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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to Meet

15 March 2001

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG) is to hold its next meeting in London at Marlborough House on 19-20 March 2001. The situation in Fiji Islands, The Gambia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Solomon Islands will be the focus of their discussions and the meeting may also consider other issues raised by members.

CMAG will hear presentations from Pakistan political parties and civil society organisations on the situation in Pakistan. Ms Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister and leader of the Pakistan People's Party, is expected to be among the leaders representing the political parties.

The meeting will conclude by Tuesday afternoon, 20 March, with a press conference addressed by the CMAG Chairperson, the Hon Lt-Gen M S Merafhe, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Botswana, other Ministers on the Group as well as Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon.

Note to Editors:
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG) was established by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in Auckland in 1995. The Group deals with serious or persistent violations of the Harare Commonwealth Declaration in member countries, and particularly in the event of an unconstitutional overthrow of a democratically elected government. Its task is to assess the nature of the infringement and recommend measures for collective Commonwealth action aimed at the speedy restoration of democracy and constitutional rule.

This will be the fifteenth meeting of the CMAG and the third since it was reconstituted at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Durban in November 1999. The Group is convened by the Commonwealth Secretary-General and presently comprises the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Botswana (Chairperson), Canada, Malaysia (represented by the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister), Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

Countries under CMAG's remit include Fiji Islands, The Gambia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Solomon Islands. Currently, Fiji Islands and Pakistan are suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth

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ISSUED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION
Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom
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