End of Year Message from the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon

Redressing the balance

Twenty-year old Ravai Avoi used to live from hand to mouth selling handicrafts in a corner of a flea market in Suva, FijiIslands. With no business training and no access to bank loans, she was struggling to get a meagre income from tailoring clothes for family and friends. But Ravai has now set up her own business and opened a store in the upmarket Garden City area.

Thanks to the credit and training provided by the Commonwealth Youth Programme, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ravai was able to buy a sewing machine and undertake bulk tailoring orders. "I can celebrate my son's birthday this year," says Ravai. "This is something I have never been able to do till now because I never had enough money."

Helping young women like Ravai Avoi is part of the Commonwealth's strategy to bring opportunities to people in all our member statesand help them build stronger, healthier, better educated communities. Our central objective is to help countries in the Commonwealth achieve the Millennium Development Goals, as our leaders confirmed at their recent Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria.

This Summitsaw significant outcomes for the Commonwealth as a whole. In particular, it strengthened the role our organisation can play in redressing the balance between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' and ensuring more progress is made on the path towards democracy and development.

Despite some improvement in recent years, the global gap between the rich and the poor remains huge: the richest 5 per cent live on 114 times more than the poorest 5 per cent. And the 25 million richest Americans live on the same income as 2 billion of the world's poorest people. In some areas, the gulf has even widened: in the early 1990s children in Sub-Saharan Africa were 19 times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than in rich countries - today they are 26 times more likely.

Trade is one of the most effective tools against poverty. But developing countries are often prevented from accessing rich countries' markets and trading their way into sustainable growth. When it costs a USfarmer twice more to produce a bag of rice than it does, say, a farmer in Guyana, and yet the American farmer is able to sell his rice at a lower price, you know there is something wrong. How can developing countries compete when the largest economies - the United States, the European Union and Japan- spend US$1 billion a day in subsidies and dump commodities at a fraction of what they cost to grow?

But agricultural subsidies are only part of the story. Trade barriers also prevent poor countries to make the most of their natural resources. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Abuja, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda made the point that, because exports of added-value products from developing countries attract high tariffs in developed countries, his country was forced to export unprocessed coffee beans and cotton, giving away the benefits of added value products to Europe and the US. In other words, for every bag of coffee sold to rich countries, Ugandais 'donating' US$10 - a total 'donation' of US$40 million a year. There is food for thought here for everyone.

The Dohatrade round offered hope that some of the asymmetries of the international trade system would be corrected. The failure of the Cancún trade talks was a disappointment for everyone - but the damage inflicted is not irreversible. The Commonwealth is trying to put the trade talks back on track. A significant development in Abujawas the decision made by Commonwealth leaders to dispatch a ministerial mission to key capitals to call on major players and "to urge them to negotiate positively and flexibly to reinvigorate the Doha Round and to move expeditiously to a final agreement."

Another important decision reached at CHOGM was the agreement on guidelines for implementing the Commonwealth's fundamental values by all branches of government. These principles - known as the 'Latimer House Guidelines' - set out a framework for responsibility, transparency and accountability in the three branches of government - Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary. This achievement illustrates how Commonwealth civil society can have a key impact on decisions made by Heads of Government. Commonwealth leaders also addressed the issue of corruption and called for enhanced mutual co-operation in the repatriation of illegally acquired public funds and assets.

On terrorism, too, a great deal has been achieved. Over the past two years, the Commonwealth Secretariat has been developing model legislation and implementation kits to assist member countries - particularly small states - with the adoption of appropriate counter-terrorism measures. At their Meeting in Abuja, Commonwealth leaders decided that this work should continue and that co-operation between member states should be reinforced.

One of the central issues leaders discussed in Abujawas the interdependence between democracy and development. In the Aso Rock Declaration, issued at the close of the meeting, Commonwealth leaders recognised that "while development and democracy are goals each in its own right, they must be mutually reinforcing, with a clear 'democratic dividend', in terms of delivering tangible benefits to people. We are convinced that broad-based prosperity creates the stability conducive to the promotion of democracy; and that strong democratic institutions better promote development." Commonwealth leaders recognised the critical role which women play in development and "resolved to ensure that development processes empower women to play that full role." They also emphasised the need to reinforce the fundamental components of democracy, including an independent judiciary, a transparent public accounts system as well as mechanisms for the protection of human rights and the right to information.

The Abuja CHOGM was also an opportunity to benefit from the energy and contributions of the Commonwealth civil society community. Indeed, the People's Forum demonstrated how our civil society network can, through the knowledge and expertise it features, strengthen partnerships and cooperation among the people of the Commonwealth. The depth and breadth of our Commonwealth civil society network is the envy of international organisations everywhere.

Of course, Zimbabwewas an important focus of discussion at CHOGM. A consensus was reached in the end, and Commonwealth leaders mandated the Chairperson-in-Office, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, to engage with the parties concerned to encourage continued progress towards national reconciliation and the return of Zimbabweto the councils of the Commonwealth. But soon after their decision, it was regretfully announced that Zimbabwehad withdrawn from the Commonwealth altogether. This was a very disappointing development. However, the doors of the Commonwealth will always remain open and we continue to hope that progress in Zimbabwewill allow the country to come back to the Commonwealth family.

Despite the extensive media coverage focusing on Zimbabwe, the Abuja CHOGM was an opportunity to showcase some of the work the Commonwealth does to help redress the balance and ensure people in the developing world are given real opportunities to improve their lives. Examples of our work include:

·        Promoting democracy and good governance by observing elections and sending Special Envoys.

·        Helping member countries manage their natural resources and negotiate maritime boundaries.

·        Providing trade advice to member countries to ensure they get a good deal - not a raw deal - from international trade negotiations.

·        Assisting member countries manage debt flows and improve transparency through our Debt Recording and Management System.

·        Encouraging investment in our developing member countries. We raised more than US$200 million for projects in Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific and South Asia.

·        Running AIDS prevention programmes: through our Youth Ambassadors for Positive Living scheme, we help young people living with HIV educate others about AIDS prevention.

·        Promoting youth enterprise: over the past two years, we helped 500 young people set up their business by providing training and brokering funds.

The best way to assess what we have achieved over the past year is to look to the future and ask ourselves what should be done if we want to achieve more. Turning to the future, the challenges the world faces - global poverty, the spread of HIV/AIDS, armed conflict, terrorism, the abuse of human rights - are huge. A first step will be achieved if we recognise that these are challenges we all share. We will all benefit from a more equal, more balanced world. The poor will see their prospects improved and will gain from greater opportunities of growth and development, while the rich will reap the benefits of living in a more stable world and facing a more secure future.

Redressing the balance means ensuring small and vulnerable countries have more influence on the global stage. It means helping developing countries get a better deal in international trade negotiations. It means managing the process of globalisation as best as we can so that it benefits the poor. But, even more importantly perhaps, it means laying the foundations for a less divided world; it means building bridges between people and strengthening our sense of global solidarity.