Commonwealth Secretariat
  1. Home
  2. What's New
  3. Who We Are
  4. What We Do
    1. Democracy
    2. Economics
    3. Education
    4. Gender
    5. Governance
    6. Health
    7. Human Rights
    8. Law
    9. Small States
    10. Sport
    11. Sustainability
    12. Youth
    13. Millennium Development Goals
    14. Funding
  5. News
    1. Events
    2. News Archive Search
    3. Picture Stories
  6. Media Room
    1. Press Archive Search
    2. Media Contacts
    3. Video
    4. Events
    5. In the Media
    6. Updates
    7. Downloads
  7. Resources
    1. Documents
    2. Image Library
    3. Libary & Archives
    4. Publications
  8. Publications
  9. Employment
  10. FAQs
    1. Acronyms
  11. Contact Us
Geneva

Geneva Group of Commonwealth Countries launched

20 May 2008

"We are working towards having a small states office here" - Sharma

The Geneva Group of Commonwealth Countries was launched by the Commonwealth-Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma in Geneva on 19 May 2008.

The Group, which held its inaugural meeting, comprises Commonwealth missions accredited to the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and more than 30 other multilateral organisations based in Geneva.

The Group's chair-in-office, Uganda's UN Representative Arsene Balihuta, opened the meeting by calling for a Commonwealth presence in Geneva.

Mr Sharma said that a feasibility study for a Geneva office was currently being conducted, but observed that it was already clear there was enthusiasm and strong political support for the idea.

"We are working towards having a small states office here. We need to have a modality of regular interventions between the Commonwealth and Geneva institutions," he said.

The Secretary-General said that he envisaged it as a 'hub' for official Commonwealth and small states representatives in Geneva.

"It would be more than a roof over Commonwealth heads, but could help facilitate bilateral meetings and be used by Commonwealth experts based in Geneva," he said.

The office would provide support services and facilities, such as meeting rooms for visiting delegations from Commonwealth capitals attending multilateral organisation meetings such as the UN Human Rights Council.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Kampala, Uganda, last November, Heads agreed that the Secretariat should explore the possibility of establishing a Commonwealth Small States Office in Geneva, modelled on the Office in New York.

Geneva is home to significant multilateral agencies, such as the WTO and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

A major thrust of the Commonwealth Secretariat's trade work involves capacity-building in relation to world trade negotiations. A Commonwealth presence could help strengthen the profile of smaller or less developed nations. In turn, this would expand the influence of the Commonwealth, he said.

Ambassadors and senior officials at the meeting voiced support for the initiative and the potential for it to become a forum to include cross-cutting issues beyond trade, such as human rights and climate change.

The Commonwealth already has an office in New York, where the UN has its headquarters. The Joint Office for Commonwealth Permanent Missions to the United Nations serves as a base for envoys of 11 Commonwealth countries.

Share this page
About this