He addressed the myths that
surrounded the Commonwealth - it had sometimes been derided ‘a relic of
the British Empire’ or as a mere ‘talking shop’. ‘Talk is necessary’,
he said. ‘Maybe we should remind ourselves that new thoughts, ideas,
initiatives all begin with talk. Bear in mind that getting the
agreement of 53 governments to tackle a global problem is almost always
going to have greater impact than one or two countries trying to solve
a global problem alone. It takes time and patience to bring those
differing views together.’
He focussed on four areas where he believed the Commonwealth had
become stronger over the last decade. He felt that it was in a stronger
position to defend its values since it had given itself the facility to
suspend members in 1995. ‘Fiji and Pakistan are currently suspended
from the Commonwealth, both - I am sorry to say - for the second time,’
he said. ‘Suspension hurts, but it reflects the collective view and
will of all those countries’ peers across the membership. It doesn’t
signal the end of the relationship.’
He also felt that the
Commonwealth was in a stronger position of respond to challenges. He
reminded his audience that ‘the Commonwealth, for instance, can take
credit for identifying the unique problems and challenges of small
states and having others help in squaring up to them. With 32 of our
members having populations of less than 1½ million, we have a special
interest.’
He also pointed out that ‘nearly half of our
Commonwealth is under 25, and nearly a quarter is under 5. Yet 70
million of our Commonwealth children have never seen the inside of a
school, and 150 million are out of work.’
The Commonwealth
therefore had a long-standing Youth Programme. ‘It has been around for
33 years with offices and activities across the globe – giving youth
training, micro-credit and mentoring. It works with governments to
establish a young people’s perspective on precisely every aspect of
government. The Commonwealth has given the world the UN’s Youth
Development Indicators.’
He concluded that the Commonwealth was
an outward-looking organisation: ‘As of last November, we have new
procedures in place for dealing with applications to join the
Commonwealth, and we already have interest being expressed.’
He
urged Oxford to help the Commonwealth’s cause in supporting education
for those who ‘have never so much as sat under a tree with just one
teacher and one blackboard and learned to count to ten.’
He concluded: ‘Education is the key to everything. It is not just a development goal – it’s a fundamental human right.’
