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DE RUEHLO #2819/01 3491647
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 151647Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4433
INFO RUEHJL/AMEMBASSY BANJUL 0066
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0907
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0181
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 0727
RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE 0180
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 0206
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 0090
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0004
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 3544
RUEHPL/AMEMBASSY PORT LOUIS 0149
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0760
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA 0034
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0299
C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 002819
NOFORN SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/WE, IO/PRF (MARIA GERMANO), AND S/P
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM TSPL KSUM KGHG TD RW ZI GA UG FJ
SUBJECT: (C/NF) COMMONWEALTH TACKLES CLIMATE CHANGE, MOSTLY STEERS CLEAR OF HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES REF: A. PORT OF SPAIN
00482 B. LONDON 2743 C. LONDON 2769
Classified By: Political Counselor Robin Quinville for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1.(C/NF) Summary: Officials from both HMG and the Commonwealth Secretariat gave Poloff their separate impressions of the
biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that was held November 27-29 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and
Tobago. Officials told Poloff that the major focus of the meeting was on climate change, and the heads of government
issued a 14-point Climate Change Declaration (Reftel A) that member states, Commonwealth Secretariat officials, and
members of civil society are both publicly and privately endorsing strongly. Officials noted other CHOGM
accomplishments: the admission of Rwanda as the Commonwealth's 54th member, a call for Zimbabwe to implement "faithfully
and effectively" its power-sharing agreement, and an expression of "deep concern" about the further deterioration of the
political situation in Fiji, which was suspended from the Commonwealth earlier this year. HMG officials said that heads
of government, led by Prime Minister Brown, blocked Sri Lanka from hosting the 2011 CHOGM but accepted Sri Lanka's offer
to host in 2013. Commonwealth Secretariat officials noted that sensitive human rights issues such as those present in
Uganda, Sri Lanka, and The Gambia were omnipresent in media reports and in comments from civil society but were notably
absent from the CHOGM communique and formal discussions. This year's CHOGM included participation by Danish Prime
Minister Rasmussen, French President Sarkozy, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, all of whom chaired the special
session on climate change. End Summary.
Climate Change Consensus ------------------------
2.(C/NF) The UK government, members of civil society, and the Commonwealth Secretariat are both publicly and privately
praising the climate change consensus issued from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on November 28 as part of the
biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) for its importance and strength ahead of the COP-15 meetings
in Copenhagen. In a December 11 meeting, Director of Political Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat Amitav Banerji
told Poloff that the consensus, a 14-point declaration that called climate change "the challenge of our time" and called
for a "comprehensive, substantial and operationally binding agreement" at Copenhagen that would set the stage for a
"legally binding outcome by 2010," would be seen as key for consensus-building ahead of the Copenhagen talks. Banerji
noted that the declaration pointed out that many low-lying coastal states and small island nations-- which carry equal
weight within the Commonwealth-- face an existential threat as a result of climate change but have contributed least to
the problem. The declaration also expressed support for the initiative to establish a Copenhagen Launch Fund that would
provide fast-start funding for climate change adaptation in the most vulnerable countries; this fund would start in 2010
and build to $10 billion annually by 2012.
3.(C/NF) Banerji said that Prime Minister Brown was "especially keen" for the Commonwealth to issue "an ambitious
declaration," and that it was Brown who brought French President Sarkozy into the meeting in hopes that he could help
"drum up a consensus." Banerji said that it was always the intent of the Commonwealth to have the declaration be a
political statement and said that the power of the agreement was political, in that it allowed the Commonwealth to say
that it gave a "major push to the quest for an agreement" at Copenhagen. Banerji said that Australian Prime Minister
Rudd played a "star role" in the negotiations, essentially taking over for Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Manning in
leading the drafting process and "pushing for a meaningful statement." Banerji further said that Danish Prime Minister
Rasmussen, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and French President Sarkozy chaired the special session but were not
involved in the drafting process, making the consensus a true product of the Commonwealth.
4.(C/NF) Brendan Cox, Special Advisor to Prime Minister Brown, told Poloff on November 30 that the special climate
change session provided an "important opportunity to gather momentum before Copenhagen," and noted that the proposal to
establish the Copenhagen Launch Fund was put forward by the British and subsequently agreed to by all member states. In
a December 11 meeting, Mike Smith, Communications Officer at the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU), called climate
change the "dominant issue" at the CHOGM and said it was seen as "the sparring before the big fight" in Copenhagen.
Smith said the strength of the statement came as a surprise to CPSU; in particular, Smith said that Commonwealth support
for the Copenhagen Launch Fund was unexpected.
Commonwealth Health Compact ---------------------------
5.(C/NF) Cox told Poloff that "one of the most significant agreements" at the CHOGM was on health care. According to
Cox, the Commonwealth Health Compact, proposed by PM Brown, represents the first time the Commonwealth has committed to
universal coverage of free health services. The compact calls on donor countries to deliver on existing commitments for
financing in health, welcomes steps taken by low-income countries toward universal access to free health services, and
supports the role of civil society to advocate for and contribute to universal coverage of basic health care. Mike Smith
said that the health compact "went further than it had to," and noted that some low-income Commonwealth countries had
experienced recent successes in health care, citing Tanzania as one example.
New Financial Social Contract -----------------------------
6.(C/NF) On development and the global economy, the heads of government echoed PM Brown's call at the G20 meeting in St.
Andrews for a "new social contract" between the financial sector and the public. Banerji said that the five G20 members
that are part of the Commonwealth agreed to advocate for the interests of the rest of the Commonwealth within the G20.
Rwanda Admitted as 54th Member ------------------------------
7.(C/NF) Heads of government approved the admission of Rwanda as the 54th Commonwealth member. Rwanda, a French-speaking
former colony of Germany and Belgium, is only the second country to be admitted to the Commonwealth without historic
ties to Great Britain; the first was Mozambique, in 1995. Mike Smith noted that Rwanda's application for membership had
been somewhat controversial due to concerns about human rights in Rwanda, but Banerji said that if the net result of
entry was a boost for reconciliation and good governance in Rwanda, that the decision was a good one. Rwandan
Information Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said that Rwanda was pleased by the decision and said that Rwanda sees its
accession to the Commonwealth as "recognition of the tremendous progress this country has made in the last 15 years."
(Reftel B).
Zimbabwe --------
8.(C/NF) The heads of government commented on Zimbabwe only briefly in their communique, stating that they "welcomed the
Global Political Agreement (GPA) on power-sharing in Zimbabwe, and expressed the hope that this would be implemented
faithfully and effectively." The heads of government also said that they looked forward to the conditions being created
for the return of Zimbabwe to the Commonwealth, but Banerji pointed out the ambiguity of what these conditions were: was
full implementation of the GPA enough, or was land reform a prerequisite for readmission as well? (Note: Zimbabwe was
suspended from the Commonwealth in 2002 over concerns with the electoral and land reform policies of President Mugabe;
it then voluntarily withdrew from the organization in 2003. End Note.) Banerji said that President Zuma took seriously
his mediator role in the process and was pushing for the Commonwealth to readmit Zimbabwe. But Cox noted that the UK
hoped the call for faithful and effective implementation of the GPA would send a clear message to President Mugabe that
no country in the Commonwealth was willing to let Zimbabwe back in without real reform.
Fiji ----
9.(C/NF) Banerji told Poloff that CHOGM discussion on Fiji was guided by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group
(CMAG), which suspended Fiji from the Commonwealth on September 1, 2009 for its abrogation of the constitution in April
2009 as well as for ongoing restrictions on human rights and the government's decision to further delay elections until
2014. Banerji said that the heads of government "stood firmly by the CMAG" and that the only contentious point with
regard to Fiji was its suspension from the 2010 Commonwealth Games; in the end, the heads of government affirmed that
sporting ties under the Commonwealth name are inseparable from the values of the Commonwealth itself and endorsed the
decision taken by the CMAG that countries under suspension from the Commonwealth should be ineligible to participate in
Commonwealth sporting events.
Sri Lanka ---------
10.(C/NF) According to Cox, the UK "worked with like-minded governments" to prevent Sri Lanka from hosting the 2011
CHOGM, as they had offered to do in 2007. Cox said that the reversal was on the basis of "serious human rights concerns,
a lack of access for aid workers to the camps, and the lack of reconciliation." According to Cox, PM Brown "personally
intervened" to get unanimous agreement to have the 2011 CHOGM in Australia instead of in Sri Lanka. The heads of
government did, however, accept Sri Lanka's offer to host the 2013 CHOGM; according to Banerji, this was part of a
"package deal" proposed by the UK and included an acceptance of Mauritius' offer to host the 2015 CHOGM. According to
Banerji, Sri Lanka now has a much stronger claim to host the 2013 CHOGM than it ever did to host the 2011 CHOGM, and it
would take an actual reversal at the 2011 CHOGM to deprive Sri Lanka of its hosting duties. For his part, Cox said that
Sri Lanka's hosting duties "would only be on the basis of real progress in human rights and genuine reconciliation."
Mike Smith noted that the decision to have Australia host the 2011 CHOGM came as a "complete surprise"; previously, only
Sri Lanka and India had been mentioned as possibilities. Banerji said that there had been no formal discussion of the
human rights situation in Sri Lanka during the CHOGM and noted that Sri Lanka had announced on the eve of the CHOGM that
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were free to move out of camps; this may have helped Sri Lanka keep its human rights
record off the meeting agenda.
Uganda ------
11.(C/NF) Banerji acknowledged that human rights issues in Uganda and The Gambia had dominated media reports and civil
society meetings in Port of Spain but said that neither issues were raised in formal CHOGM proceedings; however, Banerji
said that bilateral talks on the margins of the CHOGM had addressed the "appalling and draconian legislation" that would
introduce the death penalty for homosexual acts. According to Brendan Cox, PM Brown raised the issue of gay rights with
Ugandan President Museveni and expressed concern with the bill.
The Gambia ----------
12.(C/NF) Banerji said that the human rights situation in The Gambia had not been raised during the CHOGM but said that
the Commonwealth Secretariat is "very concerned" about what it sees as "Commonwealth values being undermined." Banerji
noted that the human rights community was "up in arms" and admitted that the Memorandum of Understanding that had been
brokered between the political parties was now extinct. Banerji said that the Commonwealth Secretariat was going to
engage with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and hopefully get Nigeria to weigh in before
scheduled Gambian elections. Banerji said that he hoped a high-level delegation would visit Banjul by February 2010, and
intimated that the delegation could be led by former Nigerian President Obasanjo or Commonwealth Secretary General
Sharma. (Reftel C).
Administrative Matters ----------------------
13.(C/NF) Banerji said that a new Commonwealth budget scale, the first since 1989, was adopted. Banerji said that
certain countries (e.g. Singapore) that had developed quickly since 1989 were now paying too little, while other
countries (e.g. Papua New Guinea) were paying too much. The budget negotiations were at one point stuck on the UK's
position that it would not provide more than 31% of the budget; the UK eventually agreed to provide just over 32% of the
budget on the understanding that no country would ever contribute more than a third of the budget.
14.(C/NF) Banerji said that Commonwealth Secretary General Sharma would like to visit Washington at some point in 2010,
ideally before April. Banerji said that he would follow up with Poloff to further discuss a potential visit.
Comment -------
15.(C/NF) Despite representing a third of the world's population, the Commonwealth's relevance to international
relations is often subject to debate; indeed, a UK Minister this week told the House of Lords that the organization has
been the subject of "many, many obituaries." But with strong outcomes on climate change and health care and a promise of
Commonwealth sherpas at the G20, Commonwealth proponents will cite this CHOGM as proof that the Commonwealth still has
meaning. The lack of significant dialogue on several sensitive human rights issues, however, will lend support to the
common criticism that the Commonwealth is soft on long-suffering human rights and governance issues within its
membership. The Commonwealth's utility is as a sounding board forum on global issues, as the climate change discussion
at CHOGM provided a useful preview to COP-15 positions. As the Commonwealth, under SYG Sharma's leadership, continues to
tackle global issues, the discussions will offer insight into the varied concerns and priorities that will arise in
other international fora. Visit London's Classified Website: XXXXXXXXXXXX
Susman