Twelfth Meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG) New York, 30 September - 1 October 1999

Concluding Statement
1. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG) held its Twelfth Meeting in New York on 30 September - 1 October 1999.

2. The Group considered and adopted a provisional Report to Commonwealth Heads of Government, covering its work since the Edinburgh CHOGM in October 1997. The Report, which will be presented to the forthcoming CHOGM in Durban, includes the Group's conclusions and recommendations on the countries which have been under its remit, as well as recommendations on the guidelines for CMAG's work in the future. The Group will meet again in Durban on the eve of the CHOGM to finalise its Report.

3. CMAG welcomed the return of Nigeria to full membership of the Commonwealth and paid special tribute to the Nigerian people for their manifest determination to assert their democratic rights as well as the enthusiasm which they displayed for participation in the political process during and after the transition period. It took note with satisfaction of the steps taken by the Government of President Olusegun Obasanjo to consolidate the democratic transition and recommended that Commonwealth Heads of Government promote the fullest possible international support to this process

4. In the course of its consideration of the situation in Sierra Leone, CMAG received a briefing from the Hon Dr Sama Banya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sierra Leone, on the implementation of the Lomé Peace Agreement of 7 July 1999. The Group expressed its concern that important elements of the agreement remained to be realised, and called for its full and effective implementation. It called on all Commonwealth governments to support the recommendations made by the United Nations Secretary-General in his Eighth Report to the Security Council dated 23 September 1999 on the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone. It reiterated its call to the international community urgently to assist Sierra Leone in the task of national reconstruction in a comprehensive way and urged Commonwealth member countries to implement the Commonwealth Action Plan for Sierra Leone. It expressed satisfaction, in this context, that the Commonwealth Police Development Task Force for Sierra Leone was being reconstituted and reactivated. It expressed the hope that Commonwealth non-governmental and professional organisations would also play an active role in the national reconstruction of the country.

5. The Group also considered the situation in The Gambia with reference to the Commonwealth's fundamental political values and noted that further steps were needed in that country to create a tolerant and inclusive political environment. They agreed to make a further assessment at their eve-of-CHOGM meeting.

6. CMAG expressed its gratitude to the Government of Malaysia for making available the facilities of its Permanent Mission to the United Nations for its meeting.



New York
1 October 1999



Note to Editors:
CMAG was established by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1995 to address serious and persistent violations of Commonwealth principles as outlined in the Harare Declaration. It was reconstituted by Heads of Government at Edinburgh in October 1997. As presently constituted, it comprises Ministers from Barbados, Botswana, Canada, Ghana, Malaysia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. It is convened by the Commonwealth Secretary-General.



Issued by the Information and Public Affairs Division,
Commonwealth Secretariat,
Marlborough House,
Pall Mall,
London SW1Y 5HX,
United Kingdom.
Tel: 0207-839 3411;
Fax: 0207-839 9081;
Telex: 27678

99/55 4 October, 1999