Human rights a ‘cornerstone of the Commonwealth’: Secretary-General

The human rights challenge in the Commonwealth is to continue to transform our shared principles into practice, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has said.

“There is no shortage of declarations, conventions, standards and laws. What is often lacking is the ‘doing’ of it: the implementation, compliance, and action,” Mr McKinnon said on 14 September 2007.

The Secretary-General was speaking at an event in London to mark 20 years since the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a civil society organisation, was founded by a group of Commonwealth associations. Mr McKinnon congratulated the organisation, noting the important role that an independent, non-governmental and pan-Commonwealth body like the CHRI can play in advocacy work to promote compliance with Commonwealth principles on human rights.

The Secretary-General highlighted the role of “unsung” human rights defenders, lawyers, officials and others in all Commonwealth countries working within and alongside governments and in the community, for the national good. He reaffirmed his hope that the new UN Human Rights Council will establish itself as a “representative, effective, credible and accountable institution”. He also underlined the importance of national human rights institutions.

Mr McKinnon encouraged the CHRI as well as other civil society organisations to support and complement, where possible, the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat and its Human Rights Unit -- as well as member governments -- to protect and promote human rights at a local level.

Key Links:

• Human Rights
• Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative