehru's eloquent words, our mission must remain that of a touch of healing.
Download the speech: 
'The Commonwealth and The Healing Touch'
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