A Commonwealth ministerial mission is due to arrive in the Maldives capital, Malé, on 17 February to ascertain the facts surrounding the transfer of power last week in the South Asian state.

The group will be led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Communications of Trinidad & Tobago, the Hon Surujrattan Rambachan. He will be accompanied by Hon Dr Dipu Moni, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh and Mr Dennis Richardson AO, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) decided to send the mission as soon as possible when it met by teleconference on 12 February.

Announcing the mission, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, who convened the extraordinary teleconference, said: “This is an important ministerial mission, that is to be seen as part of the Commonwealth‘s continuing engagement with Maldives. It should also be viewed in the context of the Commonwealth‘s abiding commitment to its fundamental political values.”

The delegation will hold discussions with key interlocutors on circumstances surrounding the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed on 7 February 2012. Before it commences its work, it will be briefed by the Commonwealth Secretariat team that has been in the country since 6 February.

The CMAG statement issued after the 12 February teleconference stressed the importance of adherence by member countries to the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values, including constitutional democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights; and in particular, the principle of separation of powers.

The CMAG ministerial mission will be supported by a Commonwealth Secretariat team led by Amitav Banerji, Director of Political Affairs.

CMAG will convene again in extraordinary session next week, to receive and consider the findings of the ministerial mission.

Note to Editors:

 CMAG comprises foreign ministers from nine Commonwealth countries and is tasked with dealing with serious or persistent violations of Commonwealth values and principles. The members are Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Jamaica, Maldives, Sierra Leone, United Republic of Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago and Vanuatu.

 The Group was given an enhanced mandate at the last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia, in October 2011.

 For media enquiries, please contact Victoria Holdsworth (in Malé) on +44 789 459 3520 or on v.holdsworth@commonwealth.int. In London, please contact Manoah Esipisu on +44 789 446 2021 or m.esipisu@commonwealth.int

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 • www.thecommonwealth.org

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“We condemn these cowardly attacks, which have led to large-scale loss of life and critical injuries,” said the Secretary-General, who is on an official visit to Malawi.

“The perpetrators of this despicable crime have shown a callous disregard for the lives of their fellow citizens and for the peace, stability, integrity and progress of their country. I extend my personal condolences and sympathy together with those of the Commonwealth community at large to all those affected by these dreadful attacks. The Commonwealth stands in solidarity with the Government and people of Nigeria as the country grieves its loss, and works to address the challenges of terrorism, extremism and insecurity, manifested in the spate of such attacks in recent years.

“Terrorism is anathema to civilised society,” Mr Sharma stressed. “The Commonwealth’s shared view is that conflict and differences should be resolved, and indeed, can only be resolved sustainably through inclusive dialogue built on the foundations of mutual understanding and respect.”

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As 2010 draws to a close, only 36% of those in developing countries who need HIV treatment have access to it.  As for prevention and care, the numbers of the neglected are higher still.  And – for all the money pledged and given since 2005 – the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria is still $1.3 billion short of its minimum requirement for the next three years.

It is unfair to say that a promise made has been broken – not least because real progress has been, and is being, made.  New HIV infections are down by a third, and there has been a ten-fold increase in anti-retroviral treatment in the last five years.  Some vulnerable groups have seen advances in HIV care, such as pregnant women who would otherwise pass on the virus to their children, and also people with tuberculosis.

But a promise has still not been fully honoured, and the cost is measurable in human lives.

The Commonwealth carries much of the HIV burden.  In the last year, around 1½ million of its citizens have lost their lives due to AIDS-related illnesses.  Two-thirds of those who are HIV-positive today are in the Commonwealth, and in some of our member countries, one in four people carry the virus.  Only eight of our developing countries have achieved what we call ‘universal’ access to anti-retroviral therapy.

So why and how are we failing to help those who most need it?

The answer lies in part, of course, in healthcare and its attendant issues such as human resources, infrastructure, drugs – and money.  But it lies also in human rights.

The response of Commonwealth countries to HIV and AIDS is guided both by national laws and policies, and by international law relating to human rights.

In the battle against HIV and AIDS, too many countries across the Commonwealth and the world are marginalising the people who most need their help. These include sex workers, injecting drug users, homosexuals, and – most worryingly of all – women, simply because of their gender.  Two-thirds of people living with HIV are women: if women’s voices are silenced or their needs not met, then HIV and AIDS cannot be beaten.

If vulnerable groups are frightened or legally barred from coming forward for treatment, then their plight cannot be changed, and their infections will spread.  It is punitive laws and their enforcement – coupled with stigmatisation – which makes it more difficult for HIV programmes to reach the most vulnerable people. They, in turn, are then forced to go underground.

That is why the tasks of protecting public health and of defending and promoting human rights are closely related, and mutually supportive.

The Commonwealth is an association which advances human rights.  All of its members have committed to human rights and non-discrimination as Commonwealth values and principles, and embraced the charter for human dignity that is the UN Declaration of Human Rights.  Yet only five Commonwealth countries have ratified the eight core UN human rights treaties.

All of our member countries are journeying on the democratic path: the vast majority of them are less than 50 years old, and their journeys represent a hard and steep climb.

So when the Commonwealth turns its attention to an individual member country and its human rights, it does so by offering a helping hand, not raising a wagging finger.

It looks for solutions, and has worked with national NGOs, for example, to develop practical campaigns to fight prejudice against those with HIV.  A short Commonwealth film about the stigmatisation of an 18-year old HIV-positive girl and her family has been shown on television screens around Africa and the wider world.

In partnership with the International HIV and AIDS Alliance, the Commonwealth has supported an initiative examining legal reform and HIV and AIDS.  Research has shown how Law Ministries can support the judiciary – and prosecutors, police and lawyers – to create human rights-based legal frameworks to deal more effectively with HIV.  The project has also discussed the need for public education to inform people of their rights.

Ten years ago, world leaders committed themselves to eight ambitious but achievable Millennium Development Goals – among them halving the number of people living in poverty, and stemming the spread of HIV and AIDS. They also promised to provide leadership, and to uphold the human rights of people living with HIV.

But for as long as we fall short in promoting universal human rights, we will continue to fall short on achieving universal access for the prevention, treatment and care of those with HIV and AIDS.  International human rights commitments are crucial in focusing and reinforcing a comprehensive response.  Universal human rights work best from both the top down, when countries commit to the principles – and from the bottom up, when people can live them.

Note to Editors

The Commonwealth Secretariat works across the 54-nation Commonwealth in the field of HIV and AIDS, using its networks and access to National Directors of AIDS Commissions, and National Programme Managers.  It has examined national HIV strategies in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean through a gender lens, to promote the interests of women. With UNESCO, it has established an HIV Chair at the University of the West Indies.  It has produced teacher-training materials on AIDS, and launched a network of HIV-positive ‘Young Ambassadors for Positive Living’, who counsel young people on AIDS.

Its HIV and AIDS Strategic Framework 2011-2016 will guide member countries on the inclusion of human rights and its application to national responses against HIV and AIDS.  As well as its work on stigmatisation in Nigeria, it has launched a comprehensive analysis of Bermuda’s domestic legislation in relation to its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); and in Barbados a gender and behavioural change expert sits in the Barbados National AIDS Agency to build capacity towards meeting the development needs of men and women.  It is also supporting local governments to manage and expand their HIV and AIDS related services, including tackling human rights dimensions

For AIDS Day 2010, in London it is hosting Dr Peter Piot, former executive director of UNAIDS, on the theme of ‘Universal Access and Human Rights’.

Contact Victoria Holdsworth, v.holdsworth@commonwealth.int, +44 20 7747 6363, +44 7894 593520.

The Commonwealth Foundation is also active in the field of HIV and AIDS.  Having set up a Commonwealth HIV and AIDS Network bringing together NGOs dealing with the disease, it now dispenses grants to NGOs to support their HIV/AIDS work.

For AIDS Day 2010, in London it is hosting a lecture on HIV, human rights and the law, by Justice A P Shah, the judge responsible for the ruling decriminalising homosexuality in India in 2009.

Contact Marcie Shaoul, m.shaoul@commonwealth.int, +44 20 7747 6582, +44 7553 388726.

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