This weekend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will take place in Sri Lanka. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales will represent Her Majesty the Queen as the Head of the Commonwealth. The Prime Minister, and William Hague will represent the Government.
There has been understandable concern about the location of Conference, given the Sri Lankan government’s poor record on human rights. The decision that Sri Lanka would host CHOGM this year was taken in 2009 under the previous government, and reaffirmed at CHOGM in Perth in Australia in 2011. Changing the 2009 decision would have required a consensus among Commonwealth member states, and it was clear from our discussions with them that there was no widespread support for a change of location.
The government believes that attending CHOGM is necessary to support the Commonwealth as an institution that greatly matters to Britain, to try to ensure a positive outcome from the meeting, and to put the situation in Sri Lanka firmly under the international spotlight.
The plans during the summit reflect these three objectives:
i). the future of the Commonwealth as an organisation is far more important than the location of any one meeting. We are determined to support its future development by participating in the meeting and promoting an ambitious outcome. The Commonwealth consists of 53 independent member states representing nearly a third of the world’s nations and over two billion people. It has some of the fastest growing economies trading over $3 trillion worth of goods and services each year, with intra-Commonwealth trade valued at around £250 billion annually. It is an increasingly valuable diplomatic and trading network for the United Kingdom, but our influence and role within the organisation depends on us valuing and taking part in its discussions.
ii). this year’s CHOGM will discuss issues that matter greatly to the UK and to the world including a successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals, which focuses on eliminating absolute poverty, and ensuring Commonwealth Values such as the rule of law and good governance are at the heart of the next development framework. We will also discuss expanding international trade with other Commonwealth states, which would create many new opportunities for British businesses.
iii). we are determined to use our attendance to urge the Sri Lankan government to make real progress on human rights, reconciliation, accountability and political reform. The Prime Minister will visit the North of Sri Lanka where much of the conflict was focussed - the first time any Head of Government from any country has visited that region since Sri Lankan independence in 1948. We will meet people on all sides of the conflict including of course the Tamil community. William Hague will meet journalists and activists and hear about the challenges they face and how the UK can best support reform in Sri Lanka, and will also hold a public event on the need to investigate and end the sexual violence against women still prevalent in the country.
There will be some tough conversations on the need for the Sri Lankan government to make progress on the disappeared, investigations into human rights abuses, guaranteeing freedom of expression and stamping out intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders - including bringing those responsible to justice. Some recent progress has been made on the settlement of internally displaced people from conflict, infrastructure development, demining, reintegration of ex-combatants and holding of Northern Provincial Council elections in September which the Commonwealth observed. We will acknowledge this progress and urge them to go further.
Agaiun the crucial point is that if you do not go you have no influence.
