Ministers’ Breakfast (16 CCEM)

Date: 12 Dec 2006
Speaker: Secretary-General Don McKinnon
Location: Cape Town, South Africa

When our 53 Commonwealth Heads of Government met in Malta in November 2005, they – I quote – ‘affirmed the importance of promoting tolerance, respect, enlightened moderation and friendship among people of different races, faiths and cultures… and of building a common platform of unity against extremism and intolerance’.

And the Heads specifically requested me to explore initiatives to promote mutual understanding and respect among all faiths and communities in the Commonwealth.

This new Mandate requires us to report back to Heads in Kampala just under a year from now.

So under the Chairmanship of Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen, we have assembled an extraordinarily talented team of 10 people.

We are now looking to this newly formed “Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding” – with its supporting researchers – to break new ground.

We are asking them to show us which Commonwealth communities have found ways to bridge divides – and why and how – and then how we can replicate those models within our 53 nations, and beyond.

At their inaugural meeting on 1 December, the Commission said a number of interesting things:

that fairness and justice are essential to respect and understanding;
that humiliation adds insult to injury for oppressed people, leading to frustration and violence;
that poverty and inequality compound political grievance;
that conflict is not the only indicator of a failure of Respect and Understanding.
And the Commission started to point us towards answers:
For instance that ethno-religious identities are rarely the root causes of conflict: people basically fight to wrest power or maintain hegemony.
For instance that when Respect and Understanding breaks down - and if conflict is the result - then the political appetite to address underlying causes cannot be assumed.

They also made us think about some of the ‘shades of grey’, the nuances, in the whole Respect and Understanding debate.

For instance that history can be a reference point for grievance and conflict, and it can be exploited to ‘invent’ reasons for hatred.

At the same time, it can also be used positively - to remind people of a shared and common past.

They also said that the Commonwealth – with its particular way of ‘doing’ multilateralism and governance by negotiation, precedent, and consensus – has a key role in helping people recognise that global understanding is a big part of human rights.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Foundation is contributing on a separate track of activity by working through its civil society networks to explore the faith dimension to this whole debate.

Faith is a key component, and we wouldn’t be doing the subject justice without that input too.

I might add here that we’ve had to pass the hat around to seek extra-budgetary resources for this major exercise, and I hope that governments will be able to dig deep into their pockets to assist.

Another element has been to ensure discussion of this issue at relevant Ministerial meetings held between the last CHOGM and the next.

Hence, Youth Ministers discussed this last May in the Bahamas.

The Youth Ministers concluded, understandably, that there is a need to involve young people far more in decision-making at all levels.

That sounds right when you consider that half our 1.8 billion citizens are under 29 years of age.

They also talked about the need for families and other social networks and groupings to be at the heart of promoting values.

They talked about the critical importance of education – the preserve of this meeting.

And they talked about the value of exchanging experiences of what works across the Commonwealth.

We also took time out of the Finance Ministers Meeting in Colombo in September to discuss this.

All sorts of ideas emerged…

Everything from the ways in which hierarchical societies like Vanuatu cater for all groups’ needs under the leadership of a traditional Paramount Chief …..

…. to the way that mixed and sometimes fractious countries like Malaysia and South Africa are committed to bringing diverse groups together under one banner – be it ‘Malaysia truly Asia’ or the ‘Rainbow Nation’.

“The Commonwealth: respecting difference and promoting understanding” is the theme of next year’s Commonwealth Day.

It will have its day in the sun on March 12th – but, as some of these examples show, it’s the stuff of all our days in the meantime and beyond.

Women’s Affairs Ministers will be discussing this theme in Uganda next June, just five months before the Commission reports to the CHOGM which will take place in that same country.

By then – at CHOGM – I want us to have a collection of recommendations of practical use to policy-makers.

This isn’t just academic research – it’s a “tool box” if you like – drawing on best practice across the Commonwealth.

So stand by for a manual of best practice based on all our best Commonwealth experience on bridging divides and building communities.

This morning, I would welcome a discussion at this breakfast which is not the sort of traditional discussion we have at these occasions.

From the perspective of Education Ministers, I’d like to try you with a few big and difficult questions.

Please, approach them ‘any way you will’.

There are no right or wrong answers, and every view, every story, adds to our understanding.

Please consider these:

Is there a common understanding of what Respect and Understanding is, so that we know it when we see it?
What do you see as the key elements underlying inter-communal tensions today?
What other factors, in addition to violence, imply that Respect and Understanding has broken down? Near-misses? Simmering grievances? Separate yet harmonious communities? Others?
Can we agree indicators on how to measure Respect and Understanding?
What lessons have you from your own countries?
What are the prospects for civil society to influence Respect and Understanding – how much emphasis should the work give to civil society?
What contribution do you think the Commonwealth can and should make?

I should add that there has been much work done on this issue by many people and many international organisations.

We are trying to build on all that, starting from the point that the Commonwealth has agreed fundamental underlying values of human rights, liberty, democracy, tolerance and justice.

Building on those foundations, how can we make a practical difference together to promote mutual respect and understanding between individuals and communities?

I would welcome your views.

Thank you.

ENDS

Ministers’ Breakfast (16 CCEM)

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