Focus and functions of the Commonwealth

Monday, 11 November 2013 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Speaking on the Commonwealth on the eve of CHOGM, Economist/former Commonwealth Secretariat Director Economic Affairs Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy enlightened the audience by sharing extensive details as to how the Commonwealth functions and what benefits it brings to its members. Commonwealth as a series of networks While the highest place goes to the intergovernmental arm of the Commonwealth, that is the CHOGM at the apex and a whole series of intergovernmental heads at ministerial level, a lot of work is done on a Government-to-Government basis. However, CHOGM at the apex is in some ways probably the less important part of the Commonwealth since it is a series of people-to-people network. It is a network of civil society organisations and almost all associations have some Commonwealth body. “There is constant interaction from professionals across the Commonwealth almost on a day-to-day basis,” noted Coomaraswamy.

There is also the Parliamentary Association, which is very active and facilitates the exchange of experiences and views. There is a Business Council that focuses on uplifting the commercial activities of the region, and the Youth Forum that helps empower the younger generation. “When we talk about the Commonwealth, we will be talking about all of that together. There is lot of nitty-gritty that goes on below the radar on a day-to-day basis. So when one talks about Commonwealth and its relevance, I think it is important to talk about the full ambit of the Commonwealth activities,” he expressed. Historical perspective Speaking on how the Commonwealth came to be, Coomaraswamy shared that the modern Commonwealth came into being in the 1949, with a group of eight prime ministers. The eight ministers talked together and now the formula, known as the Nehru formula, is what is implemented. Coomaraswamy explained this is where the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru basically declared that the Commonwealth is willing to look at the King of England as the head of the institution. That was the formula adopted and from that time, the countries were freely and voluntarily allowed to become members of the Commonwealth while retaining their full sovereignty. While that was the formula in which the Commonwealth came into being, now it has 54 members and two billion people. In terms of trade, the Commonwealth countries as a whole accounts for 20% of global trade. Democracy and development: Pillars of the Commonwealth Democracy and development are the pillars that guide the work of the Commonwealth and were undertaken by a group of Commonwealth officers. The guidelines were shared by the current Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. The Commonwealth officers looked at how the concepts of development and democracy could be made mutually reinforcing and it is the basis where the Commonwealth undertook its work. “Interestingly, the empirical evidence suggested there are a disproportionate number of authoritarians amongst the high achievers. There are also a disproportionate number of authoritarians from failed states. So the message is that while democracy doesn’t come fast, very few become failed states, and that is the basis,” noted Coomaraswamy. The democracy pillar proposes the fundamental political values of the Commonwealth and the whole series of its declarations which the heads have issued over the years. The Singapore Declaration in 1971 along with the Harare Declaration in 1991 set out the political values of the Commonwealth. Later, the Millbrook Declaration set out the Commonwealth ministerial group. It is a rotating membership of nine foreign ministers who are at the helm of it at any given time, and are expected to scrutinise the vales of the Commonwealth. “It is about constructive development and using moral persuasion to get the countries to move in the right direction,” he said. In 2003, there were principles that differentiated the three arms of the Government, which is the Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary. The other principles in 2009 set out the principles for the local government as a cornerstone of democracy. “All of this was brought together by the Commonwealth Charter that was adopted by the heads of governments in Perth when they met in 2011. So this charter is meant for the declaration of human rights and various conventions came out. The charter is not designed to act as a purgative instrument. It is designed as to act as a moral compass and to exert a form of moral persuasion to encourage countries to move in the right direction. The Commonwealth is about persuasion and engagement. It is not about enforcement and punishment.” Highlighting on how the Commonwealth has the right to suspend its members, he said it would do so if countries falling under it violate the institution’s fundamental political value. According to Coomaraswamy, the suspension is done in a way that is non-judgemental and it is a question of holding out a helping hand to encourage people to move in the right direction. Emphasising that a lot of work goes on under the radar, he said: “The Commonwealth was the first international organisation to establish such a mechanism which can review the performance of the membership in terms of the fundamental political value of the association.” At various times countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Pakistan and Fiji have been suspended from membership. Since its inception, the criterion was constitutional, overflowing of democratic electoral right. In most instances the countries were suspended for military reasons. In the case of Zimbabwe, the country left the Commonwealth and has not returned as yet. He recalled a recent situation where the Gambians left the Commonwealth. However, the decision was more to do with the UK than the Commonwealth. “It is a mistake to look at the Commonwealth as an arm of the UK Government. There was an instance when South Africa and the rest of the Commonwealth went against British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the UK Government at the time. The Commonwealth led the fight for this. Although the UK is a major donor of the Commonwealth, historically it shows that the institution sees the larger interest of the membership and does not necessarily follow the British Government policy,” explained Coomaraswamy. In Perth, the heads considered if they were to expand the scope of the Commonwealth. While it is now broadened, the other major platform of the political work is the good offices role of the Commonwealth and the Secretariat, where they work behind the scenes and address diverse issues. The other area of support he said is the electorate segment. The Commonwealth carries out election observation and the last one was in Sri Lanka where a few members were present to observe the North Provincial Council elections. “It has a technical mission to encourage the Government to improve their systems, while offering technical assistance,” pointed out Coomaraswamy. Human rights In the sphere of human rights, the Commonwealth provides practical and intellectual support in two ways. The first is by extending its support to the national human rights commissions, and the other is that on request it provides technical assistance. “In its work on democracy, it does not happen in an intergovernmental scenario. There is a lot of work done to strengthen the media and others, along with deepening the democratic institutions of the countries. To those countries that transitioned to democracy from authoritarian systems, a lot of the work has been important in terms of deepening and strengthening democratic institutions,” he said. Toolbox for Commonwealth The toolbox for the Commonwealth is the analytical studies which are done to strengthen the capacity of the Commonwealth developing countries in terms of advocacy and consensus building on both international and national social issues. The technical issues are covered in a range of areas. For the Commonwealth, technical assistance is a significant mechanism for regional cooperation. “Eventually what the Commonwealth does is that it draws membership from all the member countries and makes it available for governmental organisations by way of training and expertise.” The main aspect about the Commonwealth is that it is seen as a trusted partner. Even though the membership comprises of developing countries, all its members have equal statuses. “There is no weighted voting. It is basic equality of membership. The Commonwealth has consistently taken up the position that takes the interest of the poorer countries and because of that, there is an element of trust,” noted Coomaraswamy. Relevance of the Commonwealth A challenge Coomaraswamy said is to stay relevant in today’s environment, as it is ever-changing. Speaking from his experience while serving the Commonwealth, he said that the institution was at the time on the forefront of the liberation of South Africa. That gave it the role and relevance at that time. While there were universal bodies such as the WHO, IMF and the WB, the regional bodies were very weak at the time. Coomaraswamy said that other than ASEAN and the EU region, there were very few regional organisations with any capacity. However, the Commonwealth was able to occupy that space below the universal organisation. “In fact there was lot of work to strengthen the African region. The fitting of Commonwealth in the regional meetings became a challenge. We need to find new ways of being relevant, being a trusted partner, and being a sole cooperation to all these networks,” he stated.While 32 members of Commonwealth are classified as small states, the definition of small states is those with a population of less than two million people. These 32 countries have the difficulties in getting on the radar of large organisations and when its president goes to the UN, IMF or WB meetings, they don’t get much of the profile, said Coomaraswamy. In the Commonwealth, however, it is different: 70% of the budget of the Commonwealth goes to support small states. “Really, the Commonwealth capabilities in countries such as India and even Sri Lanka are probably not that great. But there are 32 countries with this population that are scattered across Africa and other regions where the Commonwealth has been an important source of support.” With regard to CHOGM, he said the retreat is what the heads find tremendously useful. “I am told that the conversation can be frank indeed. So then it is a source of moral persuasion and experience and instilling best practice. In terms of output, there have been a useful communiqué that has come out,” shared Coomaraswamy.

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