WE BELIEVE that international peace and order are essential to the security and prosperity of mankind; we therefore support the United Nations and seek to strengthen its influence for peace in the world, and its efforts to remove the causes of tension between nations.

WE BELIEVE in the liberty of the individual, in equal rights for all citizens regardless of race, colour, creed or political belief, and in their inalienable right to participate by means of free and democratic political processes in framing the society in which they live. We therefore strive to promote in each of our countries those representative institutions and guarantees for personal freedom under the law that are our common heritage.

WE RECOGNISE racial prejudice as a dangerous sickness threatening the healthy development of the human race and racial discrimination as an unmitigated evil of society. Each of us will vigorously combat this evil within our own nation. No country will afford to regimes which practise racial discrimination assistance which in its own judgment directly contributes to the pursuit or consolidation of this evil policy. We oppose all forms of colonial domination and racial oppression and are committed to the principles of human dignity and equality. We will therefore use all our efforts to foster human equality and dignity everywhere and to further the principles of self-determination and non-racialism.

WE BELIEVE that the wide disparities in wealth now existing between different sections of mankind are too great to be tolerated; they also create world tensions; our aim is their progressive removal; we therefore seek to use our efforts to overcome poverty, ignorance and disease, in raising standards of life and achieving a more equitable international society. To this end our aim is to achieve the freest possible flow of international trade on terms fair and equitable to all, taking into account the special requirements of the developing countries, and to encourage the flow of adequate resources, including governmental and private resources, to the developing countries, bearing in mind the importance of doing this in a true spirit of partnership and of establishing for this purpose in the developing countries conditions which are conducive to sustained investment and growth.

WE BELIEVE that international co-operation is essential to remove the causes of war, promote tolerance, combat injustice and secure development amongst the peoples of the world; we are convinced that the Commonwealth is one of the most fruitful associations for these purposes.

In pursuing these principles the members of the Commonwealth believe that they can provide a constructive example of the multi-national approach which is vital to peace and progress in the modern world. The association is based on consultation, discussion and co-operation. In rejecting coercion as an instrument of policy they recognise that the security of each member state from external aggression is a matter of concern to all members. It provides many channels for continuing exchanges of knowledge and views on professional, cultural, economic, legal and political issues among member states. These relationships we intend to foster and extend for we believe that our multi-national association can expand human understanding and understanding among nations, assist in the elimination of discrimination based on differences of race, colour or creed, maintain and strengthen personal liberty, contribute to the enrichment of life for all, and provide a powerful influence for peace among nations.

COMMONWEALTH CONFERENCES 1972

May

Pre-World Health Assembly Meeting of

Commonwealth Health Ministers and Officials Geneva

Conference on Consular Relations within the
Commonwealth

37

London

THE COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT

Marlborough House, Pall Mall, S.W.1. (01-839 3411)

Commonwealth Secretary-General H.E. Mr Arnold C. Smith

T

HE Commonwealth Secretariat is an international body at the service of all member countries of the Commonwealth, providing the central organisation for joint consultation and co-operation in many fields. It was established in 1965 by Commonwealth Heads of Government, who saw it, in the words of the Agreed Memorandum, as ‘a visible symbol of the spirit of cooperation which animates the Commonwealth'.

The Secretariat is responsible to Commonwealth governments collectively, and is the main agency for multilateral communication between them. It promotes consultation and disseminates information on matters of common concern, organises and services meetings and conferences, co-ordinates many Commonwealth activities, and provides expert technical assistance for economic and social development through the multilateral Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation.

Mr Arnold Smith, a senior member of the Canadian diplomatic service, was selected by Heads of Government to be the first Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral in 1965 and was re-appointed for a further five years in March 1970. He has access to Heads of Government and is the head of the Secretariat.

Finance

The cost of the Secretariat is borne in agreed shares by Commonwealth governments, whose contributions are related to their capacity to pay and are based on their population and national income.

Britain pays the largest contribution (30%), followed by Canada (19.55%), India (9.84%), Australia (9.33%) and New Zealand (2.03%). Bangladesh, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Zambia each pay 1.5 per cent. Barbados, Botswana, Cyprus, Fiji, The Gambia, Guyana, Lesotho, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Swaziland, Tonga and Western Samoa each pay 0.75 per cent. Nauru, a special member, makes an annual contribution of £1,000.

The Secretariat's annual budget is considered by a Finance Committee composed of the Commonwealth High Commissioners in London (or their representatives) and a representative of the British Government. It is then submitted to Commonwealth governments for approval. The net budget for 1972-73 totalled £762,366.

Staff

The Secretary-General, who is equivalent in rank to a senior High Commissioner, is appointed by Commonwealth Heads of Government collectively. A significant part of his duties involves visiting member countries.

He is assisted by two Deputy Secretaries-General and an Assistant SecretaryGeneral. One Deputy Secretary-General has general responsibilities, which include international relations, administration and conference services. The other has primary responsibility for economic matters. The Assistant SecretaryGeneral is responsible for educational and medical matters. Each Division of the Secretariat has a Director. There is also a Medical Adviser and a Scientific Adviser, the latter being in addition the Secretary of the Commonwealth Scientific Committee (see page 000). The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation is headed by a Managing Director, who is responsible to the Secretary-General for conducting the day-to-day operations of the Fund. Under him are Directors for the Fund's various programmes.

The Secretary-General has discretion to appoint senior staff from among panels of names submitted by Commonwealth governments, and he has authority to make appointments of junior staff. The staff of the Secretariat, who now total 180, include nationals of the majority of the 32 member countries of the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Meetings

The principal, though not the only, way Commonwealth consultation takes place is through a wide variety of meetings, ranging from those of Heads of Government to specialised conferences, meetings of officials and seminars. To organise and service these meetings is one of the Secretariat's primary duties.

Since its establishment, the Secretariat has organised four meetings of Heads of Government: in January 1966 (Lagos), September 1966 (London), January

1969 (London) and January 1971 (Singapore). It has also organised and serviced annual meetings of Finance Ministers, and the meetings of finance officials which precede them; meetings of Law Ministers and Trade Ministers: two Commonwealth Education Conferences and two Commonwealth Medical Conferences; a meeting of experts on tourism; a number of specialist meetings and seminars on educational subjects and youth activities; and conferences of economic, aid and information officials. These meetings have taken place in various Commonwealth countries.

International Affairs

At their 1964 meeting, Heads of Government took the view that on matters of major international importance a fuller exchange of views could be promoted through the agency of the Secretariat. To this end, with the assistance of material provided by Commonwealth governments, combined with its own research, the International Affairs Division of the Secretariat is building up archives on international issues. The archives are available to Commonwealth governments, a large number of which do not maintain many missions overseas.

Papers on international issues which are of common interest or concern to Commonwealth members are also prepared. Confidential to governments and written from a non-partisan standpoint, these background papers present a combination of Commonwealth knowledge and views and offer to each member government the advantage of the wide range of vision which the Commonwealth affords. Information is also supplied to individual governments on matters of international and Commonwealth concern, in response to their requests.

Because of its neutral position, the Secretariat has been able to make its good offices available in cases of dispute, and it has also carried out, on request, special assignments requiring demonstrable impartiality. At the time of the Nigerian conflict, the Secretary-General organised and convened the 1968 Peace talks at Kampala. The Secretary-General also organised a Commonwealth observer team for the Gibraltar referendum in 1967 at the request of the British Government, and an officer of the Secretariat served as Secretary of the Anguilla Commission in 1970.

The Secretariat arranged a seminar in Singapore in 1970 for senior members of Commonwealth diplomatic services, to discuss changing patterns in the organisation and conduct of foreign policy, and a meeting in London in 1972 to discuss consular relations within the Commonwealth. There are facilities for trainee Commonwealth diplomats to study the work of an international organisation through short attachments or visits to the International Affairs Division.

The Director of the International Affairs Division is the Secretary of the Commonwealth Sanctions Committee, established by Heads of Government in 1966 to review sanctions against Rhodesia.

Economic Affairs

Statistical and other economic material is prepared, collated and distributed to member governments by the Secretariat. Papers are also prepared for consideration at Commonwealth meetings concerned with financial and economic problems. The Secretariat maintains continuous contact with Commonwealth governments and international bodies to keep developments under review.