By Greg Quinn
British High Commissioner to Guyana
On 11 March the 53 members of the Commonwealth will celebrate Common-wealth Day. The theme of this year’s day is: ‘A Connected Commonwealth’.
As I have said before the Common-wealth is an organisation with deep roots and profound strengths. As a group of like-minded countries we face new and unprecedented challenges. These include: weak global trade and investment flows; new cross-border security threats; the effects of climate change on small and other vulnerable states; and threats to our shared values of democracy, good governance and inclusivity as set out in the Commonwealth Charter.
In April 2018 the UK hosted the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London and Windsor. It was the largest summit of its kind in the UK’s history. It agreed ambitious policy objectives, setting a clear agenda to build a future that is fairer, more prosperous, sustainable, and secure. In support of these objectives the UK announced over £500m (approximately GY$137.5bn) of project funding and confirmed we are opening new diplomatic missions in nine Commonwealth countries.
The UK will operate as Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth until the next CHOGM in Rwanda in 2020. We will work with the three pillars of the Commonwealth (the Secretariat; the member states; and its organisations and networks) to:
– Deliver on the commitments made at CHOGM.
– Boost the voice of the Commonwealth internationally.
– Enhance solidarity between its members.
– Support reform and strengthening of the Secretariat.
With regards to the CHOGM outcomes.
On fairness the Commonwealth agreed the importance of full social, economic and political participation for all our citizens; and pledged to ensure all boys and girls have access to at least 12 years of quality education. The UK Prime Minister also expressed regret about continuing discriminatory legislation that affects the lives of people across the Commonwealth.
On prosperity we will work to resist protectionism and increase intra-Commonwealth trade beyond US$2 trillion by 2030.
On sustainability the Commonwealth can be proud of the fact that all member states have ratified the Paris Agreement; that we recommitted to limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels; that we launched the Commonwealth Blue Charter; that we pledged to halve malaria across the Commonwealth by 2023; and that we agreed to take action to improve access to eye care and eliminate blinding trachoma.
On security we were unanimous in our opposition to the use of chemical weapons and we agreed a Commonwealth Cyber Declaration.
Together we all have the chance to build a reformed and revitalised Commonwealth. An organisation that is home to 2.4bn people – a third of the world’s population – 60% of whom are under the age of 30. A group that represents a quarter of the membership of the United Nations and 30% of World Trade Organisation membership. A unique organisation of nation states encompassing extraordinarily wide geographic, cultural, ethnic, and economic diversity.
The Commonwealth is an organisation the UK is hugely proud to be a member of. We are determined to help carry forward our shared objectives in the long-term and look forward to working with Guyana as we do so.
