The Commonwealth in troubling times | Commonwealth Opinion

The Commonwealth in troubling times | Commonwealth Opinion:

In this Inaugural Lecture marking the 100th Anniversary of the Charter of the Bristol  Commonwealth Society, Sir Ronald Sanders [1] argues that the inter-governmental Commonwealth is a diverse group that is now plagued by mistrust and loss of confidence.  If the Summit in Sri Lanka is to be meaningful, Heads of Government must set up machinery to address this issue urgently and credibly.   It will call for careful diplomatic stage-managing by the Secretary-General, and transparent and open chairmanship by the Sri Lankan President.  Whether this can be achieved is left to be seen.  But, if this matter is not tackled with urgency and credibility, the Commonwealth may well go over the cliff to disintegration on which it is now dangerously perched. 

Over the last 64 years much has changed about the Commonwealth. While the association has been of immense benefit to its member countries and a valuable influence in international relations, more recently its relevance has been questioned by many non-governmental organisations, academics and commentators in the media.

Troubling issues

As we gather this evening, the inter-governmental Commonwealth is enduring troubling times. Evidence of this is the following:

• It is being tugged in different directions by the preferences of its member governments. This motion should not be mistaken for progress.
• Approximately 70 per cent of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Budget is funded by only three of its member governments – Britain, Canada and Australia.  For financial year 2012/2013, the Budget was a meagre £16.1 million.  For the current financial year, there has been no real increase in the Budget which was settled for the current year only after unprecedented manoeuverings and disagreements amongst government representatives.
• The other 49 members are reluctant to increase their contributions, and more than 30 of the member states are in arrears of their contributions.  This suggests that the Commonwealth does not now rank high among the instruments for pursuing their foreign policy goals.
• The Secretariat needs at least another £3 million per annum to carry out effectively the mandates it now has.
• Good staff members are leaving the Secretariat, and its uncompetitive salaries and conditions make it difficult to attract better personnel.
• There is a general lack of knowledge about the Commonwealth in its member-states and the majority of its governments are doing little or nothing to explain and promote it.
• The media consider it to be of such little relevance that it gets coverage only in the case of some dramatic event such as the unheralded announcement by the President of The Gambia that as of October 3rd 2013 he has withdrawn the country from the Commonwealth because it has suddenly and inexplicably become “a neo-colonialist” organisation.
• A kind of North-South divide has developed centred on the importance of upholding democracy, human rights and the rule of law as fundamental requirements for Commonwealth membership; and
• There is controversy over the government of Sri Lanka’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in a few weeks.

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