Commonwealth summit comes to an end

Commonwealth leaders wrapped up their summit in South Africa’s port city of Durban, on Monday, reaffirming their commitment to democratic values and good governance. In their ‘Fancourt Declaration’, issued at the weekend, leaders said: “We believe that the spread of democratic freedom and good governance, and access to education, training and health care are key to the expansion of human capabilities, and to the banishment of ignorance and prejudice.” They added: “Recognising that good governance and economic progress are directly linked, we affirm our commitment to the pursuit of greater transparency, accountability, the rule of law and the elimination of corruption in all spheres of public life and in the private sector.” The declaration added: “Good governance requires inclusive and participatory processes at both national and international levels. We call on the global community to search for inclusive processes of multilateralism which give a more effective voice in the operations of international institutions in developing countries, and which recognise the particular vulnerabilities of small states.” In the ‘Fancourt Declaration’ Commonwealth leaders also called on delegates to the next round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations in the United States city of Seattle to pursue a more developmental approach. “We urge the forthcoming ministerial meeting of WTO to launch the next round of global negotiations on trade to be one with a pronounced developmental dimension, with the aim of achieving better market access in agriculture, industrial products and services in a way that provides benefits to all members, particularly developing countries.” It said that although globalisation had created unprecedented opportunities for wealth creation, the benefits of globalisation has not been shared equitably. “Prosperity remains the preserve of the few. Despite the progress of the past fifty years, half the world’s population lives on less than US $2 per day. Many millions lives in conditions of extreme deprivation,” the declaration said. Leaders also committed themselves to helping to resolve conflict in a peaceful manner and to support measures that would help stabilise post-conflict situations and to combating terrorism of all kinds. The Commonwealth is made up of 54 countries, most of them former British colonies. New Zealand Foreign Minister, Don Mckinnon, was elected to take over as Secretary-General from Emeka Anyaoku.