Good governance in the Commonwealth: Many cultures, one agenda1 Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 41 Introduction On 2 October 2013, a statement broadcast on The Gambia’s state television announced that ‘the government has withdrawn its membership of the British Commonwealth and decided that The Gambia will never be a member of any neo-colonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism’.2 This provoked a welter of contrasting responses, ranging from very supportive comments by those who continue to be critical of the UK’s past imperial role, to the rather blander statement by the UK’s Foreign Office that they regretted The Gambia’s departure. It also highlighted the crucial importance that cultural diplomacy must continue to play in the Commonwealth. This short commentary emphasises three key points: that the Commonwealth has the potential to be a considerable force for good; that much of its value lies in its diversity; and that very considerable effort in terms of cultural diplomacy is required if we are to realise its potential. The Gambian Government has rejected this agenda as being too demanding, but somewhat ironically such challenges to the Commonwealth are also in large part because the UK Government has itself not always played a strong role in its engagement with other Commonwealth countries. Global principles? The Commonwealth, of course, is not the ‘British Commonwealth’ and, in contrast to the outspoken views of many of those supporting The Gambia’s decision, there is actually much less support for the Commonwealth in the UK than can be found in some other Commonwealth countries. For many in Britain, particularly the youth, the Commonwealth is an anachronism and one that represents no particular economic asset – perhaps, rather, an economic drain. The Commonwealth Charter, agreed by all Commonwealth Heads of Government in December 2012, provides a fitting starting point for such a discussion. The titles of the 16 paragraphs that summarise its core values and principles are listed in Figure 1 and highlight the Commonwealth’s emphasis on consensus and common action, mutual respect, inclusiveness, transparency, accountability, legitimacy and responsiveness. Initial reactions to The Gambia’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth suggest that, having signed the charter almost a year ago, the government no longer felt able to adhere to some of these principles, especially relating to human rights, tolerance and freedom of expression. The fundamental point to be made about this, though, is that these principles are not those of Britain or the UK, but rather those of the countries of the Commonwealth as a whole. Many of the 16 principles of the Commonwealth Charter are complex and open to contested interpretations. It is actually a remarkable achievement to have reached any agreement over them at all! The conviction that ‘democracy’ is a (or the) good political system, for example, has become much more widespread since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s but, as David Held3 has so lucidly highlighted, there are actually many different kinds of democracy. Moreover, some states that claim to practice democracy at home apparently see no harm in seeking to try to impose ‘democratic’ systems of governance on others by military force, which is scarcely a democratic process. Tim Unwin Box 1: Sections of the Commonwealth Charter, 2012 1. Democracy 9. Sustainable Development 2. Human Rights 10. Protecting the Environment 3. International Peace and Security 11. Access to Health, Education, Food and Shelter 4. Tolerance, Respect and Understanding 12. Gender Equality 5. Freedom of Expression 13. Importance of Young People in the Commonwealth 6. Separation of Powers 14. Recognition of the Needs of Small States 7. Rule of Law 15. Recognition of the Needs of Vulnerable States 8. Good Governance 16. The Role of Civil Society
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