Meeting to discuss UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Making disability rights a reality: developing capacity, delivering equality – that is the focus of a one-day meeting to be held at Marlborough House, headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Foundation in London, UK, on 3 May 2012.
‘Strengthening jurisprudence of equality on violence against women’
Judges and magistrates from fourteen Southern and Eastern African Commonwealth countries will meet in Gaborone, Botswana on 26 and 27 March 2012 to discuss strategies to strengthen judicial activism in cases of violence against women.
The meeting forms part of the work mandated by the Commonwealth Plan of Action (PoA) for Gender Equality 2005-2015.
“This year’s Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers will be very important as the 2015 end date for education goals is just around the corner” - Zeferino Martins
Mozambique’s Education Minister Zeferino Martins this week met Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith to discuss how best the Secretariat’s education team can support his ministry’s objectives.
Commonwealth Heads of Government met in Perth, Australia, from 28 to 30 October 2011, under the theme ‘Building National Resilience, Building Global Resilience’.
Following an invitation from the Independent
National Election Commission (INEC), the Commonwealth Secretary-General,
Kamalesh Sharma, has constituted an Observer Group for the 2011 Nigeria
National Assembly and Presidential Elections in Nigeria. It is my honour
and privilege to lead this Commonwealth Observer Group and be here in Nigeria
for these important elections. The Commonwealth has supported Nigeria through
many of its previous elections and we are pleased to do so again as the
country continues to consolidate its multi-party democracy.
Interim Statement by Dame Billie Miller,
Chairperson of the Commonwealth Observer Group
The Commonwealth was invited by the Government
of Uganda to observe the 2011 elections, and the Secretary-General of the
Commonwealth constituted an Observer Group supported by a staff team from
the Secretariat. I am honoured to have been asked to Chair the Group, which
has been present in the country since 10 February 2011. During this period
we have met with the Electoral Commission, some presidential candidates,
representatives of political parties, civil society, media, the police,
A well-administered election day but challenges
in the pre-election period
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh
Sharma, today released the Final Report of the Commonwealth Expert Team
which observed the 26 January Presidential election in Sri Lanka.
In issuing the report, he noted the Team's
conclusion that, "even though on the day of the election voters were
free to express their will, shortcomings primarily in the pre-election
period meant that overall the 2010 Presidential elections in Sri Lanka
did not fully meet key benchmarks for democratic elections."
Commonwealth expert focuses on reducing
the Caribbean country's reliance on meat imports
When Hurricane Ivan swept through Grenada
in 2004, it left the Caribbean country in ruins. Some 90 per cent of homes
on the largest island, also called Grenada, were destroyed; the damage
totalled more than US$800 million. As the small island state, which is
made up of seven islands, struggled to recover, Hurricane Emily arrived
(in July 2005) causing severe flooding. The country's economy was devastated.
Mr. KD Knight, Chair of the Commonwealth
Expert Team
A generally well-administered election
day but shortcomings in the pre-election period and incidences of inter-party
violence taint election
The Commonwealth was invited to observe
the 26 January Presidential Elections by the Commissioner for Elections.
The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth deployed a five-person Expert
Team supported by a staff team from the Secretariat. Our team has been
present in the country since 18 January, meeting with representatives of
Fifty-four member association guarantees
each country an equal voice
Membership of the Commonwealth offers
its newest member Rwanda - the 'Land of a Thousand Hills' - an opportunity
to advance its own interests both at home and abroad, Kamalesh Sharma told
the country's Parliament.
"[The Commonwealth] guarantees you
a voice: you will be heard in all our fora, as much as a country of a hundred
million people, or a hundred thousand," he said today, adding that
"our voices together will go further: they will go to the world."
1. Climate change is the predominant
global challenge. We convened a Special Session on Climate Change in Port
of Spain to discuss our profound concern about the undisputed threat that
climate change poses to the security, prosperity, economic and social development
of our people. For many it is deepening poverty and affecting the attainment
of the Millennium Development Goals. For some of us, it is an existential
threat.
Human rights expert discusses plight
of 'environmental refugees'
Climate change has human rights implications
as it affects lives, livelihoods, shelter and the environment, Dr Purna
Sen has said.
She cited the cases of Maldives and Tuvalu
which face the threat of being submerged in a matter of decades due to
global warming.
Dr Sen, the Head of Human Rights at the
Commonwealth Secretariat, was speaking at the University of the West Indies
in Trinidad and Tobago, on 24 November, 2009.
Meeting in Kenya focuses on enhancing
awareness and understanding of women's access to justice
Local chiefs, magistrates and members
of the land disputes tribunal in Kenya will discuss laws and customs governing
women's rights to land at a meeting in Nakuru, north-west of Kenya's capital,
Nairobi.
The meeting, taking place between 16
and 18 April, will focus on enhancing awareness and understanding of women's
rights and facilitating women's access to justice through both statutory
and customary laws.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh
Sharma has welcomed the announcement by the Sri Lankan Government of a
two-day ceasefire in the conflict zone in the north-east of the country.
"This is a positive step and should
be used to ensure the evacuation of the several thousand civilians trapped
in the fighting between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE,"
said the Secretary-General.
"I have been deeply distressed by
reports of deaths of and injuries to civilians resulting from shelling
in the no-fire zone. I have also been concerned by reports that civilians
In 2002, children were fighting in 37 of
the world's 55 ongoing or recently concluded conflicts and they numbered
around 300,000
One of the most significant rulings from
the Special Court for Sierra Leone was on the recruitment of child soldiers.
The Court had to rule on a motion by
the accused, Sam Hinga Norman (founder and leader of the Civil Defence
Forces (CDF) in Sierra Leone), who argued that the Court did not have jurisdiction
to try him for recruiting child soldiers.
Sharma distressed by appalling food, health
and sanitation situation in Zimbabwe
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh
Sharma on 8 December 2008 expressed grave concern at the dire humanitarian
situation in Zimbabwe and called on Commonwealth member countries to give
their strong support to the appeal launched by the United Nations to assist
the country.
The Secretary-General met with a cross-section
of Commonwealth organisations on a response to the Zimbabwe crisis. The
previous week Zimbabwe had appealed to the international community for
"Africa is the only region of the
world that is not going to be able to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
if we continue with business as usual" - Vice-President of the Alliance
for a Green Revolution
An impassioned call for a uniquely African
Green Revolution that is specifically geared to meeting the region's particular
agro-ecological conditions and the needs of its people was recently made
by Dr Akinwunmi Adesina at the Commonwealth Secretariat's headquarters
in London, UK.
Commonwealth Secretary-General distressed
by Solomon Islands Tsunami, calls for assistance
Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon
has expressed deep distress and sorrow over the Tsunami that hit Solomon
Islands, leaving a trail of devastation.
In a statement issued 2 April 2007, Mr
McKinnon said: "My heart goes out to the bereaved and injured."
"The Commonwealth stands in solidarity
with the people of Solomon Islands at this most trying time, and pledges
its support to the Government as it seeks to recover from this calamity,"
the Secretary-General said.
Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Winston
Cox arrived in Grenada on Wednesday 24 August to review reconstruction
assistance to the island following the devastation caused by Hurricane
Emily, the second major hurricane to hit the country in less that a year.
Last month, Hurricane Emily caused widespread
damage to Grenada. At least one man was killed in the north of the island,
crops were flattened and streets flooded. Many homes, still not fully repaired
following Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, were further damaged.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon
today announced a new programme to bring medical doctors from around the
Commonwealth to work in Maldives:
"Today I am launching an appeal
to doctors to volunteer to help the people of Maldives, who are suffering
the devastating consequences of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December
2004. If you can help, please get in touch right away."
The Commonwealth Secretariat is looking
for doctors with expertise in internal medicine; paediatrics; anaesthetics;
general surgery; obstetrics and gynaecology; and orthopaedics as well as
