CHOGM closing executive ceremony

Let me add my own thanks, too.

To President Museveni and to Uganda – exceptional hosts: warm, and friendly.
But more, too: these last few days, our new Chair-in-Office Yoweri Museveni has marshalled us and our discussions expertly, with his usual military precision …  
The world looks to you now, Mr President, to speak up for us as our Commonwealth Chair-in-Office.

To you all, Heads of Government, for the trust and the support you have given me over the years.
I have been honoured by your esteem; I have learned from you; I thank you for keeping the Commonwealth high on your agenda, and engaged in the needs of your peoples.

I would also like to thank two groups of people, far away from here.  
Most are in London, but a good number still are all over our Commonwealth.  
These are the Commonwealth’s infantry – its people.  

I pay tribute to those who work so tirelessly in the 90 or so Commonwealth organizations around the world.  
How many times have I said that one of the Commonwealth’s most precious assets is its civil society network?  
They multiply our messages.  They cajole us; they hold us accountable.  Meanwhile they champion their own different themes and professions.

Above all, I thank the 280 people who work for me in the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, and the 50 more who staff our Commonwealth Youth Programme regional centres in Georgetown, Lusaka, Chandigarh and Honiara.  
Devoted, talented, compassionate.
So much of what we are discussing and celebrating here is the result of their ideas and their efforts.  
A special one of those is my Deputy Secretary-General Florence Mugasha, a daughter of Uganda, who, like me, is at her last CHOGM.

Eight years is a long time – perhaps an optimal time for a Chief Executive.  But it’s also a short time.

At my election in Durban, I said that our strength came from our unity of purpose, our consensual style of work, our shared sense of morality, and our determination to encourage rather than compel.  I also said that I only wanted us to do what we could do.

I inherited an organisation that, over 40 years, had moved with its times and, under three fine Secretaries-General, responded to crises and challenges, none greater than decolonisation and the dismantling of racism in Southern Africa.

I have tried to take something good, and make it better.  
I hope and believe that this has happened, in four ways.

First, we are stronger as an organization of values.  

I am proud, for instance, of the function and work of CMAG: whose censure is as real as its will to work with those who need it.

I am proud of our Good Offices work, applying quiet diplomacy in situations of tension and potential conflict.    

I am proud of our commitment to see our members recognize fundamental human rights, as indivisible and non-negotiable.

I am proud of all our work in strengthening governance – the institutions, the practices, and the very people who make democracy work.

Second, we are stronger as an organization of its time and ahead of its time.  

Yesterday’s statement on climate change is a case in point.  
If a quarter of the world’s nations can agree to make a political commitment on something, so can the rest.  

I think of the other issues where the Commonwealth has blazed a trail….
 
Like small states’ economic vulnerability, in our work with the World Bank.
Like teacher and health-worker migration, with our Recruitment Protocols taken up in the UN agencies.
Like debt, in championing bilateral and multilateral relief, and then pioneering the software to manage it.

Relevance and credibility are our catchwords.

Third, we are stronger as an organization that works on behalf of those who need it most.

I think of our education programmes on HIV/AIDS.
I think of our work expressly aimed for women – so often without voice or prospect.
I think of our work for young people – the people who embody our future.  

Fourth, I think we are stronger for being more open – looking out on the world, and extending our reach.

Growing our civil society network, and officially partnering with others.
Growing our work with other international organizations – with concrete programmes of cooperation with the UN and its agencies, the World Bank, and with regional bodies.

Not everything, of course, has been perfect.  
I did not think I would have to fight so many British institutions to get Commonwealth flags flying at Marlborough House, our headquarters in London.  I very much regret that despite our best efforts, the Doha Round is stuck.  
And while the Secretariat’s finances are better managed, their levels remain challenging, in view of the extra tasks we have been given.

Our strengths and our weaknesses: these are my legacy to my successor.

I warmly congratulate Kamalesh Sharma, a man of stature, broad experience and deep commitment to both democracy and development.  
I wish him all possible success.  I will keep out of his way, and at the same time I’ll help him in any way I can.  

I acknowledge Maltese Foreign Minister Michael Frendo, another fine Commonwealth man and one with whom I have greatly enjoyed working.  
We wish him well, knowing that his talent and his enthusiasm are his greatest assets.

My sympathies also go to Mohan Kaul, whose aspirations were driven by a real commitment to the Commonwealth.

It has been an enormous honour to play my part in this special family of nations.
We may have moments of communion; we may have moments of discord.  
But we are eternally bound together – by values, shared concerns and shared interests.  

I will miss this leaders’ gathering: a place of such honesty, determination and humanity…..
The down-to-earth common sense of the African leaders.
The great classical oratory of our Caribbean colleagues.
The warmth, friendliness and exceptional support I have received from the Pacific.
The great sense of history brought by our Asian colleagues.

I do not leave office for another four months, but I leave you now, Heads of Government, with thanks, and great humility.  

I thank my wife and family for all their support, and for putting up with my many absences.

For as long as there are people among our citizens who are in need, we must serve them.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  It comes back to my Maori proverb.  
He aha te mea nui o te ao?  He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!  

What is the most important thing in the world?   The People!  The People!  The People!

Thank you.