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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

1966 Commonwealth Documents Released to Public

7 April 1997

Previously closed files from the archives of the Commonwealth Secretariat have been made available to the public, the Commonwealth Secretary-General announced today.

The decision means that access will be available for scholars to records from 1964-66, many classified as `secret' or `restricted' and dealing with the crisis over Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence and the responses of Commonwealth governments, particularly Prime Minister Harold Wilson's Labour Government. The documents include minutes of the specially convened Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Meeting (CPMM) of January 1966 in Lagos to discuss Rhodesia and the September 1966 CPMM in London. The Lagos meeting was the first CPMM held outside of Britain.

"In order to ensure that an accurate history of the association is accessible to scholars, the Secretariat will, in consultation with member governments, continue to release Shared Commonwealth Records after 30 years," Chief Emeka Anyaoku said.  "The archives are of great importance to the history of all Commonwealth member states and I am pleased that we are taking this important step to make the Commonwealth more accessible for generations of scholars."

The files will be available in the library of the Commonwealth Secretariat at Marlborough House after prior appointment with Ms Eileen Murtagh, the Librarian, at 0171-747 6164. The following files, with related papers, have been released:


1.  Commonwealth Economic Consultative Council: Summary Record of Proceedings, London, March 1964;

2.  Commonwealth Economic Consultative Council: Summary Record of Proceedings, Kuala Lumpur, September 1964;

3. Meeting of Commonwealth Officials: Draft Report of Committee on Organisation of Staffing of Commonwealth Secretariat, January 1965;

4.  Meeting of Commonwealth Officials: Report on the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Development Projects, January 1965;

5.  Commonwealth Economic Consultative Council: Summary Records of Proceedings, Kingston, September 1965;

6.  Meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers, Lagos 11-12 January 1966: Minutes of Meetings and Memoranda;

7. Meeting of Commonwealth Law Ministers: Minutes of Meetings and Memoranda, London, April-May 1966;

8. Commonwealth Economic Consultative Council: Meeting of Commonwealth Trade Ministers: Minutes of Meetings and Memoranda, London, June 1966;

9. Meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers, London 6-15 September 1966: Minutes of Meetings and Memoranda;

10. Meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers, London 6-15 September 1966: Minutes of Restricted Sessions by Arnold Smith, first Commonwealth Secretary-General;

11. Meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers, Montreal, 21-22 September 1966: Minutes of Meetings and Memoranda.


Note to Editors: The 1997 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Edinburgh from 24-27 October. CHOGMs superseded CPMMs in 1971.

 

97/16 7 April 1997

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