Press conference by Secretary-General of Commonwealth Secretariat

Welcoming Pakistan back into the Commonwealth after a four-and-a-half year absence, Commonwealth Secretariat Secretary-General Don McKinnon held a news conference this evening to announce the outcome of the third annual round table of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers that had been held at United Nations Headquarters today.

He said the Ministers had continued the debate begun earlier this year in Abuja, on how good offices could be used to help countries avoid conflict, build democratic institutions and manage post conflict situations.

Also discussed, he said, were preparations for the 10-year review of the 1994 Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island States that would be held in Mauritius in January 2005.  Trade was at the heart of that debate because it was a critical concern for the 32 small island States that were part of the 53-member Commonwealth.  Capacity-building and representation were central Commonwealth activities.  The work had received a big boost thanks to a €17 billion grant.

Trade had also been considered with regard to the recent framework agreement to reinvigorate the Doha Development Agenda trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO).  Taxation systems and offshore banking were being considered.  Making trade work for the poor would be taken up next week at the annual Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis.  Finally, progress had been assessed towards the next biennial Heads of Government meeting in Malta in November 2005.

Following the round table, he said that meetings of the Ministerial Committees on Belize and on Guyana had been held.  The positions of Belize and Guyana had been upheld in their respective border disputes.  On Saturday, 25 September, the Ministerial Action Group on the 1995 Harare Declaration would consider the situation in Pakistan.

In response to questions, he said the Ministers in May had expressed support for President Musharaff and the election process in Pakistan.  Two thirds of Parliament had supported the seventeenth amendment by which the process had occurred to allow the leader to be both president and head of the army.  The ministers were aware of the debate and would follow the issues before and after the 31 December date covered by the seventeenth amendment provision.

Asked about the situation in Kashmir, Mr. McKinnon said the Commonwealth was in contact with leaders of both India and Pakistan.  It was no secret that Pakistan would have liked a bigger Commonwealth role in the situation and that India saw no need for a bigger Commonwealth involvement, which depended on the will of all those involved.  Since 60,000 to 70,000 lives had been lost over the issue of Kashmir, a solution was desirable.

The Commonwealth is a voluntary group of countries formerly under the jurisdiction or mandate of the United Kingdom.  The aim of the Commonwealth is to promote peace, democracy, equality and good governance; act as a catalyst for global consensus-building; and act as a source of assistance for sustaining development and eradicating poverty.

Member States are:  Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu and Zambia.

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