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COMMONWEALTH: Waiting on Pakistan, Acting on Climate Change

Joyce Mulama

KAMPALA, Nov 26 2007 (IPS) - The latest Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) came to a close Sunday with leaders and government representatives reiterating the need for restoration of democratic rule in Pakistan, while calling on Islamabad to maintain lines of communication with the 53 member organisation.

This followed last week’s decision by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to suspend Pakistan from the organisation, after the country largely failed to meet conditions laid down on Nov. 12 by CMAG. These included a lifting of the state of emergency declared earlier this month, restoring judicial independence and observing human rights.

“Heads…endorsed the decision by CMAG to review progress following the conduct of the scheduled (parliamentary) elections in January 2008 and called on the Government of Pakistan to respond positively to the Commonwealth’s desire to remain engaged and support the return of democratic Government and the rule of law in Pakistan,” notes the Kampala Communique, issued Sunday. The Nov. 23-25 gathering was held in the Ugandan capital.

Pakistan reacted angrily to the suspension, describing it as “unreasonable and unjustified”. President Pervez Musharraf had said that emergency rule was introduced to address the threat of Islamic extremism and curb a judiciary that was interfering with the work of government. Others saw the move as a bid to counter legal challenges to Musharraf’s re-election in October – a result that was confirmed last week.

Global warming was another key item on the agenda of CHOGM, which saw leaders and government representatives adopt the ‘Lake Victoria Commonwealth Climate Change Action Plan’ in response to the threat posed by greenhouse gases.

They pledged to work through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), “…caucusing together and leveraging from our shared vision and diversity to the fullest extent possible” to achieve a “comprehensive” agreement for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases after 2012. This is when the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC expires. Under the protocol, industrialised nations are committed to reducing their combined emissions to five percent below 1990 levels, by 2012.

However, the action plan has been criticised for failing to push for binding targets regarding emissions reduction ahead of the 13th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC – set to take place next month in Bali – where a successor to the Kyoto Protocol will be discussed.

Industrialised states are said to be off target for reducing emissions, and the United States – a leading emitter of greenhouse gases – has yet to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

Fears are that global warming will have an especially disastrous effect on the developing world, which lacks the resources to adapt to climate change. Amongst others, the Commonwealth action plan calls for more money to help needy countries cope with climate change.

The Kampala Communique also tackles the sensitive issue of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), which are set to replace the 2000 Cotonou Partnership Agreement next year as the mechanism governing trade between the European Union and former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (the ACP bloc).

EPAs are being introduced to bring EU-ACP trade in line with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. To date, ACP nations have had preferential access to European markets, an arrangement the WTO views as unfair.

However, it is feared that liberalising EU-ACP trade to make it WTO compliant would expose developing states to competition from European producers that they could not withstand, and to other ill effects.

“Heads of Government…urged that EPAs take due account of capacity constraints, the need for adequate accompanying measures to be provided on a predictable basis to meet, inter alia, adjustment costs and other potential vulnerabilities and the safeguarding of policy flexibility,” notes the communique.

Outgoing Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon also weighed in on the issue, telling the press at the close of CHOGM that “We want to support small countries with the EPA negotiations.”

Other issues raised in the Kampala Communique include human trafficking, terrorism, HIV/AIDS and debt relief, with delegates expressing “…concern that many countries are still faced with large and unsustainable debt burdens.”

Kamalesh Sharma, India’s high commissioner to Britain, was appointed as McKinnon’s successor, and will begin a four-year term in April 2008. The next meeting of Commonwealth heads of government will take place in 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago (CHOGM is a biennial event).

The Commonwealth is a grouping mainly composed of former British colonies; its objectives include the promotion of good governance and economic development.