Commonwealth Secretary-General’s New Year Message for 2007

All of us have different experiences when marking the arrival of a New Year. For many millions of people, this is a time for celebration, reflection, and renewal. But many millions more cannot afford do so when their primary task is to eke out a basic daily existence – earning what they can, trying to stay healthy, and struggling to ensure that food and water are at hand.

A landmark New Year occurred in 2000 when the world entered a new era and underlined the significance of that occasion with the Millennium Development Goals and their 2015 deadlines.

Yet in the Commonwealth today, a staggering 30 million children are not in primary school and another 45 million are not in secondary school; 25 million are carrying the HIV virus; and 800 million Commonwealth citizens are subsisting on less than one US dollar per day. Those figures will be similar again in 2007.

Although all Commonwealth citizens will experience the New Year in different ways, this is a time when we all share in a common commitment. We renew our efforts in 2007 to fight against the scandalous wrongs and injustices of our time, including lack of education, poor health, and economic deprivation.

The focus of our collective Commonwealth efforts will be on our two foundation pillars: Democracy and Development.

Democracy takes many forms. While it is still a ‘work-in-progress’ in each and every Commonwealth member country, it also remains the best way to give individuals freedom and control over their own lives and destinies. We will continue to promote improvements in the forms of democracy, like free and fair elections. We will also continue to promote the institutions of democracy – like parliaments, judiciaries, executives, the media and civil society. Above all else, we will continue to promote the culture of democracy; of citizens having freedom and a say in how they are governed.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth also promotes Development that seeks to wipe out poverty, disease, lack of education, and conflict – all of which are linked and tend to have a disproportionately heavy impact on women and girls. Trade is one of the most potent antidotes to the ills of poverty. Despite the set-backs in the WTO Doha Round in 2006, we will continue to work towards promoting trade based on multilateral rules that are fair, transparent, development-oriented, and honoured in letter and spirit.

Over the decades, we have shown a constant commitment to Commonwealth values including equality, fairness, justice, and human rights – all underpinned by democracy and development. We stand up for these values and we do everything we can to help our members adhere to them. 2007 will see us continuing to champion these values in what we say and do.

This will be achieved with support and contributions from Commonwealth governments, civil society organisations, and individuals.

The Commonwealth Secretariat will also play its part. We will continue to strive to make this organisation the best model of an international organisation whose purpose is not to perpetuate itself but to perpetuate help for people everywhere in the Commonwealth where they are found below the poverty line or deprived of their democratic rights. We look forward with enthusiasm and commitment to making our practical contribution.