Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a former British Foreign Secretary and member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, wrote in The Times on Monday:
“Commonwealth heads of government are meeting in Australia this week. During the anti-apartheid struggles, such a summit would have been an event of world importance. On this occasion the world will hardly notice.
“Even the most ardent supporters of the Commonwealth, of whom I am one, would acknowledge that a sense of drift and malaise has begun to set in.
“Most damaging has been a deviation from the focus on human rights for which the Commonwealth has long been known. Military coups in Pakistan and in Fiji in 2006 resulted in a suspension of membership. Yet little has been done to ensure that freedoms are not eroded in a less dramatic fashion.
“For instance, the Commonwealth was tragically silent in the face of reports detailing major human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. Whatever the rights and wrongs of that conflict, the paltry response was a far cry from the Commonwealth’s role in denouncing apartheid.
“If the Commonwealth is to have a healthy future, it must rediscover its unique role in promoting the rule of law and democratic values.”
See the full text of his op-ed here.
