Speech to the 51st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
Date: 6 Sep 2005
Speaker: Secretary-General Don McKinnon
Location: Fiji Islands
Mr President, Mr Chairman, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, Secretary-General, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to meet again with so many political friends, and to have the privilege of addressing the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference for the fifth time.
Some say that Secretaries-General are like buses or taxis. Whenever you need one you can't get one, especially when it rains. Then, when the sun comes out, several - well, at least two - turn up together.
As the second of the Secretaries-General in the queue or on the rank today, let me thank the first - my friend, compatriot and fellow All Blacks supporter, Denis Marshall. Denis has helped bring about changes in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) to meet the challenges and respond to the needs of this first decade of the twenty-first century. So thank you, Denis, and thanks to your hard-working team.
Let me also thank the CPA Fiji Islands branch for their hospitality. I very much enjoyed and appreciated this morning's warm welcome.
I want to express my appreciation to the Government of the Fiji Islands for its assistance both this week and last week when we had a Commonwealth workshop on the role of the government and opposition. The Fiji Government has continued to support our Commonwealth work in many ways.
The Fiji Islands are important to us. I hope no one in this country is in any doubt about the extent to which events here are followed, not only at our headquarters in London but across the Commonwealth's membership.
Life is about learning, and all of us from further afield have learnt something from witnessing developments in Fiji over the last two decades. We know that life has delivered some hard lessons to the people of the Fiji Islands.
The test, as my old teacher used to say, is whether any of the lessons have 'stuck'. With lessons it is always the same. One can all-too-easily opt not to learn, and remain static if not go backwards. Or one can absorb a lesson and grow from it.
We hope and believe that the people of Fiji Islands have absorbed the hard lessons of recent years. And we extend the hand of friendship and solidarity as you build a better future for all in this beautiful country. As the Vice President said so eloquently both sides must reach out. There must be inclusiveness and we in the Commonwealth can help.
Mr Chairman, your theme this year is 'Commonwealth Parliamentarians in partnership for global development'. You have heard me before on partnership. The Commonwealth itself consists precisely of layer upon layer of partnerships and networks.
But building and sustaining partnerships is not always easy. It requires a clear and shared vision, commitment by all concerned, and hard work. Certainly, 'easy' is not a word readily associated with the cause for which we are so often in partnership, the cause of global development in general and specifically the attainment of the 'Millennium Development Goals' (MDGs).
There are eight MDGs and it's worth reminding ourselves of them:
- To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- To achieve universal primary education
- To promote gender equality and empower women
- To reduce child mortality
- To improve maternal health
- To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- To ensure environmental sustainability, and
- To develop a global partnership for development
What a list. Frightening but not impossible. Let me take a moment to concentrate on the last of those - pursuing a global partnership for development.
Mr Chairman, we know that over one-third of the Commonwealth's two billion citizens live on less than US $1 per day; that women constitute almost three quarters of all those living in poverty across the Commonwealth; that almost two thirds of HIV cases are in Commonwealth countries; and that half of the world's 115 million children without access to primary education live in the Commonwealth.
These are staggering statistics, and not ones which we should be proud of. They underline that we have work to do…work that cannot be done by any one person, country, or one organisation.
The Commonwealth Secretariat is doing what it can to help member countries attain the MDGs. We are doing it in two ways. First, we are doing it through our own efforts, directly, as the Commonwealth's core executive agency. We are working, for instance, to increase trade opportunities, which means strengthening the capacity of developing countries - particularly small states - to formulate, negotiate and implement trade policy at the national level.
The Pacific is one of five regions in which, with assistance from the Francophonie and the European Union, the Commonwealth Secretariat has set up a 'Hub and Spokes' project. We have placed senior trade experts (the 'Hubs') in regional organisations, and then combined them with trade policy analysts (the 'Spokes') in individual countries.
By October 2005, six regional trade policy advisers and 29 trade policy analysts will be deployed in the Pacific, the Caribbean, Pacific, Southern and Eastern Africa and with the African Union.
We are assisting member countries to attract investment and reduce debt. One of the ways we have been tackling the second of these is by helping to strengthen the capacity to manage debt, especially through the placement of regional debt advisers - again in the Pacific, we well as in the Eastern Caribbean and in Eastern, Southern and West Africa.
The Commonwealth is also helping member countries with public sector reform. In two weeks time the Commonwealth Finance Ministers have their annual meeting and will be considering guidelines for better planning, use, accounting and transparency of public finances. These guidelines should be finaIised at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting later this year in Malta . As Parliamentarians with a responsibility in this area, I commend them to you.
We are endeavouring to ensure that economic, social and environmental concerns are addressed in a balanced way.
We are also working with the Commonwealth's thirty-two small states. We are doing so to tackle the issues which arise from their inherent vulnerability, and to find ways that build on their inherent resilience. No one visiting this part of the world - the island states of the Pacific - who scratches below the surface, could fail to see both of those factors very starkly: the vulnerabilities and challenging weaknesses on one hand, and the resilience and remarkable strengths on the other.
In the key field of education the Secretariat's work focuses on the six mutually supporting Action Areas identified by the Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Edinburgh in 2003: achieving universal primary education; eliminatin g g ender disparities in primary and secondary education; improving quality in education; using distance learning to overcome barriers; supporting education in difficult circumstances; mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS on education systems.
In health, while we are doing more on maternal and infant mortality the emphasis continues to be on HIV/AIDS.
The list goes on: there is considerable Commonwealth activity to promote development and combat poverty. At the same time, there is a great deal more to do, and we need to do it much more quickly. And I regret to say that the Commonwealth Secretariat is severely constrained by declining resources provided by member governments. We appreciate very much the £23 million that we get for the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation. However in both nominal and real terms the level of resources available to us 15 years ago was more. The CFTC fund had 40% more spending power.
Mr Chairman, CFTC's sorrow is to be constantly reminded of its potential. It is clear that the necessary commitment on the part of the developing countries is in place. For its part, the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation can do the job. And it will continue to support the efforts of member states.
However, CFTC could do much more - and do it much more rapidly and effectively - if it had even a little more of the resources it needs.
Mr Chairman, I have described the Commonwealth's direct action on the ground. I also said we are working in two ways. The second is at a political level, through advocacy and pressure and the building of consensus.
I am reminded of the words of Herbert Asquith. "Power," he said, "power? You think you are going to get it, but you never do."
The Commonwealth knows its power is limited - some would call it, 'soft power' - but it can at times be just as effective if not more so than tougher versions. We have a network and influence and we have been trying to use both to secure some important international decisions. People forget, for instance, that the whole issue of writing off debt for Highly Indebted Poor Countries - the HIPCs - began as a Commonwealth initiative back in 1995. We worked away at it for years.
We haven't staked as much of a share of the publicity for recent developments as perhaps we should have. And let me not take anything away from the decisions taken by the G8 on debt, as they were the countries that needed to show leadership. But that significant Commonwealth contribution remains all the same.
This leads me to highlight several challenges that still need to be tackled and where the political action we saw on debt is needed now more than ever. These are the challenges of globalisation and justice in our international trading.
The Commonwealth recognises the opportunities offered by globalisation. But we are concerned that no one is left by the wayside and that the gains from technological advances and from the opening of markets are more equally distributed.
The central issue, as the Indian Nobel economics laureate Amartya Sen argued some years ago, is inequality. As he said, "What is needed is a fairer distribution of the fruits of globalisation." The answer is not to abandon or puncture the process: globalisation will not go away, nor should it. What is at issue is globalisation's management - how it is controlled, who benefits and how the rules are made. The challenge is to ensure that people benefit by globalisation and the negatives are diminished.
We will also continue to work for trade justice in international trade. The trade negotiations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will, rightly, be in the spotlight again soon. It is vital that this time the world takes the opportunity to open up the rich countries' markets to poor countries. Between now and the WTO Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December, I certainly will be amongst those pushing hard for a greater spirit of generosity from the wealthy nations.
The particular need for movement must come from developed countries. It is they and their leaders who now need to show again the sort of leadership they showed at Gleneagles. The European Union, the United States , and Japan especially must demonstrate the true hallmarks of leadership; their own future prosperity in fact depends upon it. As President Mandela said "if your neighbour is hungry you are challenged."
And that brings me full circle on that MDG I was highlighting - developing a global partnership for development. You will now have an insight into the breadth of work we are doing and the specific challenges we are tackling.
We work in partnership with those who count - be it the World Bank, the European Commission, the African Union, the Pacific Islands Forum, CARICOM, and the Indian Ocean Commission. We also work with any and all within our Commonwealth family circle including, of course, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. To attain the Millennium Development Goals, we need your help too.
On its own, development is not enough, so let me speak a little about the linkage between development and democracy.
As many here will know, a ten-person Commonwealth Expert Group under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh - now the Prime Minister of India - reported to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Abuja in 2003 on this very theme. Their report can be found on the Commonwealth Secretariat web-site.
There was a rich discussion of the report amongst Heads of Government at Abuja . Two weeks ago I attended the first in a series of follow-up colloquia in New Delhi . And I look forward to a further debate on this theme amongst Heads of Government at the Malta CHOGM later this year. It is an important debate and I want to encourage everyone here to engage in it.
This is not the place, and there certainly isn't the time, to attempt a summary of the Expert Group's Report. However, I do want to make a few points as my own contribution to the debate.
First, I want to endorse the Singh Report's emphasis on pro-poor development. Even more, I agree with its view that development must be seen in terms of expanding opportunities and strengthening human capabilities to lead creative and fulfilling lives.
The philosopher Marcel Proust said that the real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes. Well Prime Minister Singh and his colleagues have done us the service of helping us to see with 'new eyes'.
Development can no longer be thought of simply in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As the Singh Report puts it, 'development is about enabling people to have the capabilities to do and be the things that they have reason to value'. Development is about possibilities first and production second.
Mirroring that view of development, democracy too is about expanding opportunities and strengthening human capabilities. As the Singh Report makes clear, there has to be a core commitment to the central institutions of democracy. And those institutions are there to provide for the political freedom of the people.
Democracy must promote liberty not deny it, just as development must promote and not deny economic freedom. What is important, and here I go beyond the Singh Report are two qualities: openness and participation.
We know that development does not work if it is top down and excludes people. It thrives on participation. Democracy, too, needs to be 'participatory' - at national and local levels and at all intermediate stages. The days of excluding people from their own development and their own democracy are gone. If there are problems with the way either is conducted, the answer is to have more participation not less.
But participation without information is incomplete and ineffective. And that is why an 'ethic of openness' is vital. That is why I attach such importance to promoting and protecting a strong democratic culture.
It is only when there is such a culture that there are those ingredients of participation and openness. Only if democracy lives in the hearts of the people of a country and is real to them will that country's institutions work as they should. Only if their democratic culture is genuine and strong will it be capable of withstanding the threats and attacks launched by the enemies of liberty and freedom. Only if the democratic institutions are benefitting the people will they defend them.
That is why we must ensure that all citizens enjoy the full range of human rights.
There is a phrase in American politics: 'keep punching the bruise'. The idea is to keep repeating the key points again and again, for maximum effect. Mr Chairman, I intend to 'keep punching the bruise' about the importance of a healthy democratic culture and the 'determination to protect and promote basic human rights. These are fundamental if we are to achieve openness and participation. And they, in turn, are fundamental to our future wellbeing.
Let me say something about why this theme of 'democracy and development' matters.
It matters for development because there is so much poverty in our world today, denying so many of our people the fulfilment of their life chances. If there are ways in which we can - as the title of the Singh report puts it - 'make democracy work for pro-poor development' - then we must take them.
But the 'democracy and development' theme is also of the greatest important for democracy itself. The world must know not only that democracy can be effective in combating poverty and promoting development but also that it is effective in combating poverty and promoting development.
The world must know not only that democracy can bring about change that improves the lives of ordinary people, but also have evidence that it does bring about such change.
The world must know not only that poverty - and so many of the other social and economic ills that disfigure our societies - can be tackled effectively by democratic means, but also that they are being tackled by democratic means.
For the sake of democracy as well as for the sake of development, if our case is that democratic politics can open up new possibilities and opportunities for individuals and for entire communities we must make sure that in practice it actually does so.
In short, democracy must deliver. And it must deliver in circumstances where freedom flourishes, human rights are upheld, gender equity is secured and where there is a culture of integrity.
If this does not occur, as we all know from so many examples - look for instance at what happened in Western Europe just 70 years ago - democracy will be in dire danger. Even today, there are many in those new democracies pointing to a lack of benefits and suggesting that it be discarded. That is the issue before us all. But if it is easy to state, we all know that it is less easy to tackle.
That is one of the reasons why , as I mentioned earlier, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the CPA last week held a workshop here in this very hotel for the Pacific region.
In co-operation with the Pacific Islands Forum and the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs we brought together representatives of governing parties, opposition parties and civil society from Commonwealth countries in the Pacific to discuss their relationship with each other and their contribution to the democratic process. We called the meeting 'Government and Opposition - roles, rights and responsibilities'.
We had a good discussion and there were some useful, practical proposals for future action. There will be a report. But I do not think I will be giving too much away if I tell you now that at the core of the discussion was the theme of how governing and opposition political parties relate to each other.
In a nutshell, there was a consensus that - as a matter of principle - the attitude of 'winner takes all', the failure to distinguish between the ruling party and the State, and the abuse of incumbency for party purposes, are not the way.
We also agreed that Government will not be effective in getting democracy to deliver unless it finds ways of working constructively together with the opposition parties and civil society and being open with the people.
Similarly, we came to the conclusion that opposition parties must act as constructive partners in the development of the democratic process.
Opposition parties have an equal responsibility with the ruling party to develop a shared commitment to the essentials of parliamentary democracy and to make parliament and all the other democratic institutions and processes work properly.
In short, Mr Chairman, at the core of our discussion were the twin convictions that the ruling and the opposition parties both need:
to agree on a 'collaborative context' for their work and that - and here I come back to the theme of development and democracy - they both need:
to recognise that they must work together in order to expand the capabilities and the possibilities of their people.
That is a challenging, important and, in some places, an urgent task. But we are democrats and democrats are invariably optimists. I know we have the ideas and that we can develop the necessary resolve.
It is on that note, Mr Chairman, that I want to conclude by once again commending you - the officers, members and staff of the CPA - for your tireless efforts to take forward our common belief in and commitment to parliamentary democracy, and the liberation and development opportunities it can bring.
Baudelaire said that the belief in progress was the ecstasy of fools. Well, the CPA and the Commonwealth itself was built on that 'foolish ecstasy', and our member countries and people are the better for it. Thank you for giving so much of your time, energy and enthusiasm to it.
I wish you well for a successful conference. And I wish you all the very best for your work back home, after this conference, to deepen democracy and promote development.
Thank you.
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Speech to the 51st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
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