Constant questioning and renewal essential for 60-year Commonwealth – Kamalesh Sharma

News Release

Secretary-General delivers a keynote address at Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Kenya

The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth has used a keynote speech at the 56th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to stress that the association will remain a prominent international organisation by continuing to evolve with the times.

Kamalesh Sharma, who has been at the helm of the Commonwealth for two and a half years, said that its impact, networks and profile all require continuous strengthening if it is to meet the expectations of its member governments.

“We are here today because the Commonwealth is a mighty cause, and a ‘great global good’,” Mr Sharma said. “Yet it has no inherent right to think that is can and will remain so, without constant questioning and constant renewal. There are very real areas of expectation from the inter-governmental Commonwealth, and we are the first to acknowledge them.”

Reform and renew

This debate on the future relevance of the association, Mr Sharma explained, was raised by Commonwealth leaders at their biennial summit last year, when they created an expert body called the Eminent Persons Group (EPG), which is tasked with helping to reform and renew the Commonwealth. The EPG will report to Commonwealth Heads of Government at their next meeting, which is taking place in Perth, Australia, next October.

“[The EPG’s] ongoing task is to hear the voices of all – of ordinary people, of civil society, of business, and of course of governments and parliaments,” he told parliamentarians at their annual conference. “I cannot over-emphasise the importance of this Parliamentary community playing its part in that process of constructive self-appraisal, and renewed and forward-looking commitment.”

The conference, the theme of which is ‘Parliament and Development in the 21st century: thus far and beyond’, was officially opened by Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki. The two keynote addresses at the event, taking place in Nairobi, were given by Mr Sharma and Dr William Shija, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Praising Parliamentarians

The Secretary-General used his speech to praise the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (celebrating its 100th anniversary this year) as an organisation of ‘formidable’ potential – with 16,000 members having assembled in Nairobi, representing 175 national, state, provincial and territorial Parliaments.

Mr Sharma challenged these members to define how their combined “huge potential” can best be realised.

“Your strength is your numbers, and the quality of the experience you bring and share, about the things which matter to you most,” he said.

MDG Summit

Mr Sharma also looked ahead to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Review Summit, taking place in New York later this month.

“Even without the extraordinary transformations we have seen since 1990 in India and China, massive gains have been made in the pursuit of these Goals. But still – in swathes of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa – they remain unmet.”

The Secretary-General continued: “If parliament is the representative of its people, it must be passionate about Development and the MDGs, and at the epicentre of national and global debate.

“For this reason, Governments cannot develop national development strategies without vigorous examination in their parliaments; and nor should governments invest resources without fastidious scrutiny from parliamentary committees, in terms of transparency and outcomes.”

Empower parliaments

The Secretary-General stressed the need to empower parliaments and parliamentarians, by giving them belief and wherewithal to do their job.

“Capacity-building and administrative support is never glamorous, but any parliamentarian will tell you that it can make the difference between success and failure,” he said.

Mr Sharma cited Kenya as an example of an empowered and supported parliament at the centre of national debate and life.

“The parliament has been integral to the rebuilding of Kenya, and the realisation of its democracy and development dreams,” he said.

“It brokered the work on drafting the historic new Kenyan constitution which was voted in just a few weeks ago; and as a result of it, it will grow by introducing an upper chamber, and it will be stretched to the limit of its capacity in passing new legislation.”

“It saw partnership as the key to Kenyan success – an all-embracing coalition of the willing,” Mr Sharma concluded, adding that he is describing “an empowered parliament, attuned to planning and scrutiny, focussed and delivering democracy and development, and answerable to the people who elected it.”

Factbox: Highlights from Sharma’s speech

On the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG): “It has distinguished the Commonwealth from other organisations, both in being able to censure and suspend its members, but also always to hold out to them the hand of support in the restoration of democracy.”

On Rwanda, the Commonwealth’s newest member country: “Rwanda has climbed remarkably since its darkest days in 1994, not least in leading the world in the percentage of women in its parliament”

On a new network of Commonwealth election commissioners: “We believe the network can share all our best practice in areas like voter registration, universal mobilisation of electorates, polling practices, security oversight, media policy, the use of public funds in election processes, and all other aspects of creating a fair and level playing field.”

On the Affirmation of Commonwealth Values and Principles, endorsed by Commonwealth leaders last November: “This Affirmation was in part a compendium of the existing body of Commonwealth democratic belief of 40 years, but it also pointed the way forward. It strengthened those beliefs, and raised the bar.”

Cathy Price

Administrative Assistant

Communications & Public Affairs Division

Commonwealth Secretariat

Marlborough House

Pall Mall

London SW1Y 5HX

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7747 6386

Fax: Direct +44 (0) 20 7004 3771  General: +44 (0) 20 7839 9081

Web: www.thecommonwealth.org

Did You Know?

The Commonwealth assists countries with international trade, debt, finance, and economic and legal advice.

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