Memorandum from Kate Phimister
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House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee The role and future of the Commonwealth This is a volume of submissions, relevant to the inquiry ‘the role and future of the Commonwealth’, which have been reported to the House. Only those submissions written specifically for the Committee have been included. List of written evidence Page 1 The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO)1 1 2 Mrs Anne Palmer JP retired 6 3 Commonwealth Advisory Bureau 10 4 Ian Milne 18 5 Ruth Lea 26 6 Richard Bourne 31 7 Sir Peter Marshall 42 8 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 44 9 Royal Commonwealth Society 65 10 Commonwealth Scholarship Commission 73 11 Professor Richard Crook 80 12 Association of Commonwealth Universities 83 13 Etoile partners Ltd 90 14 States of Guernsey Policy Council 94 15 Dr Paul Flather 100 16 Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association 102 17 Commonwealth Secretariat 115 18 Alina Rocha Menocal 123 19 States of Jersey 125 20 Ramphal Insitute 136 21 Isle of Man Government 140 22 Mark Robinson 149 23 The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs 154 24 The Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council 168 25 The Commonwealth Consortium for Education 172 26 Rt Hon the Lord Luce, KG, GCVO 180 27 Council for Education in the Commonwealth (CEC) 183 COM 01 Written evidence from the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation 1 Introduction to the CTO 1.1 The CTO was established in 1901 as an association of telecom operators in the Commonwealth that evolved through several phases to become the premier ICT agency for the Commonwealth mandated to help members Bridge the Digital Divide under the new constitution adopted in 2002. 1.2 The CTO’s two-tier membership structure was created in 2002 specifically to facilitate the multi-stakeholder dialogue that is critical in the ICT sector. Under this scheme, in addition to Commonwealth countries, private sector and civil society organisations engaged in the use of ICTs, primarily for development purposes, join the CTO as Sector Member. Currently the CTO has around 40 Commonwealth countries as members with over 100 private sector and civil society organisations as Sector Member. 1.3 Over the years, this unique membership structure of the CTO has proven to be a useful stepping stone for non-Commonwealth countries to join the Commonwealth. For example in 2005 Rwanda joined the CTO as a Sector member and joined the Commonwealth itself in 2009. South Sudan joined the CTO as a Sector member when it was still a part of Sudan in 2007 and may become a fully-fledged member of the Commonwealth in the near future. 1.4 More information is available on the CTO Annual Report for 2010-11 which can be downloaded from the CTO website at www.cto.int A hard copy will be submitted separately. 2 Does the Commonwealth retain a purpose and value? We believe that the Commonwealth does indeed retain an important purpose and value, as evidenced by the following: 2.1 The Commonwealth values - democracy, freedom, peace, the rule of law and opportunity for all – are more valid today than ever, as shown for example by recent events in North Africa and the Middle East. The results of denying people’s right to exercise their fundamental rights have become all too familiar. 2.2 It is encouraging to note that in the majority of Commonwealth countries recent debate has been about strengthening democratic institutions and citizen empowerment rather than merely the availability of these rights. The norms set by the Commonwealth and the implicit pressure exerted by the collective body of membership has had an effect in ensuring the advancement of people’s inalienable rights. For example according to the democracy ranking (http://www.democracyranking.org) in 2010, 11 out of 18 African countries falling within the top 100 are Commonwealth countries. 2.3 The Commonwealth Secretariat’s current engagement with its members is built on two primary goals: Peace and Democracy, and Pro-Poor Growth and Sustainable Development. As the role economic growth plays on avoiding conflict is well documented, the entire focus of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s engagement aims to develop democracy, peace and prosperity. 2.4 In the Global ICT sector the Commonwealth has a strong position and exerts great influence due to the following: 2.4.1 Taken together, the Commonwealth represents one of the largest ICT 1 markets in the world (some 2.1 billion people) 2.4.2 It is the home to emerging ICT powers such as India, Malaysia, South Africa, and Singapore, as well as major global ICT players such as the UK. 2.4.3 It combines both developed and developing countries, which lends itself to facilitating the flow of capital, technology and expertise 2.4.4 Of its total population of 2.1 billion, over half are 25 or under. As youth are early adaptors in ICTs, there is tremendous potential for growth of ICTs in the Commonwealth 2.4.5 The shared language, institutions and legal structures, make inter- Commonwealth commerce, including that delivered through ICTs, comparatively easier. 2.4.6 The Commonwealth provides a mechanism for reaching joint positions on key areas facing the world. For example in the ICT world, the Commonwealth ITU Group strives to harmonize the different positions of Commonwealth countries within the ITU system and to act as a pressure group. Its strength has been proven on several occasions including elections to the ITU Council. 2.4.7 ICTs have the potential to strengthen and empower individuals and organisations, thus improving the opportunities for the civil society to engage actively in governance agendas. The Commonwealth’s role in promoting ICTs complement its core aims. 2.4.8 The exponential growth of ICTs has also brought about challenges, some of which warrant Commonwealth-wide responses such as in Cybersecurity. 3 How has the Perth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting impacted upon this purpose and value? 3.1 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2011 highlighted some of key global tensions that are reflected in Commonwealth countries such as human rights agendas and good governance. It provided a valuable opportunity for heads of government to discuss these agendas, share good practices, and seek to reach common agreements. 3.2 CHOGM was dominated by discussion of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) report, which was very wide ranging, and in our judgment may have sought to cover too much ground. It sets out a very broad agenda, but did not provide sufficient time for enough focused attention to be paid in the meeting to ways of resolving the key challenges facing the Commonwealth. Much work therefore remains to be done in delivering on the vision. 4 What is the future of the Commonwealth and what reforms are needed if the Commonwealth is to be successful? 4.1 As a “voluntary association” the Commonwealth’s future is dependent on its ability to be relevant to the context and address the main needs of the people. This applies not only to the overarching political goals but also to the specific needs and wants in different spheres including ICTs. While the Commonwealth Secretariat is tasked with and consequently responsible for making the Commonwealth relevant in the overarching goals, it is the responsibility of individual Commonwealth entities to make their work relevant and useful to the relevant stakeholders, so that the Commonwealth as an institution remains relevant to its stakeholders. 2 4.2 We recommend three main areas of reform: 4.2.1 The Commonwealth system of governance is based on a range of individual Commonwealth agencies, with different thematic focuses, varying sizes and mandates, striving to deliver value and benefits to the peoples of the Commonwealth, which unfortunately has led to some overlap and duplication of activities. A critically needed reform is to have a clear demarcation of mandates, activities and engagement frameworks for the various Commonwealth agencies and to promote cooperation and coordination of activities between the individual Commonwealth agencies. The Commonwealth Secretariat, as the apex/supreme body is ideally placed to deliver the overall political agenda and to set the broad outlines of its developmental activities, which could then be delivered by individual agencies based on their core competencies. For example the ICT agenda for the Commonwealth is efficiently and effectively delivered by the CTO. 4.2.2 The Commonwealth needs to put in place an effective mechanism for the accreditation of Commonwealth agencies that ensures that they subscribe to the Commonwealth’s values and commitment to deliver real and felt benefits to stakeholders. While leading to rationalization of the various Commonwealth agencies, this will also ensure a common standard in governance and management which is in harmony with Commonwealth values. An effective accreditation process will require periodic evaluations and a form of enforcement in case of infringement. 4.2.3 The Commonwealth, led by the Secretariat, needs to embark on a focused exercise to strengthen the Commonwealth as a brand through promotion of Commonwealth values among states, organisations and individuals 5 How does membership of the Commonwealth help the UK achieve its diplomatic objectives? 5.1 The Commonwealth helps promote democracy, empowerment and inclusion. For example Commonwealth interventions have been partially credited with the elections held in Pakistan in 2008, which ended military rule. 5.2 The UK is the center of the Commonwealth and hosts a large number of Commonwealth bodies including the Commonwealth Secretariat, the CTO, Commonwealth Business Council and Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, through which it plays a large role in shaping the Commonwealth, its engagement with member countries and their people. 5.3 Peoples and governments of other Commonwealth countries often seem to value the Commonwealth more than do the people in the UK.