{"id":11830,"date":"2022-06-25T12:14:31","date_gmt":"2022-06-25T02:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/?p=11830"},"modified":"2022-07-15T22:16:02","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T12:16:02","slug":"making-the-commonwealth-worth-talking-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/25\/making-the-commonwealth-worth-talking-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the Commonwealth ‘worth talking about’"},"content":{"rendered":"

This month, the Commonwealth commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Queen\u2019s reign, including her role as Head of the institution. This week, Commonwealth leaders will come together for the first time in four years, at the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what should have been another celebration, has been marred by concern over the host\u2019s human rights record, as well as media attention on the <\/span>controversial agreement<\/span><\/a> struck by the British government to <\/span>send asylum seekers for off-shore processing in Rwanda<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the <\/span>European Court of Human Rights<\/span><\/a> has, at least temporarily, <\/span>halted the possibility of asylum-seekers being flown<\/span><\/a> from the UK to Rwanda, the fact that <\/span>United Nations\u2019 human rights experts<\/span><\/a> have cast doubts on this deal between two Commonwealth members highlights the disparity between words and action when it comes to the Commonwealth\u2019s record on implementing human rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Commonwealth has always had a tricky relationship with human rights. <\/span>On the one hand, the Commonwealth (although not necessarily all members) was praised for its stance on apartheid in South Africa. On the other hand, many of the Commonwealth\u2019s 54 member states appear in reports by human rights organisations \u2013 like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) \u2013 for human rights abuses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, only last week, media harassment, unlawful detention and torture in Rwanda <\/span>were the subject of a statement<\/span><\/a> signed by 24 civil society organisations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Commonwealth\u2019s human rights agenda is ambitious on paper. <\/span>Its declarations recognise \u201cracial prejudice as a dangerous sickness\u201d (<\/span>Singapore Declaration 1971<\/span><\/a>), the importance of \u201cthe liberty of the individual under the law\u201d (<\/span>Harare Declaration 1991<\/span><\/a>) and reiterate that the organisation is \u201cimplacably opposed to all forms of discrimination\u201d (<\/span>Commonwealth Charter 2011<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

But while the Commonwealth condemns <\/span>\u201call forms of colonial domination\u201d<\/span><\/a>, there\u2019s still a need to deal with the <\/span>legacies of colonialism<\/span><\/a> in members as well as <\/span>Britain\u2019s role in the slave trade<\/span><\/a>. And <\/span>modern slavery<\/span><\/a> is a practice that tragically has yet to be consigned to history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite this strong language, methods for enforcing the Commonwealth\u2019s values in the \u2018family\u2019, as it is frequently known, are weak.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no Commonwealth Court of Human Rights (proposed by human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson QC in 1991) or Commonwealth Human Rights Commissioner (<\/span>suggested by CHRI<\/span><\/a> and a <\/span>Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither has the Commonwealth sanctioned many members for violating its fundamental principles.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1995, the <\/span>Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG)<\/span><\/a> was established. CMAG is a body of foreign ministers tasked with assessing breaches of certain Commonwealth principles, notably serious violations of democratic principles in the form of military coups.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past, this has seen members like Nigeria, Pakistan and Fiji suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth. Although the remit of this group was extended in 2002 to encompass other <\/span>\u201cserious or persistent violations\u201d<\/span><\/a> of the Harare Declaration, it has rarely taken substantive action beyond the most obvious breaches of democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In practice, sanctions in the form of <\/span>suspension against Zimbabwe<\/span><\/a> (2002-2003) and the possibility of <\/span>similar measures against Maldives<\/span><\/a> (2016) resulted in both countries withdrawing from the Commonwealth. The Gambia, previously on <\/span>CMAG\u2019s list<\/span><\/a> and under scrutiny from <\/span>civil society organisations<\/span><\/a>, unexpectedly left in 2013, calling the Commonwealth <\/span>\u201ca neo-colonial institution\u201d<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

For these countries, the price of being shamed was higher than the prize of remaining.<\/span><\/p>\n

While The Gambia and Maldives have now re-joined, all three countries\u2019 actions demonstrate the Commonwealth\u2019s dilemma. <\/span>Is it better to remove a recalcitrant member to reinforce the organisation\u2019s values or to keep the member in the fold with the hope of persuading a government to change course?<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it better to remove a recalcitrant member to reinforce the organisation\u2019s values or to keep the member in the fold with the hope of persuading a government to change course?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This brings us back to the decision to hold CHOGM in Rwanda this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not the first time that the venue for a CHOGM has been questioned. The choice to convene the 2013 CHOGM in Sri Lanka was criticised due to that country\u2019s human rights record. While it may be argued that all, or nearly all, Commonwealth members have been cited for human rights concerns at some point in their near or distant past, some records are more shocking than others.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Rwanda applied for membership in 2009, there was concern that the Commonwealth should <\/span>interrogate the Rwandan government\u2019s commitment to human rights<\/span><\/a> carefully.<\/span><\/p>\n

Membership criteria in the Commonwealth have never been strict. While most members have a constitutional relationship with an existing Commonwealth member, this can be overcome in <\/span>\u201cexceptional circumstances\u201d<\/span><\/a> \u2013 Rwanda being a prime example.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, applicants for membership are meant to <\/span>\u201caccept and comply with Commonwealth fundamental values\u201d<\/span><\/a>, but whether these standards are rigorously applied is debatable.<\/span><\/p>\n

If, as reported, Gabon is admitted as the 55th Commonwealth member at CHOGM 2022, despite <\/span>allegations of corruption and violations of democracy<\/span><\/a>, it would appear that the Commonwealth\u2019s \u2018fundamental\u2019 principles are flexible \u2013 much too flexible.<\/span><\/p>\n

For many years, the Commonwealth family has been known as the People\u2019s Commonwealth, underlining that the organisation is, or should be, about its <\/span>people rather than its governments<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>theme of this year\u2019s CHOGM<\/span><\/a> is \u2018Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming.\u2019 But this theme sounds hollow unless this \u2018common future\u2019 includes protecting, and indeed, transforming the lives of Commonwealth people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Families can fracture<\/span><\/a>. And, if the Commonwealth does not match words with deeds, it may end up as <\/span>\u2018a ghost of an organisation\u2019<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what to do?<\/span><\/p>\n

Lord Casey<\/span><\/a>, later to become Australia\u2019s 16th Governor-General, once suggested that either \u201cwe stop talking about the Commonwealth or do our utmost to make it worth talking about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now is the time for Commonwealth leaders, at their gathering in Kigali, to act. Now is the time to move on systematic problems in Commonwealth members, not least, as CHRI has advocated, <\/span>eradicating modern slavery<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>reducing reliance on pre-trial detention<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now is the time to establish a Commonwealth Human Rights Commissioner to monitor, investigate and receive petitions from individuals about alleged human rights abuses. Now is the time for Commonwealth leaders to make the Commonwealth worth talking about.<\/span><\/p>\n

This article was first published on Pursuit<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Photo by <\/i><\/b>Paul Kagame on Flickr<\/i><\/b><\/a> (CC)<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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