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The Commonwealth: A Force for Change in Support of Democracy and Human Rights

Notes for a Statement by Hon. David Kilgour, Secretary of State (Latin America & Africa)
to the National Student Commonwealth Forum
Lester B. Pearson Building, Ottawa, May 6, 1999

Thank you for inviting me to speak at the closing of your forum. It is always a pleasure to speak to young Canadians, particularly those who have demonstrated an interest in our foreign policy. You have done so this week by participating in a number of activities which I hope you found interesting, educational and fun. The two young people from Alberta staying with my own family, Brett Ireland and Lindsay Anderson, were very pleased.

As student representatives from across Canada, you have chosen to spend time together, share perspectives and cooperate among yourselves. So too have the countries of the Commonwealth chosen to freely participate in the Commonwealth club – a global family of 54 countries and 1.7 billion people. In addition, like the delegates here today, chosen across Canada, many countries apply to become members of the Commonwealth. All Commonwealth countries must adhere to the basic principles of democracy and human rights and have had constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member. Those who have been suspended, as seen with Nigeria, spend considerable energy and diplomatic resources to seek re-admittance.

Peoples and governments clearly value their Commonwealth connection. Whether it be for reasons of historical associations, shared values of democracy and respect for human rights, similar political and legal institutions, common language, or flexible mechanisms for technical assistance, all of our countries and many of our citizens invest considerable human and financial resources in our Commonwealth ties.

Canadians are proud of our long association with the Commonwealth in which we play a very important role.

For me, the promotion of democracy and good governance continue to be defining features of the modern Commonwealth. In addition to the Commonwealth’s advocacy of democratic and human rights, there are a number of practical actions that the Commonwealth is pursuing to make the 1991 Harare Declaration a reality. These are important to Canada. They are among the reasons that we continue to value our Commonwealth membership.

There is one area in particular which I’d like to mention, the 11th Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, CMAG, meeting in London which I attended last week, and the discussions held there on Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Canada is one of the eight member countries in the CMAG which works together to implement collective Commonwealth action in support of the Harare principles of democracy and human rights. Personally, that forum has been my main Commonwealth interest. Since becoming Secretary of State, I have, together with Minister Axworthy, regularly attended CMAG meetings and participated in the group’s mission to Sierra Leone.

At last week’s CMAG Meeting in London (UK), I, on behalf of Minister Axworthy, along with the Foreign Ministers of the other seven member countries, again discussed the situation in Nigeria and Sierra Leone. In the past, Nigeria has rightly been the primary focus of CMAG concern since its inception three years ago coincided with the suspension of Nigeria’s Commonwealth membership by Heads of Government at the Auckland CHOGM. Given the positive events in Nigeria over the past several months, at our meeting last week, we had the happy task of discussing, not further sanctions against Nigeria, but rather coming to the decision to recommend that Heads of Government welcome Nigeria back into the Commonwealth family with the inauguration of the new democratically elected government on May 29.

As you probably learned yesterday during your briefing on Africa, Canada through the Commonwealth played an active role in supporting the transition in Nigeria, in particular participating in election monitoring over the five sets of elections earlier this year. This is just one of the ways in which the Commonwealth works to assist countries in their transition to democracy and supports human rights and good governance. Indeed, CMAG has become a real jewel in the modern Commonwealth crown.

A new critical area of concern for CMAG is Sierra Leone and the dire humanitarian and security situation which presently prevails there. As you know, human security, human rights and peacebuilding are particular interests of Canada and of our Foreign Minister. Canada is clearly deeply concerned by the deteriorating conditions in West Africa. Canada, and other member countries, support the Government of Sierra Leone and their efforts to pursue dialogue with the rebels to reach a lasting peace settlement. The ministers also decided to name publicly the two governments which are assisting the rebels in Sierra Leone – those of Liberia and Burkina Faso.

In London, we all commended the continuing important role played by the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), the continued good offices role played by the Secretary-General, and called for further material and logistical assistance. Canada has already contributed $1million in support for this Force in Sierra Leone. As CMAG has in the past been a flexible instrument to pursue our concerns about the need for change in non-democratic countries, Canada believes that it should remain a tool in the international arsenal. I believe CMAG should re-emphasize its role as one where ministerial support can be mobilized for Commonwealth and bilateral action in support of positive steps being undertaken by member states in accordance with the Harare principles.

Today I have concentrated on one aspect of the Commonwealth of interest to me and to Canada's foreign policy: support for our common values of democracy and human rights.

This is not to deny much of the valuable work of the Commonwealth in many areas. The Commonwealth is many things to many people. I know that Ministers of Finance, Education, Youth, and Health among others find the Commonwealth a valuable forum to discuss policy issues. Indeed our heads of government also do so. Professional associations and non-governmental organizations likewise find common ground on many issues with their counterparts from Commonwealth countries.

All of these groups report to the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. In November, 1999, the CHOGM will take place in Durban, South Africa. At the Senior Officials’ Meeting in November, it was agreed that the theme for the next CHOGM should focus upon "the impact of globalization, not only in its economic terms but also with respect to it political, human and people-centred ramifications." This theme will be refined further over the course of the next year in consultation with the Secretary-General, the host South African Government and other Commonwealth governments. We are now in the process of reflecting upon this theme.

Looking at the agenda of the last National Student Commonwealth Forum, I notice the theme was globalization. Perhaps you are one step ahead of us and have already provided some new ideas to us throughout this week.

I am also very interested in the theme you have chosen to discuss this year – poverty. As your negotiations today no doubt underlined, fighting poverty is a multi-faceted challenge which must address both social and economic aspects. Canada promotes the development and realisation of these basic needs in the developing countries of the Commonwealth through our bilateral and multilateral aid programs and through our economic and trade negotiations. The Commonwealth supports poverty alleviation, education and health through a number of different channels including the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Assistance, the Commonwealth of Learning, Commonwealth Health, Education and Finance Ministers’ Meetings, as well as through the Commonwealth Secretariat Economic Division. I commend you for tackling such a critical and complex subject, and hope that your discussions have borne many useful lessons for us all.

Finally, thank you delegates for participating in the National Student Commonwealth Forum and for coming to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. I hope you will take away from this conference and this week of learning not only knowledge and facts, but also appreciate the sharing, understanding, cooperation and negotiation that are even more valuable and form the cornerstone of basic Commonwealth values.

 
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