New Year Statement by Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku

The Commonwealth enters 1998 more strongly committed than ever before to the task of helping its 54 members - especially the small and vulnerable - deal with the complexities of international life. Despite some setbacks, 1997 has been a year of achievement. Our principles have been tested and strengthened. We have moved into new fields of endeavour. And we have found that we have been increasingly valued as an organisation - by our existing members and by those (from Palestine, The Yemen and Rwanda) seeking to join.

I am certain that in 1998 the political and economic advantages which membership brings will be made clearer still. The Commonwealth is a catalyst for change and the year ahead will focus on future generations in societies in which people can choose their own governments and live free from want, hunger and fear. These are not just high-sounding platitudes. They require practical Commonwealth programmes covering debt, poverty relief, economic restructuring, trade support, the building of democratic structures, and political and economic empowerment for women and young people.

1997 was a memorable year. India and Pakistan marked their 50th anniversary of independence. The Fiji Islands rejoined the association, and there was the largest gathering of Commonwealth leaders ever at the Commonwealth summit in Edinburgh, in October, where the Heads of Government took decisions that will affect the Commonwealth's role well into the 21st century. In Commonwealth Africa, representatives from governing and opposition parties from 18 countries met together for the first time to discuss rights and responsibilities in modern parliamentary democracies. This was immediately followed by a summit of African leaders from the same countries to build on the conclusions reached earlier.

On a day-to-day basis, the Commonwealth has directed its support to strengthening those institutions, such as the judiciary, ombudsmen, electoral laws and the media, which are important ingredients of democracy and good governance. Commonwealth Observer teams have been present at elections in Pakistan, Cameroon, Papua New Guinea and Guyana.

In the field of economic development, there were important Commonwealth achievements. Commonwealth Finance Ministers adopted the "Mauritius Mandate", which is designed to enable the most heavily indebted of the world's poor find a sustainable route out of their indebtedness by the year 2000. Regional investments funds were set up to help the developing Commonwealth in Africa, the Pacific and South Asia attract much-needed private investment capital. The first Commonwealth Business Forum, to foster links between the private and public sectors in the promotion of trade and investment, was held immediately before the Edinburgh summit. And the summit itself adopted the Edinburgh Commonwealth Economic Declaration which recognised that peace, security and social stability could not be achieved without parallel economic development and which agreed a host of practical measures of co-operation to boost Commonwealth trade and investment. Among other things, it established a Trade and Investment Access Facility to assist developing countries in dealing with the problems and opportunities of globalisation. In the new year, a Commonwealth action programme will also be launched to remove administrative obstacles to intra-Commonwealth trade by simplifying and harmonising customs procedures between member countries.

I am therefore confident that, as we enter 1998, these advances, both economic and political, will be the harbingers of a more prosperous and secure Commonwealth. The year ahead will also see sport take centre stage: as the theme for Commonwealth Day, in March, and in Malaysia, in September, at the largest Commonwealth Games ever.

Again, the focus will largely be on young people. Indeed, it is only fitting that the Commonwealth should devote its energies to the next generation, which make up more than half of the Commonwealth's 1.7 billion citizens. This is our goal for 1998.

Issued by the Information and Public Affairs Division,
Commonwealth Secretariat,
Marlborough House,
Pall Mall,
London SW1Y 5HX,
Britain.Tel: 0207-839 3411; Fax: 0207-839 9081; Telex: 27678

97/64 23 December 1997