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• McKinnon urges Commonwealth to respect difference and promote understanding

McKinnon urges Commonwealth to respect difference and promote understanding

12 March 2007

Commonwealth strives to make democracy and development a way of life

Secretary-General Don McKinnon has urged Commonwealth members to respect difference and promote understanding -- important cogs in building democracy and development.

In his message to mark Commonwealth Day on 12 March 2007, Mr McKinnon said: “Respecting difference and promoting understanding is the work of all 53 Commonwealth countries and all of our 1.8 billion people -- collectively and individually.”

Commonwealth Day is celebrated every second Monday in March. This year’s theme was ‘Respecting Difference, Promoting Understanding’.

Mr McKinnon stated that although the Commonwealth, home to one-third of the world’s population, was striving to ensure democracy, there were still tensions, misunderstandings and fractures in almost all societies.

“There are communities divided by conflict, young people feeling adrift and apart, people of different faith, ethnicity and political persuasion who do not sit easily side by side,” he said.

“Some of these divisions arise from grievance and humiliation, others for the simplest reasons, like a lack of knowledge and understanding, or fear of the unknown. On Commonwealth Day 2007, and the whole year we must look at how we can do better.”

In the message and in meetings with journalists on the Day, he emphasised that the Commonwealth was working to meet the agenda sought by its members -- the twin pillars of democracy and development.

An observance at Westminster Abbey, multi-faith events, exhibitions and workshops, were some of the events that took place in London and other Commonwealth capitals on 12 March 2007.

Respect and Understanding is the subject of a Commonwealth Commission appointed by Mr McKinnon last year under a mandate from the 2005 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta. Chaired by Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen and comprising eminent Commonwealth persons, the commission will report to the next CHOGM due to be held in Uganda this November.